Norwegian and German police have several theories between them about what may have happened to Ksenja Bajkalov (22). The German woman died on March 27 found on the shore in the skerries outside Tvedestrand in Agder, and was identified on Wednesday through a DNA match with genetic material sent from Germany.
Bajkalov was reported missing in early October, and the case is widely reported in Germany.
Worked one day
The 22-year-old comes from the city of Hachenburg in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, but moved last autumn to the tourist island of Sylt off the west coast of Schleswig / Southern Jutland to work at the luxury hotel Arosa.
FOUND ON HOLME: The body of Bajkalov was found on an islet outside Tvedestrand on March 27. Photo: Torjus Sundsdal / Redningsselskap
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His hotel career was short; after only one day’s work, she disappeared without a trace on 2 October. She was last seen at 11 o’clock in the employee’s apartment where she lived, and did not bring much other than what she was wearing.
“Only her bubble cap is missing,” family friend Max told the major newspapers picture shortly after the disappearance.
German police have gone wide and wanted the 22-year-old, eventually also in Denmark, as the city of List, where the hotel is located, has a ferry connection to Danish Rømø.
– We’re desperate. Who knows where my sister is? says Tina Bajkalov (30) in the Bild article.
DNA-match
So it took half a year before the body of an unknown woman was found by a hiker on an islet outside Tvedestrand. The remains were partly on land, partly in the sea.
The finding did not correspond to any missing persons case in Norway. according to NRK a few days ago, they received a tip that led to the police linking the body to the German case. And after a DNA analysis, it has been established that Bajkalov is the deceased woman.
The police in Flensburg just south of the Danish border are investigating the case on the German side. They have no idea how the body of Bajkalov ended up on the coast of Sørlandet, but consider it unlikely that anything criminal has happened to the 22-year-old.
PANTS: The dead woman was wearing these pants when she was found. Photo: Police
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– We are awaiting the Norwegian forensic examinations. But our investigation last year made us 99 percent sure that it was not a criminal act of violence, spokeswoman Sandra Otte told Dagbladet.
In the call sent out by the Flensburg police on October 8, they pointed out that the 22-year-old “needs medical help”.
Be a stylist
The family runs a hairdressing and massage business in Hachenburg. In the interview with Bild, Tina Bajkalov says that her sister worked as a stylist before she got the hotel job.
LUXURY HOTEL: Bajkalov managed to work one day at the luxury hotel Arosa before she disappeared. Photo: Hotel Arosa
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– At the hotel she had started to enjoy her new tasks, the sister says.
The big sister further states that Ksenja did not have clear visions for the future, but “lived under orderly conditions”.
Dagbladet has been in contact with the family after the identification of Bajkalov. They announce, via an employee of the company, that they do not want to comment on the matter.
Unclear cause of death
On the Norwegian side, it is the Holt sheriff’s district that is responsible for unraveling what has happened to Bajkalov. Head of Investigation Steffen Wam Schneider states that a preliminary report after the forensic examination is now available.
POSSIBLE EXPLANATION: The map shows how the ocean currents North Sea and Skagerrak can transport objects from Sylt to the southern coast. Map: Lars-Johan Naustvoll / Institute of Marine Research
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– The preliminary report concludes that the cause of death can not be proven, Schneider says to Dagbladet.
The police are now awaiting the final report. But the chances are high that the investigators will never get to the bottom of how Bajkalov died. The body bears the mark of having lain in the water for a long time.
Norwegian police, however, have a clear theory about how the dead woman ended up in the skerries outside Tvedestrand.
– We have conferred with the Institute of Marine Research. If the starting point is List, it is very likely that the ocean current and the wind have brought her to our waters, says the head of the investigation.
Found dead in baby boiler suit
Has happened before
It is not uncommon for dead people to be transported long distances by sea. The award-winning Dagblad article The “Wetsuit Mystery” documented how a remains found on the Norwegian coast in 2015 came from a Syrian migrant who tried to cross the English Channel from France, but died in the attempt. A dead child in a life jacket found on Karmøy in the new year this year probably originated from a shipwreck in the English Channel in October last year.
Investigation leader Schneider states that the Norwegian police are now conducting “supplementary investigations” – they carry out, among other things, toxicological analyzes.
Spokeswoman Otte in the Flensburg police states that the body of the 22-year-old will be sent home to Germany when the Norwegian investigations are completed.
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