The chilling missing person case that still haunts a nation: Man vanished for 30 years – before mysteriously returning home in the same clothes he left

A man who mysteriously vanished for 30 years returned home one day – wearing the same clothes he had disappeared in decades before.

Vasile Gorgos, now 95, a cattle farmer and trader from a small village in eastern Romania, left his house in 1991, to go on a short business excursion, which was a regular occurrence. 

He had bought and paid for a return train ticket in advance, but when he didn’t return, his family became increasingly worried and notified the local police. 

The authorities launched a search, but days without information turned to weeks, to months, to years – and his loved ones came to suspect that Vasile had passed away.

Regular memorial services were held in memory of the farmer during the three decades he was missing – until one day he was dropped off at the gate of his home. 

On 29 August, 2021, three decades after Vasile disappeared, he returned and claimed he had been ‘home’ all this time. 

Several chilling details about the cattle farmer’s mysterious disappearance remain unsolved and the family are still looking for answers. 

Those close to him claim a car suddenly pulled up outside of their home, from which a confused Vasile emerged, wearing the same thing he had been wearing the day he left home in 1991.

The car had apparently sped off too quickly for any witnesses to jot down its registration and Vasile couldn’t remember much. 

His ID also remained in his pocket, as did the single train ticket valid for the Bacău-Ploieşti line, which he’d taken the day he disappeared.

According to YouTube documentary Cold Case Detective, Vasile underwent a medical examination where doctors concluded that he was in remarkably good shape.

‘He was described as being in very good health aside from some neurological issues which were said to be nothing out of the ordinary for his age,’ the programme revealed.

According to reports, Vasile was able to recall that he was born in 1928, that his wife had died, and that he was the son of a famous merchant, but, he struggled to recognise his son and daughter. 

Vasile’s son told local media that he still doesn’t understand what happened to his father. 

He said: ‘We don’t understand him. He doesn’t know what he’s saying.

‘He talks to us about the period when he was involved in raising and selling cows. We ask him one thing, and he tells us another.

‘Who knows where he has been, who kept him, maybe he was forced to work… who knows what kind of life he led?’

Despite being asked what had happened to him, Vasile struggled to recall any information from after he vanished in 1991. 

Without proper evidence armchair detectives offered all sorts of theories on social media, some speculated the willingly abandoned his old life to start a new one.  

Another theory by the Gone, But Never Forgotten podcast, was that Vasile had simply decided to ‘ditch his life and his family’, for a new lover. 

In this case, it is possible that he ‘wanted to make amends with his former family before he passed away.’ 

However one of the most prominent theories is that Vasile was arrested, which would explain him returning in the same clothes. 

The theory suggests that Vasile had changed his name and attempted to run from his past, but it eventually caught up with him and he was put in a jail for 30 years. 

Another plausible theory is that Vasile might have dissociative personality disorder.

This disorder involves having two different personalities, and some psychiatrists have suggested that this may have led to Vasile leading another life for those three decades.

However, the disorder tends to only be sporadic and it’s unlikely that it could last for decades. 

Another worrying theory suggested that Vasile might of been kidnapped and forced to work as a labourer.

With some saying he may have been returned to his family because his deteriorating  health meant he became useless as a labourer.

Meanwhile more outlandish theories suggested he was abducted by aliens and that the government held him for experimental purposes. 

Ultimately Vasile’s family may ever learn the truth of what happened to him.