Bieliniec, Tarnobrzeg. 16-year-old Michał went missing after a disco. Investigators will check the body of NN

Annually, Polish police find the bodies of about 700 people of unknown identity. The data of some of them cannot be determined, they are buried in unmarked graves as NNs. Investigators want to check whether one of these people is 16-year-old Michał Karaś, who went missing on the night of August 19-20, 2000 in Bieliny, Podkarpacie.

For this purpose – as Marcin Kurdziel, head of the investigative department of the District Prosecutor's Office in Tarnobrzeg, tells us, investigators secured several items belonging to the mother of the missing 16-year-old, including an old coat and a fur coat. – Michał's siblings no longer have Michał's things from which DNA material could be secured, but his deceased mother's things have survived, including, among others, a coat and a fur coat, which no one has worn since the woman's death. There is therefore a high probability that DNA material will be extracted from them for further comparative tests – prosecutor Kurdziel told us.

– Experts have analyzed the fur and other secured items, we are waiting for the results of their tests – he said in an interview with tvn24.pl.

At the same time, investigators obtained from the Central Forensic Laboratory of the Police data on approximately 1,500 men of unknown identity whose bodies were found throughout Poland after the night of 19–20 August 2000, when Michał Karaś was last seen.

– We received information about each death. It contains a description of the deceased person and their approximate age, sometimes also biological material, which is currently standardly collected in the case of finding a body of unknown identity. Years ago, it was different – explains our interlocutor.

He adds. – We are currently focusing on analysing information about the bodies discovered after Michał's disappearance, because if we were to find his body, it would be a turning point in the investigation.

Investigators are also waiting for the results of the analysis of the note that the brother of the missing Michał, Andrzej Karaś, left On May 26, he found under one of the candles on their mother's grave. – It was small, folded in four. Someone wrote the name “Michał” on it with a blue pen, and next to it the name and surname of another man and the name of the town – Andrzej Karaś described in an interview with tvn24.pl. It had been lying under the candle for no more than two weeks, because – as he told us – on May 15 – their mother's name day – he was at the cemetery with his sister and there was no note there.

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The card was sent to the forensic laboratory in Rzeszów for examination in order to reveal any possible dactyloscopic traces – fingerprints and biological traces. – We are waiting for the expert opinion in this case – prosecutor Marcin Kurdziel told us.

The investigators already know who the man whose name and surname are on the note is. The police have identified this person, but are not revealing his personal details. It is only known that the man lives in the Podkarpacie region. Now the investigators are determining whether he may be connected to the disappearance of Michał Karaś.

The man has not yet been questioned.

Investigators do not know who left the note at the cemetery and for what purpose.

Investigators also plan to inspect the building of a former disco in Bieliny in the Podkarpacie region, where 16-year-old Michał was last seen, and the area adjacent to it. It is not yet known what the nature of these activities will be, or when they will take place. Do such activities make sense after so many years?

– According to our information, the building was rebuilt. Finding any traces after such a long time will be very difficult, almost impossible, but such actions have also been planned by the prosecutor and at the moment everything indicates that they will take place – prosecutor Marcin Kurdziel tells us.

– We are investigating many threads in this case, taking into account various hypotheses, checking every lead. We also have planned activities, which at the moment I cannot talk about for the good of the investigation. We are doing everything we can to solve the case of Michał's disappearance – adds the investigator.

Investigation into the murder of Michał Karaś was initiated on September 28, 2023 by the District Prosecutor's Office in Nisko. On October 16, the case was taken over for further proceedings by the District Prosecutor's Office in Tarnobrzeg. As its spokesman Andrzej Dubiel told us at the time, this was due to the “importance of the case.”

The case was initiated after the sister and brother of the missing 16-year-old filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office. Michał's siblings believe that the boy may have been the victim of a crime.

– We believe that Michał could have been murdered – Bożena Martyna, the sister of the missing teenager, told us. – Michał was a responsible person, he did not cause any behavioral problems. He took care of his sick father, helped on the farm. He had never failed to return home at night before. He was not a confrontational person, he had no enemies – she pointed out.

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– We are also convinced that he did not take his own life or run away. When he left home, he did not take anything with him, no documents, money, clothes – she reported in an interview with tvn24.pl.

The prosecutor’s office has already questioned several dozen witnesses, including siblings and friends with whom Michał partied on the night of 19-20 August 2000 at a disco in Bieliny.

Investigators are also analyzing criminal records of people who may be connected to the case.

The plan also includes questioning Marek K., who was the owner of the disco at the time and who is currently serving a sentence for, among other things, leading a criminal group.

The case of the disappearance of Michał Karaś was described extensively on the tvn24.pl portal in early September 2023. The boy lived with his sister and father in Bieliniec, a small village in the Podkarpacie region. On Saturday, August 19, 2000, he and a group of friends went on a bike ride to a disco in Bieliny, four kilometers away, and disappeared without a trace. The family initially searched for the boy on their own, and on Monday they reported the disappearance to the police.

It was not possible to establish much in this case, and the police from Nisko, who conducted the activities in this case, provide very brief information about the activities themselves. Staff Sergeant Katarzyna Pracało, press officer of the District Police Headquarters in Nisko, informed us that in the case “a number of people were questioned and interrogated, the received content was analyzed and verified.”

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The thread of the “mysterious blonde” with whom the 16-year-old had been partying at the disco on the fateful evening was investigated. According to witness accounts, cited by the police, Michał allegedly left the disco with her, got into the car and drove away in an unknown direction. The police also considered the version that he was “pulled” into the car, because that was what witnesses reported. It was not possible to determine the identity of the young woman, the make and color of the car, or the direction in which he was supposed to drive away. The case of Michał Karaś's disappearance has remained a mystery for 23 years.

– We would like to appeal to all people who have any information on Michał's disappearance, even information that may seem trivial or insignificant, to contact the police and the prosecutor's office. Any information, even the smallest one, can bring a breakthrough and push the investigation forward. We care about this very much. For 24 years, we have been waiting for the mystery of our brother's disappearance to be solved – appeals Bożena Martyna, sister of the missing Michał Karaś.

People who have information about the missing Michał, were at the disco in Bieliny on August 19, 2000, or may have important information in the case are asked to contact the police – you can come in person to the District Police Headquarters in Nisko, call the phone number 47 826 33 10contact the District Prosecutor's Office in Tarnobrzeg at the following number: 15 866 81 11 or the ITAKA Foundation, which is conducting a search for Michał at the number 22 654 70 70.

Investigators guarantee informants anonymity.