Mysterious disappearance and theft at a gas station

 This is one of those cases where none of the theories quite makes sense. The story of the disappearance of 20-year-old Wojciech Gorzkowski in December 2007 is full of dead ends and unexplained clues. 

Wojtek, born in 1987, grew up in Wrocław. He was a boy who, at first glance, seemed destined for success. From an early age, he enjoyed sports – perhaps thanks to his father, a professional referee. Wojtek played volleyball, kept fit at the gym, and excelled in school. He was considered a top student in elementary school, middle school, and then high school. The natural progression was university – he chose management and production engineering at the Wrocław University of Science and Technology. He also had a girlfriend, with whom he had a successful relationship.

However, his greatest passion, one that consumed much of his time and money, was motoring. The 20-year-old was the proud owner of a rare, dark blue 1989 Audi 200 Turbo Quattro (registration number DB 36863). As he wrote on a popular internet forum at the time (where he was known under the pseudonym "Ciechwoj"):

Wojtek invested a great deal of energy in his Audi—washing upholstery, repairing lighting, and painting bumpers. He was a member of the Audi Poland Club, and the car had a distinctive sticker on the rear window.

By 2007, the Gorzkowski family was already living in Długołęka, near Wrocław. This move, according to sources, was a necessity, not a choice. Wojtek wasn't entirely happy with the situation.

On Saturday, December 15, 2007, a fight broke out between the 20-year-old and his father. The argument was over picking up his younger brother from a tournament, but also—as is often the case in families—"about the whole thing." An angry Wojtek finally said he was "going to go" and headed for the exit. His father managed to ask him, "Will you find a place where they respect you more? Where do they love you more? "

At 6:30 PM, Wojtek got into his Audi and drove away. Half an hour later, he was seen at the Korona shopping centre in Wrocław, where he'd purchased a new cell phone that morning. That evening, he sent two more text messages – one to a friend in Krakow, the other to a friend he wanted to meet for a game of billiards. Around 9 PM, the phone went silent forever.

When Wojtek didn't return that night, his parents initially assumed he'd simply decided to spend the night at his girlfriend's to cool off after a fight. However, when she called them the next day, concerned because she couldn't reach him, his family began to suspect something was wrong. Wojtek was usually very responsible.

A very specific, yet misleading, lead quickly emerged. It turned out that on December 15th at 10:50 PM, fuel worth 150 złoty had been stolen from a gas station near Długołęka. The perpetrator was driving a rare Audi 200 – its license plates had been removed, but the car was unlocked with a key. The surveillance footage, unfortunately of very poor quality, shows a person wearing a striped sweater (the missing man was wearing a similar one) and white sports shoes. 

The perpetrator appears to be bald, although Wojtek was very light-haired, and in the footage, his hair color might have blended with his skin. A light stain was also noted on the passenger seat, suggesting a companion. Did Wojtek steal the fuel because he ran out of money to maintain the car (it burned 16 liters of gas per 100 km)? The build was consistent, but the case remains undecided.

The investigation was launched on two fronts. Police investigated, among other things, a possible trip to visit family in the UK. However, the boy wasn't listed on any airline or bus passenger lists. It's worth noting that colleagues from the Audi Poland Club demonstrated great determination, conducting their own street patrols in search of the distinctive car. In December, someone spotted the car without license plates on Litomska Street in Wrocław.

The turning point (albeit an apparent one) came at the end of January 2008. A district police officer spotted a familiar Audi parked on Ścinawska Street, just 350 meters from Litomska Street, where Wojtek's phone had last logged in. The car was locked, had a damaged bumper, chipped paint, a broken headlight, and... a cracked sunroof, completely out of character for the owner, who took such good care of his car. No signs of a struggle or blood were found inside.

Police managed to locate a witness who saw the car on the first weekend of January. He testified that a group of six 18-year-olds (four boys and two girls) got out of the Audi. When presented with a photo of the missing man, the witness firmly stated that Wojtek was not among them. Police are still shrouded in secrecy regarding the details of the investigation.

What happened to Wojtek?

1. Suicide 

The missing man's younger brother (then 13) assessed, in retrospect, that Wojtek may have been struggling with depression. He stopped excelling in his studies, spent entire days in bed or in front of the computer, and his ambition faded. She also noticed that he had become apathetic and was distancing himself from her. Shortly before his disappearance, his mood allegedly suddenly improved—which, in psychology, can signal that the patient has made a final, peace-giving decision. Perhaps an argument with his father (possibly over finances) was the trigger. The problem with this theory? The body was never found, and someone must have obtained possession of the car and keys.

2. Murder motivated by robbery

The rare Audi might have caught someone's eye. Perhaps Wojtek stopped to think about the argument and was attacked? He loved that car and certainly wouldn't have given it up without a fight. The perpetrators could have driven him into the woods and killed him, and later – seeing the publicity surrounding the case – abandoned the car, which had earlier been used by a group of random teenagers. However, stealing fuel on surveillance footage doesn't fit the profile of murderers concerned with covering their tracks.

3. Conscious escape

There were rumors of him defecting to the Foreign Legion, but this scenario has the most loopholes. Wojtek didn't take his clothes, passport, or savings. Above all, he certainly wouldn't have handed over his dream car to strangers and left empty-handed.

Nearly 20 years have passed since that December night. On the day he disappeared, Wojciech (183 cm tall, slim, with gray-blue eyes) was wearing dark jeans, white Nike shoes, a black fabric jacket, and a dark sweater. Somewhere, there are surely people who know the truth about his fate—for example, the 18-year-olds from Ścinawska Street. However, until someone breaks the conspiracy of silence, the mystery of the navy blue Audi 200 will remain unsolved.