Hello Everyone,

Well it’s the second to the last blog for now about the disappearing people and this one happens to be a diplomat named Benjamin Bathurst. First off, a diplomat can be one of two types of people or one in the same. A diplomat is defined as an official representing a country, or someone who can deal with an issue in a sensitive manner. So it can be two different objectives or a person representing a country in a sensitive manner. As with Benjamin Bathurst it is one in the same.

But back to the disappearance. A disappearing diplomat can be some concern especially for the country from which he was sent. An issue like this could start wars or close borders, stop trade. All kinds of things could go wrong in a situation like this. So how did it play out, well that’s what we are going to get to.

Who, Where, When:

Well, the “who” was none other than Benjamin Bathurst. He was a 25 year old diplomat from England in the lands of Germany during the Napoleonic wars in 1809. The last known whereabouts of this poor soul was somewhere in, or around, a coach house in a small town called Perleberg, just outside of Berlin.

Jumping to Conclusions:

Yes, I know the case doesn’t sound like much at first and anyone could automatically say that he was in a place of warfare and a diplomat. Two very obvious reasons that he went missing. Right? Well, if that isn’t enough for you, you would also have to remember the landscape and the social unrest from the warfare. There were still French military stragglers throughout the land that they ravaged for years as well as out of control German revolutionaries seeking restitution form the other parties that were in Germany. But how does an Englishman get entwined in all this.

The Disappearance of Benjamin Bathurst:

Benjamin Bathurst was travelling with a companion through the lands when he stopped to get fresh horses. While waiting at the inn or coach house, and let me remind you that no one knew they were there and they used false alias’s, Benjamin Bathurst took leave in a small room by himself. Sources that were with him said he retired there to write and rest up.

When Benjamin Bathurst and his companions were notified that the fresh horses were harnessed and ready. When his companion reached the horses he found that his partner, Benjamin, was nowhere to be found. They searched for him but had no luck. What could happen in such a small little area in such a brief time that no one saw anything?

Aftermath:

Well news didn’t work as fast back then as I am sure many of you are aware. The news of the disappearance didn’t reach England for weeks and by then rumors were already moving around the countryside of what happened to him. Many started believing that he may have gone missing on his own accord.

Some blamed workers at the Inn the White Swan. Others found a coat in the next few months that belonged to Benjamin Bathurst in an outhouse a few miles away. The prices of his clothing would have been reason enough for regular people of the area to sell immediately for the high price that it could yield. So things just didn’t add up.

Rivers were dredged in search of a corpse and the investigations pursued for years. Nothing ever came up. Every time something did, it was simply shot down for very obvious and definite proof.

The thing that gets me is the most recent investigation. Supposedly the most thorough and detailed investigation. I have a hard time seeing how it can be when the case is so old and certain pieces of evidence were never gathered, protected, preserved, or concluded as evidence to begin with. It states that the case of Benjamin Bathurst’s disappearance was much exaggerated and it was a simple murder. Perhaps true. But doesn’t something seem to scream cover up of perhaps a more eerie or formidable reason when someone so much further down the line claims this to be the answer.

Thanks for reading,

Joshua Crane Dowidat