Benjamin Bathurst's mission had been to assist…
November 1809 CE
However, the Austrians had been forced to abandon Vienna to the French forces and eventually sued for peace after they were badly defeated by the French at the Battle of Wagram in July 1809.
Bathurst had been promptly recalled to London and decided that the safest route was to travel north and take ship from Hamburg.
On November 25, 1809, Bathurst and his German courier, a Herr Krause, who are traveling by chaise under the aliases of "Baron de Koch" and "Fischer" respectively, stop at the town of Perleberg, west of Berlin.
After ordering fresh horses at the post house, Bathurst and his companion walk to a nearby inn, the White Swan.
After ordering an early dinner, Bathurst is said to have spent several hours writing in a small room set aside for him at the inn.
The travelers' departure is delayed and it is not until 9 pm that they are told that the horses are about to be harnessed to their carriage.
Bathurst immediately leaves his room, followed shortly afterwards by Krause, who is surprised to find Bathurst is not in the chaise when he reaches it and indeed is nowhere to be found.
The disappearance does not create much excitement at this time, since the country is infested with bandits, stragglers from the French army, and German revolutionaries.
Additionally, murders and robberies are so common that the loss of one commercial traveler (which Bathurst is traveling as) is barely noticed, especially since at this time there are hardly any legal authorities in Prussia.