While homelessness has always been a huge problem in the United States, in the year 2020 those numbers spiked. Approximately 20% of the population in America are currently experiencing homelessness. Donating to a homeless shelter goes beyond simply providing necessities. It's an opportunity to restore hope, dignity, and a sense of belonging to those who need it most. While many individuals daily give change or food to people on the street, others donate to local shelters, pantries and organizations, only rarely do some welcome them into their lives. For one young man he saw more in the unhoused communities, strangers looking for anything to get by. He tried to do that and more, giving empathy, compassion and heart. A consistent human in their daily lives, they knew they could count on him, until one day he was no longer there.

First, I want to thank Bethany, the sister of Vladek for allowing me to write and advocate for her brother. The Hasel family have been resilient in their fight to bring Vlad home and will stop at nothing until that day comes. Over the years many strangers have joined forces to lend a hand in the search, known as “Team Vladek”.

Bryan Vladek Hasel was born on December 20, 1998. Bryan, who often goes by his middle name “Vladek” , was born in Russia and lived in an orphanage until age five. In 2004 Cheryl and Steve Hasel from Florida adopted Vladek and his sister Irena. A family friend of the Hasel’s was looking for host homes for ten children. Cheryl, who was adopted herself, took interest and wanted to help. Irena was able to spend ten days with the Hasel family and during that period Irena relayed she had a brother, Vladek. Steve and Cheryl started the adoption process for both Irena and Vladek. Within six months, Vladek and Irena were welcomed with open arms by their six siblings, Amy, Cari, Jodi, Jonathan, Bethany, and Kristyn.

Growing up Vlad enjoyed sports, baseball, basketball, or anything that would keep him moving. From an early age he loved helping people. Once a neighborhood kid ran away from home. While everyone was scouring the neighborhood for him, Vlad was sneaking food to the family’s treehouse where the kid was hiding out until Vladek realized he had to tell someone. Vlad loved spending time with his family, family holidays especially Christmas, which he enjoyed most. Vladek’s sister Bethany described a vivid memory in which she decorated Vlad as a Christmas tree one year. Vladek always found a new interest, having an open mind and being a freethinker marching to the beat of his own drum.

Raised in Inverness Florida from 2004-2013. Cheryl and Steve separated in 2011, and Vlad stayed with his mom until 2013 when Vlad wanted to spend more time with his father. He moved to Clermont and lived with Steve through his adulthood. In 2017, Vladek moved in with his sister Cari in Arlington, Texas. This was a calculated move by Vladek as he wanted to pursue his dream of serving his county. He wanted to make sure he was sent to bootcamp in California because the weather was warm and nicer. He knew staying in Florida with a permanent address there before enlisting would have him stationed in North Carolina where much colder weather was rolling in. In 2018 Vladek joined the Marines and in December 2018 he graduated from bootcamp in San Diego, California. After graduation Vladek was given a desk position which was the least interesting. This was not something he imagined doing, his dreams were far bigger than that. To cut his experience short he had relayed to his superiors that this work was “bringing up bad memories from his childhood in the Russian orphanage”. In the summer of 2019 Vladek was discharged under honorable conditions with the reason being “failure to adapt”. By this time Vladek’s father Steve had remarried, Vladek moved back home with him to Florida. After only a few months Vladek moved back in with his sister Cari, who by this time moved to Detroit, Michigan. Vladek loved being around his family and this move provided a new opportunity after his military discharge. While living with Cari, Vladek financially supported his sister and young niece as this period of time was during the Covid-19 pandemic and he had a stable position at a local hospital. During that year Vlad and Cari moved to Nashua, New Hampshire. After only months of the move in August 202 Vladek moved back home with his father and stepmother in Winter Springs, Florida.

