Italy - Liam Biran, 32, Turin, 9 May 2019

[ZaZara]

Senza esito le ricerche sopra Saint-Pierre dell’americano scomparso - Aostasera

Unsuccessful search around Saint Pierre for the missing American

The fire brigade conducted operations with the Sapr (drones) and river unit at the request of the Carabinieri, but apart from the personal belongings found on 1 November, no other traces of Liam Biran have surfaced.

For the second day, the search conducted above Saint-Pierre did not yield any traces that could help solve the case of Liam Biran, the American sommelier who has been missing since 9 May 2019. The operations were conducted by the fire brigade, with the Sapr (drones) and river unit. They concentrated on that area because that is where the tent and some personal items, later recognised by the missing person's relatives, were found on Tuesday 1 November, following a report by a Sarre resident (who had noticed them on an episode of the programme 'Chi l'ha visto?').

In addition to that trace, the editorial staff of the programme hosted by Federica Sciarelli spotted, also in Sarre, a young man who claims to have met Biran at the time, saying he recognised him for sure because of the gap between his front teeth. The objects found in the forest, taken by the Carabinieri (who then activated the fire brigade for further searches, as well as sending the family - through diplomatic channels - the photographic retrieval of the material), place Biran in our region, in the period when his traces were lost, but are not enough to explain what happened to him.

In the reconstruction by 'Chi l'ha visto?', Biran - originally from New Jersey and 32 years old at the time - had been travelling through Europe for about a month. Arriving in Turin from Athens, he had told his family he wanted to continue by train to Paris. He never got there: it turns out, however, that he bought a train ticket to Aosta with his credit card. Those items that have been collected in recent days, more than three years after the events, are, however, the first reports that actually link the missing person and the Valley. Useful, but not exhaustive on the case. The search has been suspended for the time being.

BBM


In this short video, the waterfall from the picture above can been seen. The waterfall is located in an area of difficult access, according to the voice-over of chi l'ha visto.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1588255945305559042

Missing Sommelier: Where is Liam Biran? How and why did he arrive in the woods above #SaintPierre in the Aosta Valley? Did he himself leave his things where a bystander found them? Parents from the USA: "Did someone harm him?"

BBM

 

[dalsglen]

Senza esito le ricerche sopra Saint-Pierre dell’americano scomparso - Aostasera

Unsuccessful search around Saint Pierre for the missing American

The fire brigade conducted operations with the Sapr (drones) and river unit at the request of the Carabinieri, but apart from the personal belongings found on 1 November, no other traces of Liam Biran have surfaced.

For the second day, the search conducted above Saint-Pierre did not yield any traces that could help solve the case of Liam Biran, the American sommelier who has been missing since 9 May 2019. The operations were conducted by the fire brigade, with the Sapr (drones) and river unit. They concentrated on that area because that is where the tent and some personal items, later recognised by the missing person's relatives, were found on Tuesday 1 November, following a report by a Sarre resident (who had noticed them on an episode of the programme 'Chi l'ha visto?').

In addition to that trace, the editorial staff of the programme hosted by Federica Sciarelli spotted, also in Sarre, a young man who claims to have met Biran at the time, saying he recognised him for sure because of the gap between his front teeth. The objects found in the forest, taken by the Carabinieri (who then activated the fire brigade for further searches, as well as sending the family - through diplomatic channels - the photographic retrieval of the material), place Biran in our region, in the period when his traces were lost, but are not enough to explain what happened to him.

In the reconstruction by 'Chi l'ha visto?', Biran - originally from New Jersey and 32 years old at the time - had been travelling through Europe for about a month. Arriving in Turin from Athens, he had told his family he wanted to continue by train to Paris. He never got there: it turns out, however, that he bought a train ticket to Aosta with his credit card. Those items that have been collected in recent days, more than three years after the events, are, however, the first reports that actually link the missing person and the Valley. Useful, but not exhaustive on the case. The search has been suspended for the time being.

BBM


In this short video, the waterfall from the picture above can been seen. The waterfall is located in an area of difficult access, according to the voice-over of chi l'ha visto.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1588255945305559042

Missing Sommelier: Where is Liam Biran? How and why did he arrive in the woods above #SaintPierre in the Aosta Valley? Did he himself leave his things where a bystander found them? Parents from the USA: "Did someone harm him?"

