Bulgaria has been gripped by a mysterious case involving the deaths of six people in the mountains, drawing comparisons to the US drama 'Twin Peaks'. The saga began in early February when three men were found dead in a burned lodge near the Petrohan pass, each with gunshot wounds to the head. Forensic experts said the wounds appeared self-inflicted, with DNA traces on the firearms belonging only to the deceased.
Last Sunday, police discovered three more bodies—two men aged 51 and 22, and a 15-year-old boy—in a campervan near Okolchitsa Peak, about 100km north of Sofia. Authorities suspect a link to the first deaths. The prosecutor's office stated on Tuesday that autopsies suggest two murders and one suicide among the second group.
Five of the deceased were members of the National Protected Areas Control Agency, an NGO focused on nature protection that used the lodge as a headquarters and ran holiday camps for young people. Some reports describe them as 'forest rangers' who patrolled near the Serbian border. Law enforcement noted the men were involved in Tibetan Buddhism, with a relative citing 'exceptional psychological instability' within the group.
Relatives of the victims have dismissed theories of internal strife, suggesting the deaths were linked to witnessing criminal activity along the Bulgarian-Serbian border, where people smuggling and illegal logging are common. Ralitsa Asenova, mother of one victim, said: 'They obviously witnessed something. For me, this is a professionally committed murder.'
The case has fuelled conspiracy theories, eroding public trust in institutions amid Bulgaria's ongoing political instability. Without a government, the country heads towards its eighth parliamentary election in five years. Former president Rumen Radev called the case 'a political shock and a sign of the country's condition', urging authorities to clarify the causes swiftly.
