News

BRASSED OFFED: Man Found Dead After German Oompah Band Festival

A 25-year-old man who disappeared at a traditional German oompah band festival has been found dead in a lake.

The young man was named as Tobias Dreiseitel by police and he vanished at the Brass Wiesn festival in the municipality of Eching, in Bavaria, in south-eastern Germany on 5th August.

His body was discovered by a swimmer in nearby Echinger See lake on 9th August, according to the police. Police had been looking for him for days and had even deployed a helicopter.

Tobias Dreiseitel, 25, poses in undated picture. He disappeared from a festival in Bavaria on Friday, Aug. 5th, 2022. (Bayerische Polizei/Newsflash)

Tobias went missing after that night’s festival performances were called off because of poor weather.

At the time of his disappearance, Tobias had been wearing a red Hawaiian shirt and lederhosen – traditional long leather shorts.

Police from the neighbouring municipality of Neufahrn bei Freising had said in an earlier statement that Tobias Dreiseitel had “been missing since the evening of August 5th, 2022. The 25-year-old attended the Brass Wiesn Festival at Echinger See in the Freising district with two of his friends.”

They added: “On 5th August, 2022, at around 9:00pm, the friends lost sight of each other. A little later, the phone contact broke off. Since then there has been no trace of Mr Dreiseitel.”

They also said: “When the two friends could not find him during the course of 6th August, 2022, they reported him missing to the police.

Tobias Dreiseitel, 25, poses in undated picture. He disappeared from a festival in Bavaria on Friday, Aug. 5th, 2022. (Newsflash)

“Extensive search measures with the support of a helicopter, the water rescue service, the fire brigade and the rescue dog squadron went into the early hours of the morning without any results.

“At the time of his disappearance, Mr Dreiseitel was wearing a wine-red Hawaiian shirt and brown leather trousers (traditional costume). Mr Dreiseitel is about 175 centimetres tall, weighs about 80 kilogrammes, has a slim build, has brown/green eyes, short, dark brown hair with a side parting, and most recently wore an S-Oliver necklace.”

His girlfriend – named only as Anna in local media – reportedly said that he bought beer at the festival.

During the evacuation due to the rain storm, he was reportedly seen heavily intoxicated at the festival entrance.

Anna put out a call for help to find him online on Friday, saying: “He was hurt. Had abrasions on his arms – it is unclear how serious the injuries were.”

Tobias Dreiseitel, 25, poses in undated picture. He disappeared from a festival in Bavaria on Friday, Aug. 5th, 2022. (Newsflash)

The police are investigating the circumstances of his death and so far treating it as an accident, according to German media.

The festival is a celebration of southern German traditions like Alpine horns, oompah brass bands and thigh-slapping dancing.

The Brass Wiesn festival organisers have put up a message on the festival website homepage saying: “We mourn Tobias. We are stunned and incredibly sad. Our thoughts are with Tobias’ family and friends.”

Don’t miss Our New Story!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.