In 1993, Two 17-Year-Old Polish Girls Went On A Hiking Trip And Vanished Just One Day Before They Were Supposed To Return Home

Facebook - pictured above are Anna and Ernestyna
Facebook - pictured above are Anna and Ernestyna

In 1993, Anna Semczuk and Ernestyna Wieruszewska both attended Warsaw High School in Poland. The seventeen-year-old girls were best friends, and both shared a love of mountain hiking.

So, on January 22, 1993, the pair decided to visit a mountain village known as Koscieliska and spend a few days exploring the region.

Plus, Ernestyna, who was very religious, had already spent some time in the area on past church group trips and knew of a place to stay.

And after renting a room at the same place, the girls’ trip got off to a great start. They spent three days hiking, taking advantage of their free time, and Anna even sent a postcard to her parents, sharing her joy.

“I am exhausted, but God be my witness, it is what I dreamed of,” Anna wrote on the postcard.

By January 27, though, Anna and Ernestyna’s parents received news that no parent ever wants to hear. They learned that their daughters had left their room the night before and never returned.

Apparently, the girls had told their host that they were visiting Zakopane, a nearby town, to purchase a return bus ticket. They were supposed to be traveling home the next day.

However, all of Anna and Ernestyna’s belongings were left behind– including their money, documents, and even their camera. On top of that, their warm clothing and raincoats were also left behind.

This led authorities to believe it was unlikely that the girls went for a hike since there was inclement weather affecting the mountain region. And being that the girls had already hiked in the Tatry mountains before, they knew just how treacherous the weather could be.

Facebook – pictured above is Anna

Their host, who was a middle-aged Goral woman, also claimed that she never actually saw Anna or Ernestyna leave. Apparently, the host had been in another building, and she only contacted the local Mountain Rescue Services after realizing that the girls had never returned to their room that night.

So, after Anna and Ernestyna’s parents learned of the disappearance, they immediately called for search efforts.

Police officers were deployed in Koscieliska and surrounding areas to search for the girls; meanwhile, a helicopter equipped with a thermovision camera was also used.

Sadly, though, none of these efforts ever yielded any results. This pushed investigators to suspect that Anna and Ernestyna had possibly crossed the border to Slovakia and run away. But, this theory was short-lived, considering that all of their needed documentation and funds were left behind.

Instead, two other theories surfaced. The first involved an international trafficking ring that was operating in Eastern Europe around 1993.

After authorities looked into this possible explanation for the girl’s disappearance, though, no evidence was found.

And the second theory actually involved the host’s son– who reportedly threatened Ernestyna after she did not show any romantic interest in him.

Police confirmed that the son’s alibi was solid, though, and a search of the host’s house revealed no evidence of foul play.

Interestingly, though, after police canvassed both Koscieliska and Zakopane for witnesses, no one claimed to have seen the girls on the day they disappeared. The only person with a confirmed sighting was the host– who saw them that morning.

Facebook – pictured above is Ernestyna

So, with a severe lack of leads, Anna and Ernestyna’s cases saw no progress for about two and a half months. Then, one night, Anna’s stepfather’s car was broken into.

And bizarrely, the only items that were taken from his car were Anna’s diary and passport– items that, according to Anna’s stepfather, had been left inside a briefcase in his car.

Authorities looked into this as a possible lead and believed it meant that the girls might have still been alive. However, no suspects were ever found.

Still, Anna and Ernestyna’s parents never gave up searching for their daughters. And one day, after Ernestyna’s mother, Krystyna, saw another missing person’s poster of her daughter, she was shell-shocked.

The poster displayed a photo of Ernestyna that was taken just one or two days before she disappeared. Krystyna knew that the image was recent because her daughter was wearing a new jacket that was bought specifically for the hiking trip. This meant that the picture had to have been taken by a resident of Koscieliska or Zakopane and given to the police.

This led Krystyna to contact the Zakopane authorities and ask who they got the picture from. Unfortunately, though, no officers were able to remember, and the girls’ cases have remained cold ever since.

Anna and Ernestyna’s parents have continued to look for answers– even going so far as searching the trains traveling in and out of Zakopane. But, thirty years later, they have never found another trace of their daughters.

If you have any information regarding Anna and Ernestyna’s disappearance or whereabouts, you are encouraged to contact Polish authorities.

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Katharina Buczek graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Digital Arts. Specializing ... More about Katharina Buczek

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