Ship That Vanished 7 Years Ago Discovered With Mummified Captain

By: Mia Williams | Last updated: Nov 05, 2023

Although these mystifying tales are no longer as prevalent, some strange occurrences over the years often raised questions about the mysterious things that happen in the ocean. One of these events is the mysterious discovery of the mummified body of a German Captain, Manfred Fritz Bajorat, which left the world in shock.

A long time ago, in the times when pirates tyrannized the sea, many stories of haunted ships and eerie sea occurrences became popular. Sometimes, these tales were so mysterious they defied logic, and voyagers who experience these often ascribed them to the supernatural.

1. A Perfect Day For Fishing

The day had started quite well and with clear skies and calm seas, Christopher and his friends knew they had the perfect weather for fishing. However, the group was 40 miles off the shore when they sighted something unusual in the sea that piqued their interest.

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Source: Discovery Australia/ YouTube

A group of fishermen including 23-year-old Christopher Rivas residing in P-4 Poblacion in the town of Borabo decided to go fishing.

2. A Ship in Distress

Christopher and his friends spotted a white yacht named “Sayo” with a view that passed it off as one needing help. After approaching the ship, they realized its broken mast and a partially sunken hull.

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Source: Discovery Australia/ YouTube

The group knew something must have gone terribly wrong and this pressed them further to check inside to know what was happening. However, as soon as they entered the cabin, they found something strange and unexpected.

3. A Mummified Body

The day which had started perfectly for Christopher and his friends took a chilling turn when the group discovered a mummified body inside the yacht after they had boarded it.

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The unexpected sight of the mummified body sent chills down the spine of the fishermen and it also encouraged Christopher to instantly inform the police of what he and his friends discovered 40 miles from the Philippine island of Mindanao.

4. Police Arrive To Help

After arriving on the scene the police quickly went to work trying to identify the strange mummified body but surprisingly it didn’t take them long to pinpoint whose mummified body they had just discovered.

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Source: Discovery Australia/ YouTube

Thanks to a few documents strewn together on board and a couple of photographs, the authorities quickly identified the body belonged to a veteran sailor named Captain Manfred Fritz Bajorat. However, how he got there remained a mystery.

5. A Mysterious Note

Due to the mysterious circumstances surrounding the discovery of the body, the police were shocked when they discovered an ominous note left behind that added more mystery to the death of the sailor.

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Source: Discovery Australia/ YouTube

The mysterious note read, “Thirty years we’ve been together on the same path. Then the power of the demons was stronger than the will to live. You’re gone. May your soul find its peace. Your Manfred.”

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6. An Investigation into the Mummified Body

After identifying the body, the authorities decided to conduct an autopsy of Manfred’s death and to determine if there was any foul play involved in his demise. However, the autopsy result dismissed all the suspicions of foul play, and it solved a part of the puzzle.

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According to the national police spokesman at the time Chief Superintendent Wilben Mayor, Manfred died of myocardial infarction based on the autopsy by the regional crime laboratory.

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7. The Ocean Mummified the Body

The state in which Manfred’s body was discovered shocked everyone because mummification requires certain procedures but in Manfred’s case it looked to have happened mysteriously.

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Source: Discovery Australia/ YouTube

These questions were answered by Peter Vanezis, a forensic pathology professor at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Surgery. According to him, the air, heat, and the sea’s saltiness all contributed to the natural mummification of Manfred’s body. However, questions remained about why he was sailing alone.

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8. Introducing Captain Manfred Fritz Bajorat

Captain Manfred Fritz Bajorat was a veteran sailor who had sailed the ocean for over 20 years tallying over half a million nautical miles at sea. Manfred enjoyed voyaging around the world with his wife.

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Sadly, their shared passion ended when they got divorced in 2008. Two years after their split, his ex-wife tragically died of cancer, and his daughter got a job as the captain of a freight vessel.

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9. Manfred’s Daughter Identified His Body

During the investigation and in a bid to inform Manfred’s family about his unfortunate demise, they successfully reached through to his daughter, Nina. Nina flew out to Barobo to identify the body found to be her father’s.

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Source: New York Daily News/ YouTube

Afterward, she revealed that he had made the ocean his permanent home since his marriage with her mother split apart. Her work as the captain of a freight vessel also meant she didn’t see him much.

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10. Manfred Was Lonely and Depressed

The death of his wife who had accompanied him on different adventures and not seeing his daughter reportedly culminated in Manfred’s decision to stay on the sea for years.