BBM

what a difficult area to search.

 

[LemonMint]

@ZaZara, just wanted to thank you for your attention towards these international cases. You’re doing an amazing job here!

 

[ZaZara]

Video from Chi l'ha visto at link:

Chi l'ha visto? 2022/23 - Sommelier scomparso in Italia: spettatore trova la tenda di Liam Biran - 02/11/2022 - Video - RaiPlay

At around 6 minutes, the man who found the tent leads the reporter and his team to the location of the tent. They hike through the fields and the woods to the waterfall - you hear the noise before you see it. IMO this is quite a hike, and I wonder how Liam Biran found this place or knew about it at all - the group has to cross the stream before they reach the tent.

WHAT is the point of camping there? With only snacks for food and no cooking options? Did he have a sleeping bag? Clothing fit for this environment?

Did he camp there indeed? Or did someone drop the tent and the other belongings on the path? There isn't much space and it is hard to imagine a tent blocking the track.

At the beginning of May, the nights can be very cold in Aosta, and even more so up in the mountains. In 2019, temperatures at the start of May were down to freezing point during the night.

IMO Liam Biran wasn't dressed for that weather (rain & cold) at all. Hypothermia is a possibility to be reckoned with, but in that case, wouldn't he have been found by now?

 

[indicolite22]

Is there any indication that his belongings (e.g. his shirt and backpack) were fond inside the tent? Wouldn't they be in worse condition after three-year exposure if they weren't protected?

 

[ZaZara]

Is there any indication that his belongings (e.g. his shirt and backpack) were fond inside the tent? Wouldn't they be in worse condition after three-year exposure if they weren't protected?

In the first message about the findings that @Romulus posted, it is mentioned that the shirt was found inside the tent.
Italy - Liam Biran, 32, Turin, 9 May 2019

There are also pictures of the backpack partly zipped up, and open.

When the reporter and his team arrive at the spot, the tent appears to be hanging in the bushes, as if someone threw it out of the way.

 

[dalsglen]

After watching that video, I really don't believe Liam would pitch a tent there.

 

[indicolite22]

According to the video, a Sarre resident remembers talking to Liam (he recognized him by the gap between his teeth), so that confirms he was in the area, evidently with a tent. Camping in a secluded spot yet close to a water source seems feasible. It's entirely possible that he wandered off and had an accident elsewhere. I don't think someone harming him would need to go through the trouble of taking the tent up a mountain to dump it. His documents and his iPad could still be with him. The mysterious woman answering his parents' call points in a different direction, although nothing else does. Unless he was on a secret mission meeting someone which went wrong, accident is still the most likely option. (All IMO)

 

[ZaZara]

According to the video, a Sarre resident remembers talking to Liam (he recognized him by the gap between his teeth), so that confirms he was in the area, evidently with a tent. Camping in a secluded spot yet close to a water source seems feasible. It's entirely possible that he wandered off and had an accident elsewhere. I don't think someone harming him would need to go through the trouble of taking the tent up a mountain to dump it. His documents and his iPad could still be with him. The mysterious woman answering his parents' call points in a different direction, although nothing else does. Unless he was on a secret mission meeting someone which went wrong, accident is still the most likely option. (All IMO)

BBM

Already before the tent was found, Chi l'ha visto called for that woman to come forward. At the same time, at least in the tweets, they mentioned the picture of an unknown location that Liam had posted. So perhaps this call for the woman went a little unnoticed. Regrettably, because IMO the woman is more important, I think the location of the picture is a place that he had visited during his trip before he went to Italy, not after he went missing.

Here is the tweet again (the same that you posted earlier):

https://twitter.com/x/status/1586030028009181186

Who was the woman who was answering his tablet? Can you get in touch?

BBM


IMO it is possible that someone simply found the tablet (and more), in or near the tent, or perhaps on a different location. Looking at the items that were recently found, everything of value that could be easily hidden / transported is gone. So maybe someone stumbled upon an abandoned tent, found an I-Pad and thought it was their lucky day.

 

[indicolite22]

Maybe he went on a short hike and took valuables with him. But what did he put them in? He left the backpack behind.

I agree that the picture from his LinkedIn was probably taken before his arrival to Italy.

 

[ZaZara]

IPAD HAS BEEN FOUND!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1589589588657455106

Missing Sommelier: Reporter from #chilhavisto and family investigator also find the tablet and hat of Liam Biran, the American tourist who disappeared on 9 May 2019 from #Turin. Where is he?

