There are few cases as mysterious and tragic as the disappearance of Kazimiera Zaremba. The woman went on a pilgrimage to Vilnius together with many people she had known before and met regularly in the church. The organizer of the trip was a priest whom she trusted implicitly. It is terrifying that all these people have failed Ms. Kazimiera. She was left alone in a foreign country, without knowledge of the language and the possibility of contacting her relatives.
Kazimiera Zaremba lived in Bełchatów (Łódź Province). The 79-year-old was very religious. She went to church almost every day. She was also considered a sociable person. So it's not surprising that she was always looking forward to taking part in the pilgrimage. The more so because their friend, priest Piotr Kotas, was most often responsible for their organization.
The man was a curate in Mrs. Kazimiera's parish. Relatives mention that the woman treated him like a good friend, and even a son or grandson. She trusted him too. The priest often visited the 79-year-old at her home. He even met her the day before his pilgrimage to the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius. The relatives had concerns about the departure of the 79-year-old. She had never traveled abroad before. However, the woman really wanted to go to see the chapel of the Gate of Dawn with the famous painting of the Mother of God. So the family finally accepted this decision.
The pilgrimage, consisting of several dozen faithful, a priest-organizer, and a guide, set off on a bus early in the morning on Friday, September 28, 2012. On the night from Friday to Saturday, the participants spent the night in Augustów. Kazimiera Zaremba was already acting strangely at that time, according to the accounts of women with whom she shared a room at the time. The 79-year-old reportedly woke up in the middle of the night and wanted to go home. Her friends had the impression that she did not know where she was. They reportedly did not sleep at night, afraid that Zaremba would leave the room. However, they did not report the incident to relatives.
The next day the pilgrims went directly to Vilnius. The most important event of the whole trip is planned for Saturday, i.e. a mass in the chapel of Our Lady of Ostra Brama. According to people who attended the service, Mrs. Kazimiera took a seat close to the exit. At some point, however, the woman left the chapel. Some said she went looking for a toilet. According to others, she wanted to buy stamps or postcards. It is certain, however, that when the mass ended, the 79-year-old was not found in or near the chapel.
Participants of the pilgrimage began to search for the missing woman. Some said it lasted about half an hour, others said about fifteen minutes. Apparently, there were voices that the faithful came to Vilnius to visit, not to look for Mrs. Kazimiera. The atmosphere became nervous. Father Piotr finally decided that the trip would go on. Nobody objected to this decision. It is also shocking that the local police were not notified.
Instead, the priest called Kazimiera Zaremba's telephone number. However, the mobile was picked up by the older daughter of the missing woman who lived with her. It turned out that the 79-year-old had left her phone at home. Relatives were alarmed by an unexpected call. They were also surprised by the attitude of the vicar and the participants of the trip. They didn't seem to care too much about the situation.
The saddest thing is that about an hour later, a missing elderly woman appeared in the parking lot where the bus had left. She looked confused. She grabbed the door handles of various vehicles, trying to get inside. We know this because the surveillance video has been preserved. If the fellow travelers had devoted a little more time and energy to the search, everything would probably have ended happily.
While the faithful, as if nothing had happened, visited the largest Lithuanian city, Mrs. Kazimiera wandered around its streets. Cameras at a gas station about six kilometers from the site of the disappearance recorded the woman. It took place on the night from Saturday to Sunday around 3:00. The woman went inside and asked for chamomile. We know this because the woman working there spoke Polish and passed this information on to the investigators looking for Zaremba.
It seems puzzling that the gas station was about 6 kilometers away from the chapel where the service was taking place. Close relatives of Mrs. Kazimiera claim that she would not be able to walk such a long route. It is speculated that someone could give the woman a lift by car or she used public transport. However, we do not know what it was like in reality.
The 79-year-old was also found on another camera recording. On Sunday, September 30, around 9:00 in the morning, we see a woman approaching the caretaker of one of the Lithuanian tenement houses. However, Mrs. Kazimiera was not wearing a coat, handbag or glasses at that time, which she always wore. It all seems very strange. The woman must have been freezing, because autumn had begun. In particular, the nights and mornings become chilly, especially for someone who has no outer covering.
However, the man whom the old lady accosts is not helpful. This may be due to the language barrier, because Mrs Kazimiera does not know Lithuanian. The caretaker ignores the woman, who soon leaves. Later, investigators were able to track down the man. He said that the woman from Poland was probably cold. He knew nothing else. This is the last surveillance video on which the missing person was found. Her further fate from that moment remains a mystery.
Meanwhile, on September 30, the day when Mrs. Kazimiera is seen on the surveillance recordings for the last time, the trip returns to Bełchatów. However, no one is contacting the family or trying to help in any way. Everyone pretends nothing bad happened. The behavior of the priest, who had previously often visited the woman and had a very close relationship with her, is particularly outrageous. Now he completely distances himself from this unpleasant situation.
The curate finally appears in Mrs. Kazimiera's apartment. Then he brings things that she left on the bus. He also informs the family that the woman wanted to disappear herself. He is unable to show even a shred of empathy and compassion. A few months after his disappearance, Piotr Kotas goes to another parish, where he becomes a parish priest. The man certainly did not like the media hype around the case and his person. He just wanted to get as far away from the consequences of his passivity and callousness as possible.
The missing woman's family knows they must act. Relatives contact the Lithuanian police. Investigators access the aforementioned surveillance recordings. Vilnius hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities where the 79-year-old could go are checked. Police are also searching the area where the woman disappeared and was later seen. Investigators are also checking the list of people who died shortly after the disappearance. In particular, those with unidentified identity are verified. However, there is no trace of Mrs. Kazimierza anywhere.
The case is publicized by the media - both Lithuanian and Polish. The media hype that arises around the disappearance unfortunately does not lead to any breakthrough. The posters that are hung all over the city do not help either. The family is distraught. Relatives want those who organized the trip to be held accountable. They report the possibility of committing a crime to the prosecutor's office. However, the prosecutor's office refuses to initiate proceedings in this case. It states that the tour operator did not commit any faults.
In 2019, the daughters of the missing woman went to Lithuania. They then had the opportunity to visit the same places where their mother had been seen. Above all, however, the women went to get acquainted with the catalog of the deceased in Lithuania of unknown identity. However, they did not recognize Mrs. Kazimiera in any of these people.
According to the theory most believed by investigators, the missing woman may still be alive. It is assumed that she may have been taken in by someone who took pity on a terrified and cold woman. If so, why didn't the person report it to the police?
Another scenario is that the woman died shortly after disappearing. She may have died of natural causes (starvation, thirst or hypothermia). There is also the possibility that the woman had an accident that resulted in her death.
It cannot be ruled out that someone deprived Mrs. Kazimiera of her life. This option seems less likely to me personally. The woman no longer had a purse or any other valuables with her (at least according to the latest monitoring recording). What other motive could a possible killer have?
But these are all conjectures. What is certain, however, is that the family has unfortunately not learned the truth to this day. Relatives still hope that Mrs Kazimiera will be found alive. Unfortunately, the chances of that decrease every year. Today, the woman would be 90 years old.
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