BRAZIL - Denis Kopanev, 33, Brit/Russian from London, vanished from AirBnb in Gávea in Rio de Janeiro, 9 Jun 2025

[MsMiniSleuth]

A British tourist has vanished from his Airbnb while on holiday. Denis Kopanev was last seen leaving his accommodation on Monday, June 9. CCTV cameras filmed him leaving the property wearing beige jacket and trousers, a dark baseball cap, and a white shirt.

Kopanev, who has Russian heritage and British citizenship, was staying at a condominium in the neighbourhood of Gávea in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Friends and family members have not heard from him since Monday.

Kopanev, a financial analyst in London, was supposed to travel to São Paulo the following day to meet an American friend. They were then going to travel together to Fernando de Noronha, a volcanic archipelago about 215 miles off Brazil's north-eastern coast.

UK tourist missing after passport and belongings left in room

Friends and family have not heard from Denis since Monday

www.bristolpost.co.uk

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

British tourist missing in Brazil after vanishing from Airbnb

A British tourist has disappeared from his Airbnb accommodation in Brazil, leaving behind his belongings and passport.

www.lbc.co.uk

Brit tourist goes missing after leaving Airbnb as friend spots worrying sign

While on holiday in Brazil, Denis Kopanev walked out of the Airbnb he was staying in and disappeared without a trace, with his family and friends desperately waiting to hear from him

www.mirror.co.uk

 

[starlightstarbright]

His location on his phone after he left the Airbnb was last at Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, near his accommodation, as per the Mirror article. It’s annoying though that the articles don’t seem to give times. Walking out his door and going to a lagoon at 10am is different maybe than at 1am.

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

A British tourist, reported missing in Rio de Janeiro, has been described as a kind and fun person, as his friends say they worry he’s been kidnapped.

Denis Kopanev, 33, from London, was due to meet his friend Diego Garcia Blum in São Paulo on Tuesday but vanished from his Airbnb accommodation the night before.

CCTV captured him leaving the apartment in the neighbourhood of Gávea at around 8pm, leaving behind his belongings and passport.

“There’s something very odd about it,” Mr Garcia Blum, 36, from Boston, told LBC.

[...]

He said: “On Sunday night when he called me, he had just checked into the Airbnb and he was super excited about it.

“He was showing me around the place, giving me a tour of it. He sent me videos of these monkeys going up to him and grabbing his food. You know, he was totally himself until he disappeared.”

[...]

He’d planned to meet up with Mr Garcia Blum for them to add a few days on their trip together and had arrived two days earlier than him.

“When I got there and he wasn’t replying, I thought at first his phone must have been stolen,” Mr Garcia Blum told LBC.

“He's not someone who just wouldn't respond. But then I started to get really worried, and I contacted his best friend who saw his phone stopped pinging on Monday.

“At that point, it had already been over 24 hours.

“The Airbnb landlord agreed that it's very strange. We have him on camera leaving on Monday night and he doesn't come back.

“Not only that, everything was still there. His computer, his passports, everything. So clearly something went wrong.”

[...]

“There’s something very off about it. I mean, he could have been kidnapped and they're trying to drain all his accounts. I don't know.

[...]

‘There’s something very odd about it’: Friends of British tourist missing in Brazil say he was ‘in good spirits’ as they fear he’s been kidnapped

A British tourist, reported missing in Rio de Janeiro, has been described as a kind and fun person, as his friends say they worry he’s been kidnapped.

www.lbc.co.uk

 

[PatLaurel]

https://fb.watch/Ag1ABdkgQg

The video above is also on YouTube but I don't thing CC are available in English.

New and/or of interest info from the video:

Both Kopanev's friends spoke to "Domingo Espetacular".
Kopanev's phone last pinged 7 km from the rented place.
Kopanev would be able to speak Portuguese if in distress and need of help.
Sniffer dogs were brought in to search for Kopanev.
His mother is extremely worried.
Police contacted the hospitals and no one was admitted under his name. ( I suppose unidentified persons were also checked).

On a side note, I'm aware that Rio de Janeiro is not a safe city but, I had no idea that, most of Brazilian people from other cities and states, are afraid of visiting Rio. They seem to don't understand why people travel solo when there is such a high crime rate.
There are also a lot of theories regarding Kopanev's disappearance since it's not the first time a tourist goes missing under suspicious circumstances. But, for now, they are just that, theories.

MOO JMO

 

[PatLaurel]

Mãe faz apelo emocionante por britânico desaparecido no Rio de Janeiro: ajude a encontrá-lo!

"Olga, mother of British tourist Denis Kopanev, who has been missing in Rio de Janeiro since Monday (9/6), has made an emotional appeal for information that could help find her son. (...)"

"(...) Denis Kopanev arrived in Rio on Sunday (8/6) and was supposed to check out on Wednesday (6/11) before traveling to São Paulo and participating in the LGBTQIAP+ Pride Parade. His friends and family are hopeful about the search campaign being conducted by the police and the Brazilian community."