All updates in the next episode

BBM

Reporter and investigator returned to the area where the tent was found, and discovered the I-Pad among the leaves.
They also found a book in Hebrew and a hat, presumably Liam's.

The search continues - in the background of the video (upper right corner) people are literally leafing through the undergrowth and chopping branches.

Comments on Chi l'ha visto FB suggest that Liam's remains may possibly be found near. Among other options of course.

 

[ZaZara]

Picture of the I-Pad, taken from the video of Chi l'ha visto?

 

[indicolite22]

If I understood the video correctly, the iPad was found only a few meters from the tent. This could mean that it was hidden deliberately when he left the campsite temporarily so it wouldn't be stolen. It appears that previous searches of the tent area done by the authorities weren't thorough enough.
Perhaps the woman answering the parents' call was a wrong number, but that could be checked.

 

[ZaZara]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1590446640438988801

"As soon as I called his name, the woman who had answered hung up." Liam Biran's mother recalls live from the US the call after the sommelier disappeared. The tablet was found in the area where a passerby reported a tent and other items. Where is he?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1590449330795724800

There was also a book in Hebrew and the missing sommelier's hat, in the area where a passerby spotted the tent and other things. "His wallet is still missing," Liam Biran's parents said live from the US. Where is he?


BBM


Now waiting for the replay of today's programme to appear online. All I can find sofar on RAItv is the programme from November 2.

 

[ZaZara]

Chi l'ha visto of November 9 is now online. The case of Liam Biran is the second item, it starts around 13 minutes.

Chi l'ha visto? 2022/23 - Puntata del 09/11/2022 - Video - RaiPlay

The reporter / investigator indicates where they found the tent and where the other objects were found in relation to the tent. All quite nearby, only the hat was located 50 meters downhill.

The first contact with Chi l'ha visto in 2019 was by email, and in this email is was mentioned that Liam's iPad had been stolen. Liam's mother describes how she came to that conclusion. Liam no longer answered her calls. Then a young woman picked up the call. Liam's mother accepts that she may have used the wrong number (??) but the woman did not say 'sorry wrong number'. She simply disconnected when the mother mentioned 'Liam.' This at least, is what I understood from what was said.

IMO if so, the mother attaches too much value to this, and given the circumstances it is totally understandable, but no one is obliged to say sorry wrong number and many people simply put the phone down when the call seems off, even more so if the number calling comes from another continent. (I know I do.)

The iPad has been found now and is in hands of LE for further investigation.

 

[ZaZara]

Liam Biran, i genitori: "Trovati i suoi oggetti in Valle d'Aosta"/ "iPad scomparso…"

Liam Biran, belongings found in Valle D'Aosta

After almost four years, there is still no news of Liam Biran. The young American man, who came to Europe for a trip, disappeared on 10 May 2019, on arriving in Turin from Athens. Since then, his parents have lost track of him. He had told his mother that he would be travelling to Paris by train from there, but he actually bought a ticket to Aosta. Now the case has been reopened after his shirt was found in Aosta Valley, along with other personal items such as his iPad.

In addition, Chi l'ha visto also aired the testimony of a man who had spotted him in Aosta, and sent him a friend request on Facebook: 'I saw him here. He was on foot, coming up from Aosta. I saw him at 5pm. I'm sure it was him, otherwise I wouldn't have told the police. I looked him up on Facebook that very day. He didn't have internet, I sent him a friend request. There is a B&B there, he told me he was looking for a place to sleep. I called the lady at the B&B but they didn't have a card reader for payment, so I directed him to the bank to withdraw money from. And he said 'OK, I'm going'."

The mother of Liam Biran told Chi l'ha visto: "The last contact with Liam was in May 2019 and we haven't heard from him since then. We knew he was due to arrive in Turin on 10 May. I had no more news, he was always calling me to tell me when he was coming. So I called him on the iPad, I answered and a woman said, 'Hello, who is this?' I said 'Liam!' and as soon as I mentioned it, this person hung up the phone. This is really strange, if I had made a mistake or called another number, she would have said 'Excuse me, you have the wrong number'. As soon as this woman heard that I mentioned Liam she hung up the phone. She was young, not an old woman'.

