Fliege (lost episode of German talk show; existence unconfirmed; 1998)

This article has been tagged as NSFL due to its disturbing subject matter.

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The logo of the show, alongside host Jurgen Fliege.

Status: Existence Unconfirmed

Fliege was a German talk show hosted by Protestant pastor Jurgen Fliege between 1994 to 2005. It was considered a controversial show in general, due to Fliege's outspoken views on various topics (like religion and Germany's role in the Yugoslav Wars). In more recent years, however, an alleged 1998 episode has gained a separate and very particular infamy among internet sleuths and lost media enthusiasts due to its supposed link to the so-called 'Teddy Bear Man' case, which concerned a still-unidentified man found dead in 1992 in Hardangervidda National Park, Norway.

Background: The 'Teddy Bear Man' case

On September 12th, 1992, a group of hunters found human remains in the Hardangervidda park, a popular hiking destination just over 124 miles west of Oslo. The body carried no identification and initially even the gender could not be determined, until DNA testing in 2022 confirmed he was a male between 22 to 27 years old. He was dressed and equipped for the outdoors but not for serious hiking; most notable among his possessions was a worn stuffed teddy bear. Provisions including bread, water, some money and other items seemed to indicate he was a German national and further was unfamiliar with Norway, having packed not only a map of the country but extra water bottles despite the park water being known to locals as drinkable.

The young man's plight alongside his poignant companion captured the imagination of the Norwegian press, who dubbed him the 'Teddybjørn-mannen' ('Teddy Bear Man'). Local authorities initially concluded that he was an underprepared German tourist who simply froze to death where he was found, that being 1,200 meters above sea level during a notably cold and rainy summer, even for the region. The timeline cannot be definitively confirmed, however, as several of the items found on or near the body can be dated back to 1991, including much of the currency he had on him. More recent estimates suggest his body had been in that spot for up to two years prior to discovery.

Despite the intense interest in the case across two countries, the official investigation quickly stalled. All open missing persons cases in both Norway and Germany were scrutinized closely, but no match was found. A bust recreating the man's head and face was released soon after his discovery but produced no additional leads. The case eventually went completely cold, and remains so to this day.

The alleged Fliege episode

The Teddy Bear Man's story would remain forgotten until 2022, when the Norwegian true crime series Åsted Norge aired an episode examining the case. Following its release, a person came forward on Reddit to allege that they had seen an episode of Fliege from 1998 on which a German guest discussed how her son had gone missing on vacation in Norway.

Unfortunately, the episode has not been found and hasn't even been confirmed to exist, as both Fliege himself and the network that aired his show (Bayrische Rundfunk) claim that they couldn't find anything matching the purported segment in the show's archives. On top of this, while the possible new lead in a famous cold case was given extensive coverage in the German media, no-one else came forward to confirm having seen the episode, or even to provide further details from memory. Some in the Unsolved Mysteries subreddit in turn either concluded that it didn't exist, or the person coming forward was referring to a different show.

Availability

The search for the alleged interview segment - and, indeed, the case investigation itself - is ongoing, but its existence, and if so whether it was a Fliege episode, or a different talk show episode entirely, all have yet to be determined. According to the show's IMDb page, there are only two episodes of Fliege that can be confirmed to have been aired in 1998 and it is unclear as to whether either of them concerned the 'Teddy Bear Man' case.

Gallery

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  The original recreation of the Teddy Bear Man's head and face (click to enlarge).

True crime YouTuber Lazy Masquerade's video discussing the case.

Lost media YouTuber blameitonjorge's coverage of the case.