During the year 2020, many Americans experienced isolation and depression. This was no different for Vlad. Over the course of the year his mental health was on a decline. Vladek wanted to find a bigger purpose in life for his future and was struggling to find it. At the end of the year Steve and his wife separated and he and Vladek moved from Winter Springs to Orlando into an apartment complex called The Place at Alafaya. Into the new year Vlad’s behavior changed, he would often visit a local church to pray in their “prayer garden”. He started watching YouTube videos of a pastor that spoke about heaven, archangels, and demons. He started becoming uninterested in material items, giving away his electronics and preferring to sleep on an air mattress. He found a new passion, helping individuals who needed it most. He frequented local restaurants, striking up conversations with servers. If he learned they were in a tough spot in life, Vlad would leave huge tip amounts in hopes it could make their day a little brighter. He also started friendships with many individuals of the unhoused population. His family believes helping people who were struggling gave him the purpose he had been searching so hard for. Vlad would often lend cash, purchase food and other items. He would take people shopping and on a few occasions to the movies. He tried to show people there is still good in this world. However, at some point Vlad came into contact with a couple that showed him the opposite, who were trying to take advantage of his kind heart. Vlad was met with persistent phone calls, to which point he ended up breaking his phone. This was a tipping point in communication with the couple. Breaking his phone worked out in his favor though since he was periodically ridding himself of material items and found phones to be “a distraction”. His family persuaded him to purchase a flip style phone to at least have the means to communicate with them in case of any type of emergency.

On November 3, 2021, Vlad purchased a pocketknife and made Steve aware this was specifically for his protection. That same evening the car Vlad and Steve shared broke down while Vlad was driving, he left the vehicle in a parking lot and walked home. The following day the car was towed to a local mechanic shop, it was planned the vehicle would be fixed up and stored there until Steve returned from vacation with his family. The upcoming trip was for Bethany’s birthday in Tennessee. Vladek was supposed to travel with family on this trip but on this day, he told his father he wanted to opt out of the trip. Vlad also made his routine stop at Foxtail Coffee Shop, down the road from his house. During his visit, unbeknownst to Vlad, a customer made a complaint against him. At some point Vlad before taking a seat he emptied his pockets on the table, to make himself more comfortable sitting. The items which contained the pocketknife he had recently purchased. This made the customer feel uneasy and reported it to staff. Since the shop had a zero-tolerance weapons policy, they contacted the sheriff’s department to issue a trespass warning. By the time the police arrived Vlad had left without knowing about the complaint or the call to the police. On November 5, Vlad helped Steve get ready and pack for the trip to Tennessee. Steve lent Vlad his credit card in case he needed anything while he was away. Steve left from the trip around 6PM that evening, while reminding Vlad, he would have a package delivered while he was away and asked Vlad to take it inside when it arrived, Vlad agreed he would.

On November 6, around 8AM Vlad arrived back at the coffee shop, during this time the police were made aware Vlad was back and were asked to issue the trespass warning. Police arrived and had asked Vlad to step outside, without hesitation Vlad agreed. Police told Vlad the establishment was issuing a trespass warning on him but never revealed why. During the interaction Vlad emptied his pockets, the only items on his person were the credit card Steve lent him, Vlad’s debit card and photo ID. In the body cam footage of this interaction Vlad is confused but is also respectful during the issuing. Hoping to gain more insight Vlad asked the officer why the coffee shop had issued the trespass warning, to which the officer responded, “it’s a private business, and they can trespass you for anything, including the kind of shirt you wear”. In hindsight if the matter had been discussed in detail Vlad would have known what he did wrong and would have apologized. After the warning was issued Vlad walked away towards a local convenience store and this footage remains the last confirmed sighting of him.

Vladek entering the coffee shop the morning of November 6.

On November 15, Steve arrived back home. Upon walking to his front door, he noticed the package that had been delivered on November 8, was still outside. Once inside he noticed nothing seemed to be out of place since he had left home ten days prior, food untouched and no dirty dishes in the sink. Vladek’s wallet, cell phone (which was dead) and pocketknife were found in Vlad’s room, but Vlad was not there. On November 17, Vlad’s sister Bethany reported her brother missing to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Vlad’s family started right away, making flyers with Vlad’s information. These flyers listed Steve’s phone number to contact if anyone had any information. Later, a voice message was left on Steve’s phone by a maintenance worker at the complex. He said he saw Vlad and spoke with him for a few minutes on November 12th. He also mentioned he knew Vlad liked to go into the woods behind the basketball court and suggested they check that area as well. This sighting has never been verified. On November 18, Bethany requested surveillance footage from the apartment complex; however, they could only access footage from the last seven days and only law enforcement could have access. The following day police conducted a search around the property of the complex with a red slide shoe being the only item found. Vlad’s family was asked if he wore red slides. They knew he liked to wear slides but were unaware if he owned a red pair. The shoe was sent to have DNA testing conducted, which would later come back “inconclusive”.

