Was she kidnapped?

Creepy emails—from a missing woman in Styria

Michaela B. is believed to have boarded a train at the Wildon station. She has been missing ever since.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Martina Prewein und zVg)

On February 13, a woman from Styria went to a train station. Since then, the mother of four has been reported missing. Now, strange messages have been sent in her name, including to the criminal investigation department. Did they actually come from the woman? Or were the messages written by someone else?

When Michaela B. left her apartment in Sankt Georgen an der Stiefing, Styria, sometime on Friday, February 13, 2026, nothing—absolutely nothing—suggested that she would be gone for an extended period.

She probably seemed unremarkable, with her understated appearance and her clothing in muted colors. And the fact that she was carrying a gym bag likely didn’t strike anyone as unusual either. Why should it? Locals who knew her reasonably well were aware that the 48-year-old often enjoyed taking short getaways. To the mountains. To hike.

She left her son and her dogs at home
It’s just strange, though, that she didn’t mention anything about an upcoming trip to a neighbor—her best friend—during a conversation on February 12—and even stranger that she hadn’t even told her son Christoph about it. The 19-year-old was still living with her.

Christoph and Emely, Michaela B.’s oldest children: “Mom, please contact us personally or the police!”(Bild: Martina Prewein)

“Like every week,” the apprentice said, “I came home from the vocational school’s dormitory that Friday evening,” believing he would—as always—find his mother at home. But that wasn’t the case.

“What struck me immediately: Her four Chihuahuas—one of the dogs is pregnant—must have been left unattended for many hours.” This didn’t fit the usual behavior of the dog breeder—a structural engineer by profession. “Which is why I was quite worried.”

A feeling that intensified on Saturday. Because there was still no sign of Michaela B. And the fear that something terrible might have happened to her grew more agonizing with every passing minute.

A missing persons report filed with the police; a notification sent to the organization “Österreich findet euch,” requesting that a large-scale search appeal be launched via social media.

“I didn’t leave of my own free will”
What happened next could be the stuff of a crime thriller. A crime thriller—one that is, however, real, and which the criminal investigation department is now looking into. Because there is evidence that the 48-year-old may be being held captive by someone, somewhere.

The reason for this terrible suspicion: Recently, alarming emails arrived at the Styrian State Criminal Police Office and at “Österreich findet euch”; sent from an anonymous server in a neighboring country, in the name of the missing woman: “I did not leave of my own free will. But stop searching for me.”

Did Michaela B. write the messages herself? Or was it someone else? It is reasonable to assume that if she is still alive, she must be in a distressing situation. What triggered this? Answers may be found in the woman’s history.

Perhaps the messages were written by the woman under duress. Or perhaps even by someone else.

Christian Mader, Leiter des Vereins „Österreich findet euch“

Bild: SCHWARZENEGGER

Complicated family circumstances
Now they’re both sitting at a table—the children of the structural engineer from her first marriage: Christoph and Emely. “At first, we feared Mom might have taken her own life,” the student (20) sobs. Why? “Because of her complicated family circumstances. After her early divorce from our dad, she remarried.”

But that relationship also fell apart quickly; the two daughters from that marriage—“our half-sisters”—stayed with their mother afterward until the girls decided to move in with their father. Why? “We don’t know,” say Emily and Christoph, “we only know that there was a bitter custody battle.” Which the structural engineer ultimately lost in January.

She searched the internet for a partner
That’s exactly why “we initially thought it was an act of desperation.” Although suicide “wouldn’t fit with our mom.” With her “generally positive outlook.” With her “unshakable hope” for a wonderful future in a shared life.

The structural engineer and part-time dog breeder’s great hobby: climbing mountains(Bild: zVg)

One thing is certain: The 48-year-old searched almost doggedly for a “dream partner”—online, through various dating sites. “She came into contact with a few men this way, but a real connection never developed with any of them.” Christoph and Emely’s worst suspicion: “Was our mother lured into a trap by an acquaintance—and subsequently kidnapped?”

The siblings have long since searched through their mother’s drawers: “A few—very few—pants, T-shirts, socks, and underwear are missing. Her passport, her driver’s license, and apparently some cash as well.” A few thousand euros, the two estimate.

Her trail goes cold—on a train platform
Michaela B. had apparently packed all these items into her gym bag before she—as was already determined with the help of tracking dogs—went to the station in Wildon, which has no video surveillance. Probably to board a train there. But with what destination, with what plan?