My brother is still missing - Vladek’s missing persons story recap
Missing since 11/12/2021, East Orlando, FL
Vladek was living with my dad in East Orlando, my dad left town on 11/5/2021 with me and a couple other family members to go on a trip out of state for 10 days, Vladek elected to stay home. While my dad was gone he tried to check in with Vlad via texts and voicemails but he never answered any of them. When my dad got back into town Vladek wasn’t at the apartment so we filed the missing persons report with Orange County Sheriffs Office. The day we reported him missing my dad posted flyers…the maintenance guy from the apartment complex left my dad a voicemail saying he saw Vlad on 11/12/2021 and he spoke with Vlad…my dad is very hard of hearing so he thought the maintenance guy said that after they spoke he saw Vlad walk into the woods. So that is what dad relayed to the sheriffs office and is what is written in the initial report. But a few days later when my dad listened to the voicemail again, the maintenance guy had said he saw Vlad, they spoke a few minutes and as a side note he mentioned that he knew Vlad liked to hang out in the woods behind the basketball court to smoke/sing and said we should check there….not that he saw him walk into there. The area the maintenance guy was describing is a thin strip of woods and there was no evidence of him being there recently. We have been asking the sheriffs office to correct the information regarding his last sighting in their report/flyer they pass out because it is inaccurate and misleading but they have yet to do so.
In the year following up to when Vladek went missing, he spoke frequently about how eventually he wanted to go off and live in the woods but he said he wouldn’t do that until after my dad had passed away because he didn’t want to leave my dad alone or for him to be blamed by the family for him leaving.
We think Vlad left the apartment sometime between 11/12/21 and 11/15/21 because he was last seen on 11/12/21 by the maintenance guy. The odd thing about the story is that he stopped using his cell phone on 11/6/21, he had unread texts from that day forward. His phone was found dead in his room, the charger cord nearby.
While it appeared as if he left suddenly and did not bring anything. He successfully completed basic training and graduated from the Marines (he was honorably discharged later on). He has survival training. He could have traveled to a trail and began hiking or he could be camping near a trail.
Another theory is that he could have gotten wrapped up into a religious movement or cult. At the beginning of 2021 Vladek had a extreme switch in ideals. He had always been the type of person that strived to have the best phone,clothes,shoes….but at the beginning of 2021 he became hyper focused on Heaven, and very minimalistic…he began giving away money to the homeless and giving away possessions because he said they were distractions from Heaven. He made comments about how he wasn’t afraid of death because he would be in heaven, and that if he could be in heaven today he would. I’m a Christian but this was just a different level.
There have been no reported sightings since 11/12/2021, my family is desperate for information regarding Vlad’s disappearance….we are worried about his safety and wellbeing
Main points to note:
When my dad left for the trip he gave Vlad $100 and a credit card to use, the only transaction that has been made on that card was either the day my dad left or the following day (unclear which day due to how transactions post) for a cup of coffee at FoxTail
He shared a car with my dad, but the car was in the repair shop while my dad was out of town…he never used public transportation in the past and he was very bad with directions…didn’t have GPS on his flip phone….if he needed to get somewhere and my dad was using the car he would usually walk
His phone was a basic flip phone that he only used for phone calls and text messages - he left that phone behind when he disappeared - all his texts were unread from 11/6/21 on…I went through the messages but didn’t come across anything helpful.
He was not a student at UCF or any other nearby campus. However the apartment complex they live at is very close to UCF.
He was not working at the time of his disappearance.
He didn’t have a girlfriend at the time of his disappearance that we are aware of. His only friend that he would have regular text communication with was someone that worked at one of the restaurants he frequented but that person he tried multiple times to reach out to him while my dad was gone and he didn’t get a response from him either.
He has a Facebook and Instagram but they are blank…he never posted on them/used them. There is a chance he could have used them for messaging but I can’t gain access to his accounts so I am unable to find that out.
He shared a laptop with my dad but he hadn’t used that in over a year.
His limited online presence was playing his PlayStation and watching YouTube videos via a smart TV, still trying to gain access to those accounts to see who he was following and if he was messaging anyone on those platforms
He wasn’t into the party scene or drugs/alcohol….the most he has tried was weed
He is well recognized at the businesses/restaurants he would frequent on University Blvd, Alafaya Trail, and Waterford Lakes due to his generosity and friendly personality. He spent his free time helping people in need, he would give money to homeless individuals and have lunch with them/long conversations at restaurants and cover their check. He has a huge heart for people and will strike up conversations with people that he met, he wanted to make sure they felt heard and that they mattered.
We adopted him and his biological sister, Irena, from Russia when he was 5 yrs old but he has no contacts with anyone there and never expressed a lot of interest in going back - the only thing I know about his biological parents is that they had a history of alcohol abuse.
He successfully graduated from the Marines bootcamp Dec 2018, he served a desk job for about 7-8 months before receiving an honorable discharge for failure to adapt - he said it was bringing up memories of his time in Russia.
The night before my dad left for the trip he made comments to my dad about archangels and demons and how you have to be dark to kill the dark (I assume this is what he was listening to on YouTube)…it was all off the wall stuff that didn’t make a lot of sense. He bought a pocket knife a few days before my dad left…he said it was for protection…but the pocket knife was still in the apartment when my dad returned from the trip.
He has never gone more than a day without reaching out to someone in the family. If he was in a right frame of mind at the time of his disappearance he would at least told his biological sister, Irena, that he is okay and not to worry - which he did not.
If he did decide to go off and do his own thing we are fine with that as long as he is mentally well and safe - we just don’t know….we just need to know that he is okay
Ways you can help -
- We have created a Facebook group, Instagram, and TikTok page for him to help spread awareness and to keep others updated on any developments, @FindVladekHasel. Please join them and invite your contacts to join them….reshare his story/photo as much as you can. The more we get his story/photo out there the greater the chance someone will recognize him and come forward with more information.
- We are trying to get his story/photo out there as much as we can, if you know of any social media influencers or Podcasts that will share his story please do so.
- What we have gathered is Vlad was at least listening to a YouTube pastor between Oct/Beginning of Nov 2021 that was putting a lot of focus on Heaven/archangels/Demons….we don’t know who this pastor was but if we can figure out that account it could give some insight into Vlad’s state of mind just before he disappeared. If you are aware of a YouTube pastor with these types of posts along that timeline please send us a message.
- if you are hiking trails or working with the homeless community please memorize Vlad’s face incase you might come across him.
- IF you think you see someone that resembles him please try to discreetly take a picture (If it is safe to do so) and send us a message of when and where the sighting was and call the non-emergency tip line for Orange County Sheriffs Office.
Thank you for anyway you can help with bringing answers to our family We love and miss him so very much
This article gives accurate information on Vlad’s story -
Orlando deputies continue search for man missing for over 80 days
