Dominika Paćkowska disappeared in Płock in April 2017. She was 17 years old at the time and lived with her family in this Masovian city of approximately 110,000 inhabitants. Little is known about her – the book "Urwane szlaki" (Broken Traces) by Janusz Szostak (one of the main sources of information on this case) states only that she was born in 1999, was a good student, and had no behavioural problems. It is unknown who her parents were, whether she had any siblings, what her interests were, or what school she attended. The media also repeats the same, very general information.
The day she disappeared was April 14, 2017. It was Good Friday. That morning, Dominika went to the store to do some pre-Christmas shopping and, upon returning, gave the rest of her money to her mother. Around 8:20 a.m., she left again, claiming she was going to church. A few hours later, when she didn't return home, her family reported her missing to the police. Despite the frequent delays in such situations, the search began an hour later.
It turned out that city surveillance cameras had recorded Dominika crossing the Józef Piłsudski Legions Bridge. She was walking quickly, appeared nervous, and was likely crying. The camera only recorded her for a few minutes, and when it returned to the original shot, the girl was gone. Investigators determined that she had not crossed the Vistula River, as this would have been captured by the surveillance cameras.
Janusz Szostak, the aforementioned renowned investigative journalist, began his own search in April 2017. He surveyed the Vistula River and identified a location that, in his opinion, needed to be examined with sonar and scuba diving. Official authorities failed to fully utilise his suggestions.
It wasn't until May 5th that a search of the site was planned using sonar and a helicopter, but the efforts were temporary – the boat only made two passes through the middle of the nearly kilometre-wide river, while the sonar range was only 25 meters. Further independent searches by relatives, a journalist, and divers were unsuccessful.
The most likely scenario is suicide. Surveillance footage shows Dominika in a poor mental state – she was upset and likely crying. According to the journalist's findings, the girl was in a difficult personal situation: she was in a relationship with an older man who could have abandoned her at a critical moment. She left home without her phone, money, or documents, suggesting she wasn't planning to escape or contact anyone. There were entries on her computer and phone related to taking her life in the water, further supporting the suspicion of suicide.
Other hypotheses, such as kidnapping or escape, remain speculation. The lack of conclusive evidence means none of these versions can be fully confirmed. The key point remains the footage from the bridge and the moment when the camera panned and Dominika was already gone. A similar pattern appears in other disappearances along the Vistula River, such as those of Mariusz Perdek, Krzysztof Dymiński, and Michał Delewski – these individuals were last seen on the bridge and later disappeared.
The case remains unsolved. The lack of clear evidence and minimal information about the family complicates the reconstruction of events. Surveillance footage and the journalist's findings allow only hypotheses to be formulated, the most likely of which points to suicide. Despite the passage of time, Dominika Paćkowska's case remains open, and her fate remains unknown.
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