Five Years On, Belgium Haunted by Jürgen Conings Manhunt

It has been exactly five years since Belgian soldier Jürgen Conings vanished from his barracks in Leopoldsburg with an arsenal of heavy weapons, triggering one of the largest manhunts in the country’s history. On 17 May 2021, Conings — a professional sharpshooter listed on Belgium’s terror watchlist — stole anti-tank weapons, a machine pistol, a handgun, and thousands of rounds of ammunition before leaving farewell letters threatening the government, virologists, and COVID-19 measures. Five years later, the case remains etched in the memory of the local community, and the societal polarization that fueled his actions shows no sign of abating, according to VRT NWS.

The Disappearance and the Manhunt

Conings, a corporal in the Belgian Air Component and experienced sniper who had served in multiple foreign missions, drove to Leuven on the day of his disappearance and spent hours in the vicinity of the home of Marc Van Ranst, the virologist who had become a public face of Belgium’s COVID-19 response. Van Ranst and his family were moved to a secure location under police protection, where they remained until Conings was found.

The following day, Conings left his military decorations on his parents’ grave in Peer — a gesture investigators interpreted as a sign of farewell. His Audi Q5 was soon discovered in the Dilserbos, part of the 12,000-hectare Nationaal Park Hoge Kempen, with anti-tank weapons still inside. What followed was an unprecedented search operation involving approximately 400 military and police personnel, supported by special units from the Netherlands, Germany, and Luxembourg. Helicopters circled the forests, parts of the national park were closed off, and residents of Dilsen-Stokkem and surrounding towns lived with uncertainty for weeks, as Politico reported at the time.

Discovery and Aftermath

On 20 June 2021, five weeks after the disappearance, then-mayor of Maaseik Johan Tollenaere noticed a strong smell of decomposition while cycling in the Dilserbos and alerted police. Conings’ body was found a short distance from where his car had been discovered. The federal prosecutor’s office confirmed he died by suicide using one of the firearms he had taken from the depot, with investigations showing he died almost immediately after arriving at the location.

The case exposed serious institutional failures. The independent oversight body Comité I found that the military intelligence service ADIV had made “serious errors” in handling the Conings dossier, noting that problems had been accumulating for a decade. The report was described as “razor-sharp” in its criticism, according to VRT NWS. Despite being listed on the OCAD terror database as a potentially dangerous extremist with connections to the far-right group Knights of Flanders, Conings had retained access to heavy weaponry. The military subsequently adjusted its weapons security protocols.

A Community That Cannot Forget

For residents of the Limburg region, the case remains a defining local trauma. Local resident Denny Bonnet, who discovered Conings’ car during a morning run, told VRT NWS: “Every time I pass the spot where his car was, I think about it. When we go walking with friends, at that spot they always say: ‘This is where it was.’ Even at the street barbecue, Jürgen comes up every time.”

The Muslim community was particularly affected during the search. Due to Conings’ far-right connections, mosques received security or closed their doors temporarily as a precaution.

Ongoing Fallout

Five years on, the consequences of the case continue to unfold. Marc Van Ranst reports that the hate mail he receives has not stopped — it is, in fact, still increasing. “For a number of people, those conspiracy theories are a religion, there’s no getting through to them,” he said in the VRT NWS retrospective.

In October 2025, seven associates of Conings appeared in court on weapons law violations, indicating that the network of far-right extremism connected to the case remains active. A hunter who filmed Conings’ body received a two-month sentence for harassment of the family in December 2023, as De Morgen reported.

Analysis: A Cautionary Tale

The Conings case highlighted the dangerous intersection of pandemic-related radicalization, far-right extremism, and access to military weapons. It demonstrated how anti-establishment and anti-science sentiment — amplified by conspiracy theories spread by groups like Knights of Flanders — could translate into real-world violence. The fact that hate mail against Van Ranst continues to increase suggests that the societal polarization that created the conditions for Conings’ actions has not subsided.

What to Watch For

As Belgium marks the fifth anniversary of this watershed event, several questions remain unanswered. Has ADIV fully addressed the systemic failures identified by Comité I? What is the current state of far-right radicalization within the Belgian military? And how has the Knights of Flanders organization evolved since the case? The answers to these questions will determine whether the lessons of the Conings affair have truly been learned.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, help is available. In Belgium, you can contact the Zelfmoordlijn at 1813 or visit zelfmoord1813.be.