On November 20, a neighbor and friend of Vladek, at the apartment complex said he had seen Vladek when he came to his apartment around 3AM on Monday, November 15. He said Vlad asked if he could spend the night, but he couldn’t allow it at the time. Vlad then asked him if he had a gun, he told Vlad he did not and asked why he needed a gun. Vlad said it was for protection against an animal. This sighting has never been verified.

In the coming days and weeks Vlad’s family printed flyers to pass out and post in the area. This interaction could not be verified. Vlad’s family continued to canvas local businesses where Vlad would frequent. In December Bethany and Jodi created the Find Bryan Vladek Hasel Facebook page in hopes of drawing in more awareness. In February 2022 the family learned about the trespass warning for the first time. In April, they put Vladek on billboards across Orange County. During the summer of 2022 there was another ground search conducted around the property of the complex that turned up no results. In September 2022 the family was finally able to view the footage captured that morning via body cam. In the footage Vladek is seen wearing a gray shirt with a black hooded sweatshirt, khaki shorts, black socks, and red slide shoes. The same month Hurricane Ian touched down in Florida and flooded the complex destroying most of Vlad’s belongings.

Before Vlad’s disappearance he had mentioned to Cari’s significant other he would love to travel back to Russia someday. Although Vlad did not speak the native language anymore and no longer had a Russian accent this was something that piqued his interest in some way. While since his disappearance this is something that has been brought up, there is no record of Vlad traveling or attempting to travel back to Russia. His passport was never renewed. Although he had social media accounts, he rarely posted on them but used the accounts messaging features to communicate back and forth. Night Owl Reconnaissance, a nonprofit dedicated to investigating missing persons cases obtained Vlad’s gaming system, in hopes of finding something that could point Vlad’s family in a direction. They were unable to recover anything. In October 2024 Vlad’s case was assigned a new detective. Detective Hunt has brought the family renewed hope in their fight for answers.

Still image of Vlad taken from bodycam footage

What happened to Vladek on November 6, 2021? His father Steve left the day prior on a family trip. Vladek called his sister Irena around 2AM on November 6. During that call there was nothing out of the ordinary and a call from Vladek at this time was not unusual. Vladek was then seen on bodycam footage at Foxtail Coffee Shop around 8AM. After his interaction with the police, he walked down the street and out of view. No one knows exactly where Vladek went from there. While it’s possible he made his way home, there were no signs of that. His clothing, credit cards, or his ID, items seen in the interaction with police, have never been recovered. Vladek’s phone, wallet and pocketknife were found in his room, items that were not in his pockets in the footage. His cell phone was dead, and he never read or responded to any messages on or after November 6. Vladek never met a stranger, frequently striking up conversations with anyone who made eye contact, wanting to get to know someone’s “story”. Vlad could be anywhere in the United States. He is kind, generous and someone that you would remember having a conversation with. Vlad’s loved ones just want to know what happened to him. “If he is off, doing his own thing, that is perfectly fine, we just want to know he’s ok and healthy”.

Please follow social media pages for Vladek

https://www.facebook.com/groups/findvladek/media

https://www.instagram.com/findvladekhasel/

Join Bethany on TikTok every Tuesday for discussion and new updates

https://www.tiktok.com/@findvladekhasel?_t=8gIQUv4lKB8&_r=1

Linktree

https://linktr.ee/findvladekhasel?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=6ea55549-ef9f-413d-ac56-d598ce2d28ef

Light the Way Missing Persons Advocacy Project

https://www.lightthewaymissing.com/vladekhasel

Haley Gray Research

https://haleygrayresearch.com/