For nearly a week, Karolina’s name echoed through the city—on posters, in group chats, and across social media. The 27-year-old’s sudden disappearance turned strangers into searchers, her smiling face becoming a symbol of fear and hope intertwined. When she was finally found alive in a small hotel on the city’s outskirts, relief swept through the community like a breaking wave. Yet the discovery brought not closure, but deeper questions about what she had endured—and what she had been running from.
Police confirmed that Karolina had checked into the hotel under a false name and stayed alone for two days. Inside her room, investigators found folded clothes, prescription medication, and a notebook filled with handwritten reflections—evidence of someone trying to hold herself together. “She didn’t run from anyone,” one officer said quietly. “She was trying to disappear from herself.” Her family, overwhelmed with gratitude and disbelief, asked for privacy as she began treatment for emotional and psychological exhaustion.
Those close to the investigation revealed that Karolina had been struggling with personal and financial pressures compounded by heartbreak. In one of her journal entries, she wrote, “I just want the world to stop for a little while so I can breathe.” That single line has since resonated widely, sparking national conversations about mental-health awareness and the quiet despair that often hides behind ordinary routines. Psychologists have called her case a reminder that not all disappearances are crimes—many are silent pleas for rest.
Today, Karolina is receiving care and beginning the long process of recovery. The community that once searched for her now stands as her circle of support, learning that compassion must last longer than a headline. As her brother said in a message to volunteers, “Thank you for finding her when she couldn’t find herself.” Her story, stripped of sensationalism, is ultimately about endurance—and the fragile hope that even from despair, a person can still be found.
A former university student who dropped to a shocking 49 pounds after adopting an extreme “fruitarian” diet in her teens was tragically found dead in a Bali hotel room.
Karolina Krzyzak began the radical diet, which consisted solely of raw fruits, at just 19 years old, becoming obsessed with body image and the concept of “clean eating.” Originally from Poland, the former Leeds University student flew to Bali in 2024, but her health had deteriorated so severely that she struggled to maintain balance or even turn over in bed.
Upon checking into the Sumberkima Hill resort in December, staff were taken aback by her ’emaciated’ appearance, marked by hollow eyes and a starkly visible collarbone, reports the Daily Star. An exposé by The Cut revealed that the 27-year-old was so weak that the night clerk had to assist her to her room as she couldn’t support her own weight.
When asked if they should call a doctor, Karolina firmly declined, instructing the hotel staff to provide her only with fruit and deliver meals directly to her door. Bernard Hudepohl, the establishment’s manager, wasn’t surprised by these requests, considering them fairly typical in Bali due to the island’s reputation for healthy living.
Karolina barely left her room in the following days, although hotel staff regularly visited to deliver her fruit parcels. Occasionally, she would gather the strength to sit on the veranda, but soon even this became too strenuous.
Three days into her stay, the resort was contacted by a local who owned a raw-vegan cafe in Ubud. The local expressed worry after not hearing from Karolina, as they had plans to meet up after previously encountering each other during their travels.
When resort staff went to check on Karolina, they found her lifeless body in her room. Emilia (a pseudonym), a former fruitarian and online friend of Karolina’s, revealed that at the time of her death, Karolina had been struggling with advanced osteoporosis and an albumin deficiency which led to edema and foot swelling.
Born and raised in Warsaw, Poland, Karolina moved to the UK at 18 to study at Leeds University where she discovered a love for yoga and stumbled upon veganism.
On Instagram, she shared how veganism had “opened her eyes” to ‘”so many things,” and she was “grateful” or discovering it. She soon began posting pictures of smoothie bowls and hosting Instagram live sessions, where followers would praise her “nice neck and collarbones.”
Karolina’s parents were very concerned about her
A dedicated ballet and contemporary dance fan, Karolina connected with Daniella Siira back in 2017 and quickly adopted a fruitarian lifestyle that requires followers to eat only raw fruit, despite the diet lacking essential nutrients such as protein, healthy fats, and omega-3s.
When her parents noticed her drastic weight loss, they insisted she return home to address her eating disorder. However, she quickly reverted to her raw vegan diet after a stay at an inpatient facility in spring 2018.
The probe revealed that Karolina had told a friend that her family believed she was :brainwashed by vegans and social media.” Photos posted online showed her alarmingly thin figure, and she even began suffering from tooth decay and yellowing nails due to malnutrition.
“She needed medical and psychological help, and the community often validated her behaviors instead,” a friend commented. Karolina left Poland again in 2024, first heading to Tenerife before ultimately flying to Bali that September, intending to meet with other fruitarians in Ubud.
The young woman suffered from malnutrition
A fruitarian wellness coach who met the former Leeds University student immediately noticed Karolina’s extremely low body weight, estimating she couldn’t have weighed more than 60 pounds at that time.
After several months, friends reported that she could barely stand and had to move carefully to avoid collisions.
Despite her condition, Karolina refused to seek medical assistance and seemed content with her life, according to her friends.
She sought help from health coaches to manage her illness, but was adamant that any treatment regimen must incorporate a raw vegan diet.