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Speculations after Manfred’s death indicated that he had gotten depressed from the twist of fate in his supposed happy family. When it felt like he lost the sense of the love he enjoyed around his family, he resolved into loneliness.

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11. The Mysterious Note Was A Tribute

Although different questions surrounded the discovery of the ominous note by Manfred, however, the perspectives changed when details about his personal life came to light.

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However, many believed that Manfred wrote the tribute after he learned of his ex-lover’s demise. They also stated that the sailor was most likely on a voyage when she died since the last time some reports claimed sighting him was in 2009 at Mallorca, Spain.

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12. Manfred Had Been Missing For Seven Years

At the time Mafred’s body was discovered the veteran sailor had not been sighted anywhere in almost seven years!

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Source: Bargo Explores Mysteries/ YouTube

After the police discovered his mummified body, they retraced Manfred’s journey and discovered he was last seen in Mallorca, Spain in 2009, seven years before his body was discovered in the Philippines. The police also successfully tracked down the man he talked to so that they could identify his possible route.

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13. Manfred Found Solace At Sea

During the investigations, a couple of people affiliated with the late captain spoke after the authorities confirmed the mummified body as that of Manfred Fritz Bajorat.

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Source: Discovery Australia/ YouTube

The deceased’s friends confirmed his love for adventurous sailing and the feel of sea weather on him. His neighbors also shared that he was overly obsessed with the sea and that he moved- with his family- into a houseboat so he could be closer to the waves.

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14. The Yacht Was His Home

Apart from finding the note written to the woman he loved, other items retrieved from the yacht predominantly included photographs of Manfred, his family, and loved ones.

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A particular picture featured Manfred and a woman, presumably, his ex-wife, holding a baby, captioned, “Our first time with our little Button on the sea.” Other items restored from the ship included many canned foods and the clearance document for his beloved yacht “Sayo.”

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15. Manfred’s Last Voyage Started in 2018

Manfred started his last voyage On August 1, 2008, he started by boarding a Hyundai Renaissance Freighter and sailed across the equator from Singapore to Durban, South Africa.

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Source: Bargo Explores Mysteries/ YouTube

Following his successful voyage, he reached a new milestone in his sea tour and headed to the Spanish Island of Mallorca where he was last seen talking to a man. His journey from that point onwards remains a mystery up until he was found in the Philippines.

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16. Manfred Came In Contact With The Police During His Voyage

After careful inspection of the clearance documents for “Sayo” which was retrieved in the yacht’s cabin, the authorities discovered that police passed it sometime in 2013 at either the “Sao Vicente,” in Cape Verde, or “Sao Vicente,” in Brazil.

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Source: Bargo Explores Mysteries/ YouTube

No one mentioned recognizing or seeing him during the period of clearance stated in the documents. Manfred was still alive and well during these periods and his yacht was in a good state.

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17. Manfred Was Active On Social Media Before His Death

Although no one came in contact with the sailor during his latter years on his voyage, Manfred often posted adventure updates on his Facebook page and replied to birthday wishes from people during that period of his life.

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Source: Bargo Explores Mysteries/ YouTube

His decision to not return home was also attributed to Manfred finding solace and enjoying some lonesome sea adventures on his own; he wanted it that way.

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18. The Ship Broke After His Death

During the police investigation into Manfred’s path before his death rumors started swirling that Manfred was inexperienced, which might have caused him to sail into a storm.

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However, during his time in Mallorca, Manfred impressed many sailors with his skills including a Mallorcan sailor called Dieter, Dieter who remarked, “He was a very experienced sailor. I don’t believe he would have sailed into a storm. I believe the mast broke after Manfred was already dead.”

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19. Manfred Tried To Call For Help

The police, during the extraction of Manfred’s mummified body, noticed the ship’s radio where he died. This factor indicated that he had made some calls from the yacht that were assumed unsuccessful. Checking the logs, the last time he dialed a number dated back seven days before they found him.

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According to a forensic criminologist, Manfred’s sitting posture revealed that his death was certainly unexpected — with his arm and head slightly resting on the table — as he made a last desperate call for help.

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20. Captain Manfred Bajorat’s Final Rites

After confirming the mummified body to her father, Manfred’s daughter Nina got custody of her father’s body for additional rites and his funeral. She reportedly shared that she would cremate his body in Phillippine, then take his ash back to Germany for final rites.

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Source: New York Daily News/ YouTube

Captain Manfred Bajorat lived his life following his passion for the sea and according to the late Captain’s friend from his home in Twisteden, Germany, the legendary sailor deserved applause for the courage to follow his heart.

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