Who was Peter Bergmann?

I found out about an unknown man today and decided to write a post on him. The case reminded me of one of the earliest cases that got me into these unsolved mysteries: the Somerton man case, or the Taman shud case, as it is also known. (To read my post on the Somerton man click here << )

Both disposed of, or left behind their person items, both were found on a beach, both men are unidentified and were not found in their country of origin, they had both removed the labels out of their clothing. I'm not saying these cases are related in any way, of course.

 This case also reminded me of Lyle Stevik too, as both men checked into a hotel under an alias with the intention of seeing out their final days. (To read my post on Lyle Stevik click here<< )

Before you read this, there is mention of suicide and death. So please do not continue if this is a difficult subject for you to handle. Please alternatively select another post from the navigation bar above. 

If you are having suicidal thoughts, please contact the one following sources of help:

 [ X ] Samaritans (UK)

 [ X ] Papyrus (UK)

 [ X ] List of Hotlines (USA) 

[ X ] List of Hotlines (International)

On the 12^th of June 2009, at around 6:30pm, a slim, tanned man with short grey hair and a deep Germanic accent in his mid-fifties stepped off a bus at Sligo Mac Diarmada station, in County Sligo Ireland.  

He was wearing a black shoulder bag, similar to a laptop carrier and carrying a larger dark luggage bag.

From there, he took a taxi, destination Sligo city hotel, where he would stay for three nights at a cost of €65 per night, which he paid in cash. He had not pre-booked his stay. He filled out the necessary forms to check in, writing down “Peter Bergmann” as his name and “Ainstettersn 15, 4472 Wien, Austria” as his address.

Peter Bergmann would turn out to be an assumed alias and the provided address was nothing but an empty lot.  The name Bergmann is common in the Netherlands and is German or Swedish in origin.

The next morning, the unknown man dropped in at the post office to purchase a book of stamps as well as some air mail stickers. He wrote letters and dropped them into the post box for delivery.

The letters would never be recovered or tracked.

Throughout the duration of his stay at the hotel, the reception staff noticed that he would go out each time carrying a full plastic purple bag and return without it, or possibly concealing it in a pocket having disposed of its contents each day. They reported that he was constantly going in and out of the hotel.

He spoke very little with anyone around him, and kept to himself, usually just gesturing if he wanted something.

The following day, on June 14^th, he was taken by taxi to Rosses Point beach, after asking the driver to suggest a quiet beach that he could take a swim in. After surveying the location, he got back into the taxi and returned to the bus station.

(picture source here)

The next morning, June 15^th, a little after 1pm, Bergmann checked out of the Sligo city hotel. He no longer carried the dark larger luggage bag that CCTV had captured him wearing when he arrived, indicating that he possibly disposed of it and the contents over the course of his stay. He had with him a shoulder bag, a purple plastic bag as usual, and a black carrier bag. Forty minutes later he was captured on CCTV, eating a toasted ham and cheese sandwich and drinking a cappuccino and examining paper from his pocket before eventually boarding the 2:20pm bus to Rosses Point- the same beach the Taxi driver had taken him to the previous day.

Many beach goers noticed him that day. He was fully clothed, wearing a black leather jacket, and dark trousers rolled up to the knee. He was pacing up and down the beach, ankle deep in water, parallel to the ocean. An older couple described how the golden rays of the setting sun shone down on him as he walked. A twenty something couple greeted him later that night, and reported that he simply nodded to them in reply.

On the early morning of June 16^th, Arthur and Brian Kinsella found the man’s body. They were shocked by their discovery but managed to compose themselves and say a prayer for him before contacting the authorities.

The man had no ID, no possessions and the labels on his clothes had all been removed. Despite extensive searches of the local area, including dump sites, none of his discarded possessions turned up.

The autopsy showed signs of drowning. It also noted that unknown man had both prostate cancer and bone tumors, one previously removed kidney. There were no treatment drugs or pain killers in his system.

   

These stills are from a short film about the case, you can watch it here [X]