Liam Biran's personal belongings were recently found in a forest: his tent, luggage (*), iPad and a shirt. His father launched an appeal on Federica Sciarelli's microphone: 'I think it is very important to continue the search and to focus on this iPad to see if there are any photos, calls, emails, to understand what happened from the moment he arrived in Turin and in all those days he spent in this area, all the way to Valle D'Aosta. Three years ago we first appeared on this programme, there are probably new people watching the show now and they can relate to what you have told.'


BBM


(*) Translator's problem: in the original text it is mentioned that the trolley was found. IMO what we have seen in the pictures is a backpack. A trolley has wheels, and of course there are small trolleys that can be carried as a backpack (to complicate matters even further). But I cannot see wheels in the pictures of the backpack.

Most likely the reporter made a mistake, maybe Italians also call a backpack a trolley, maybe whatever. Could be anything, but even allowing for the fact that the press does not show everything, it is strange that LB would be on a lengthy trip to Israel, Greece, Italy and presumably France with what appears to be a small to medium backpack, only a few pieces of underwear and two shirts. No toothbrush, no razor? No spare pair of jeans or other pants? Sleeping bag? The more I think about it, the more likely it becomes that indeed he had a trolly for his luggage... and at the same time, with the videos of Chi l'ha visto in mind, I do not see him walking up those mountains pulling a trolley through fields, leaves and across the rocks of that waterfall.

 

[ZaZara]

Medication! Of course! Where is it, what is it and why wasn't it found?

Liam Biran disappeared days before he had planned to return home.
It was said in the early stages of this case that he did not have his medication for his daily treatment.

However, for the duration of his trip, he would have made sure to have enough, either by bringing it all with him, or by having a prescription from his doctors to use in Israel. Either way, it is safe to assume that the amount would be sufficient for the entire trip.

No medication has been mentioned among the items found.
No medication has been mentioned among the items still missing (shoes, wallet).

Now i wonder what role the medicated may have played in his disappearance and what it was for.

 

[ZaZara]

This Wednesday on Chi l'ha visto:

Also appearing as guests in the studio of Federica Sciarelli are the parents of Liam Biran, the 32-year-old American sommelier who disappeared under mysterious circumstances in May 2019 while travelling to Paris via Turin. They arrived from the United States after their son's belongings were found in a forest.

Chi l'ha visto? Le anticipazioni della puntata di stasera 16 novembre • IMTV

 

[ZaZara]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1593002343179714567

Missing Sommelier: The parents travelled from the US to Italy after Liam Biran's belongings were found in a forest in the Aosta Valley. Why can't he be found?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1593004612788830208

Missing Sommelier: Did Liam Biran arrive here or did someone throw his belongings into the woods above #Saint-Pierre in the Aosta Valley. Where is he?

And where are his wallet, papers, glasses, watch, shoes and black trolley case?

BBM

 

[ZaZara]

Chi l'ha visto? 2022/23 - Puntata del 16/11/2022 - Video - RaiPlay

Tonight's broadcast of Chi l'ha visto. The item about Liam Biran starts at 1.19 minutes.

Liam's parents have arrived in Italy.

The reporter speaks again with the man who saw Liam in Sarre. He does not remember the exact date. He says that Liam had a black trolley. Liam was looking for a place to stay the night. The man called a B&B nearby and asked if they accepted credit cards, they did not. He then directed Liam to a bank.
The reporter speaks with the woman who runs the B&B. She says LB never turned up.

The reporter wonders what made him change his mind?

Reporter and investigators visit the mountain again. If I heard it well, spectators suggested that Liam's belongings could have been thrown into the woods from a higher point.

Red dot in the picture (see previous post): where the items were found.
Green dot: the highest accessible point from where the items might have been thrown.

Liam's itinerary is shown and the reporter has trouble imagining him walking there with a trolley along roads, and later through fields and woods. Reporter and investigators have enough problems walking as it is, without luggage. It gets even worse once they reach the waterfall. Hard to imagine somone crossing that waterfall with a trolley.

From the spot where the items were found, the team tries to reach the green spot up the mountain, and IMO they do not manage.

Wallet, papers, glasses, watch, shoes and black trolley case are mentioned as items that are still missing.


BBM

No update about the iPad, nothing about the medication.
I wonder why LB would have been looking for a B&B when he planned to camp? And why in Sarre?