"(...) Disque Denúncia emphasizes the importance of society's involvement in missing person cases, highlighting the support network formed by public and private agencies to solve these complex cases. Joining forces can be decisive in the positive outcome of this distressing search."

There's an audio of DK's mother somewhere, but I couldn't find it.


MOO JMO

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

Concerns are growing as it reaches a week since the disappearance of a British tourist in Brazil.

Denis Kopanev, left his Airbnb on 9 June at around 8:30pm without any of his belongings.

The 33-year-old lives in Southwark and was born in Russia but became a British citizen in 2019.

Footage from the night shows him leaving the gates, wearing a beige jacket and trousers with a baseball cap.

His belongings, including passport and personal effects, were left behind, and he failed to board his scheduled flight.

His friends say his phone has remained off since with his last known location being the west side of Lagoa Rodrigo de Feritas.

https://www.itv.com/news/london/2025-06-16/concerns-grow-as-british-man-vanishes-in-brazil-with-no-belongings

(CCTV footage and ITV News bulletin video on link)

 

[PatLaurel]

New footage of Denis Kopanev the day he went missing.
He is seen running down the road near his accommodation and is no longer carrying the black bag.

https://fb.watch/ApmoExjiFM

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

Still not located?

 

[PatLaurel]

Still not located?

Still listed as missing.

PCERJ

 

[ToriwithoutT]

Rio de Janeiro is dangerous for tourists; most are kidnapped and taken to the hills, where police and ordinary citizens cannot access. PS: I'm Brazilian.

But according to what his friend said in the interview, they prefer to believe he's just lost in the forest.

New footage of Denis Kopanev the day he went missing.
He is seen running down the road near his accommodation and is no longer carrying the black bag.

https://fb.watch/ApmoExjiFM

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

Has this gone cold? Nothing at all since June.

 

[Seni]

Body is found by police searching for missing Brit in Brazilian forest

London-based finance manager Denis Kopanev, 33, mysteriously vanished on Monday, June 9 in Gavea, Rio de Janerio and a body has now been found.

www.dailymail.co.uk

(....)

Local police said today a body was found on Tuesday morning in a remote area in the Tijuca forest, south of Rio after a gruelling search.

Kopanev's wallet was found next to the body, which was discovered in an advanced state of composition, but a forensic examination will soon be carried out to confirm the identity, Brazilian news outlet G1 reports.

Police believe he may have suffered an accident and died while hiking along a trail.


(...)

 

[PatLaurel]

Body is found by police searching for missing Brit in Brazilian forest

London-based finance manager Denis Kopanev, 33, mysteriously vanished on Monday, June 9 in Gavea, Rio de Janerio and a body has now been found.

www.dailymail.co.uk

(....)

Local police said today a body was found on Tuesday morning in a remote area in the Tijuca forest, south of Rio after a gruelling search.

Kopanev's wallet was found next to the body, which was discovered in an advanced state of composition, but a forensic examination will soon be carried out to confirm the identity, Brazilian news outlet G1 reports.

Police believe he may have suffered an accident and died while hiking along a trail.


(...)

If it was an accidental fall, it must have happened the same night he was seen on the surveillance camera. It’s sad the dogs didn’t pick up his trail, maybe he could’ve been saved. Or maybe the fall was just too brutal to survive. Tragic.

MOO JMO

 

[PatLaurel]

Something I just noticed while rereading the initial reports about his disappearance, what I initially thought was a trash bag is his Sandro belt bag (wallet). When DK is seen running down the street, he no longer seems to have the bag with him. I wonder if LE also found his phone? I assume not, or they would have found him sooner.
Maybe it wasn’t an accident!? Hopefully the autopsy will tell.
MOO JMO

 

[PatLaurel]

This other article states that the body was face down in a stream and above him was a large boulder.

Civil usará raio-x de crânio de russo para comprovar que corpo achado é o dele

"The body, which was in an advanced state of decomposition, was found by a local woodsman, who noticed a bad taste in the water of a stream and followed the trail."

"Rio's Civil Police also had access to data from the ring worn by Russian Denis Kopanev to monitor his body's functions, including heart rate and temperature."

"The graphs show that Denis remained in constant movement after leaving the house where he was staying, until around 10:30 pm — the time of the last recording made by the device.
From that point onwards, the ring markers stop abruptly, which, according to the police, could indicate that Denis suffered a sudden illness or was the victim of an accident."

 

[PatLaurel]

More details here: Anel que monitora sinais vitais indica que russo sofreu mal súbito ou acidente

"Police analyzed footage of his time in Rio and interviewed witnesses who met Denis Kopanev. One of them was a man who arranged a meeting with the tourist through a dating app. The two spent the night together.

In the footage, the two can be seen arriving at the tourist's rented house in the early hours of the morning. According to the testimony, the Russian had allegedly consumed a large amount of drugs.

Denis disappeared on his second night in Rio. He had ordered a ride-hailing service before leaving home, but canceled the ride. He decided to walk along the forest trail toward Vista Chinesa, an area of dense forest and rugged terrain."

Still no mention of his phone.