Inga Gehricke

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Polizeiinspektion Halle (SAALE)

Missing From:

Wilhelmshof (Stendal), Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

Summary:

Inga Gehricke was a German missing person who, at the age of 5, disappeared at a family barbecue in Saxony-Anhalt on 2 May 2015. Gehricke's whereabouts remain unknown. By 2019, no trace of Gehricke was found despite more than 2,000 tips and a 25,000 euro reward. Detectives officially closed the case later that year.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

On 2 May 2015, Gehricke and her family planned to attend a barbecue at a friend's house 30 kilometers west of Stendal, Germany. The house was located in a heavily wooded area. It contained a 100-meter footpath that led from the house to the edge of the forest where the barbecue was supposed to take place. On the evening of her disappearance Gehricke wanted to help her family and friends prepare for the barbecue. Her father saw her carrying two large water bottles on the property's footpath. Shortly afterwards, at 6:30, two children saw her making her way towards the house at the end of the footpath. At 6:45, Gehricke's mother noticed that she was missing. She and the other attendees searched the property, and the adjacent forest, but were unable to find her.

Additional Details:

Thousands of volunteers, cadaver dogs, and helicopters with thermal imaging searched thousands hectares of land around the property, but were unsuccessful in locating her. Police did not initially suspect foul play in her disappearance. However, police later concluded that a crime had been committed after her whereabouts remained unknown by 7 May. In 2020, German detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann suspected that the prime suspect in her case may have also been responsible for Gehricke's disappearance. The man was living in Neuwegersleben 50 miles from where Gehricke was last seen. He had also been involved in a minor car accident in the area the day before Gehricke went missing. However, detectives ruled him out after cell phone records placed him far from the abduction site on the evening of her disappearance. In 2023, detectives from Halle reopened her case. The following year, Gehricke's family collaborated with a beverage manufacturer who printed pictures of her on smoothie bottles in an attempt to generate new leads. The reward was also doubled to 50,000 euros. For May 2026, the police Halle and the BKA plan a new nationwide public manhunt. The new manhunt includes large posters, LED billboards and a planned contribution to the ZDF program "Aktenzeichen XY… ungelöst".

Case Last Updated:

May 11, 2026