Quick Facts
The Kidnapping
On September 15, 1981, 10-year-old Ursula Herrmann cycled home from school in the small Bavarian town of Eching, north of Munich. She never arrived. Her bicycle and school bag were found abandoned at the edge of a forest, and her parents shortly received a ransom demand for 2 million D-Mark.
The kidnappers instructed the parents to leave the money at a specific location, but the police's attempts to coordinate the payment failed. The perpetrators never showed up to collect the ransom, and communication broke down.
The Discovery of Ursula
Following an extensive search, Ursula Herrmann was found dead on October 3, 1981—almost three weeks after the kidnapping. She was buried in a wooden coffin in Eglinger Fil'ze, a forested area approximately 50 kilometers from her home.
The small coffin was equipped with an air pipe and a ventilator, indicating that the kidnapper's original intention was to keep her alive. The autopsy showed that Ursula died from asphyxiation, likely because the air supply was blocked or failed. Her death probably occurred within the first 48 hours after the kidnapping.
The Investigation Stalls
Despite a massive investigation and over 10,000 tips from the public, the case led nowhere. Police had limited technical capabilities in 1981, and leads went cold. The statute of limitations for the murder was abolished in 2008, which kept the case legally open.
The Bavarian police, however, never gave up on the case. Over the years, evidence was repeatedly reviewed using new methods as forensic technology evolved.
