According to Brazilian media, the body of a naked Caucasian male was found today (January 10th) off the coast of Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Police believe it may be the remains of 28-year-old Tommy Klak, a German national and Lufthansa cabin crew member who has been missing since January 4th. Local media reported witnesses last saw Klak, disoriented, taking off his clothes and entering the sea Wednesday evening at around 6 pm.
The events that led up to Klak’s disappearance are shrouded in mystery, fueled by statements from police officials, eyewitness reports, and allegations of foul play made by Klak’s American partner, 36-year-old Leonard Pacheco.
According to German news site tag24, Pacheco claims the two men got to their accommodation early Thursday morning and were attacked and brutally beaten for no reason by police officers. The police officers allegedly tried to blackmail him and Klak beforehand. Pacheco later woke up in the hospital with a concussion and a black eye. Tommy was nowhere to be found.
The police admitted to using physical force after responding to a call to the accommodation, where they found Pacheco disoriented and trying to gain entry to an apartment. It’s reported the American tourist refused to comply with the police instructions to be taken into custody. That’s why “weapons with less offensive potential” were used, according to police. Pacheco was taken to the hospital by the police. The officials involved in the altercation were temporarily suspended from duty.
According to tag24’s report, this wasn’t the couple’s first run-in with authorities during their stay in Rio.
The day before the Klak disappeared, police responded to a call at a local hotel. They found the couple confused and disoriented, harassing hotel guests and rampaging the lobby. According to the police, the hotel manager refrained from filing a complaint and asked the pair to leave the premises.
In the early hours before Klak’s disappearance, the police responded to a call from a condominium, where they found Pacheco allegedly trying to gain access to the building through an open window. Officers reported his behavior as highly aggressive. He was taken into custody by the Tourist Service Police Station.
According to sources of AFGCCL, Klak is employed as cabin crew by Germany’s Lufthansa and operates flights out of the airline’s Frankfurt base. He is said to commute to Germany for work from his residents in the United States. Klak’s trip appears to be for personal reasons, as Lufthansa only operates flights to Rio de Janeiro from its Munich base. Not long after his disappearance, his colleagues took to social media, looking for answers to his whereabouts.
