Welcome to Mysteries of the Missing, a podcast and blog about missing person's cases. You can find my podcast, my blog, and my social media pages on my Linktree at: https://linktr.ee/MysteriesoftheMissing.
Keep in mind that I am only reporting the events of what have happened, per my research through various media outlets. I’m not trained in any way in true crime. Instead, I'm a published author who loves to blog. Also, I’m solely a human being that’s trying to do my part to get the message of the story of Bryan "Vladek" Hasel out there so that one day, hopefully, he may be found, and his case may be solved. Join me as I dive into the last day that people saw Bryan, and what happened after he was last seen.
Side note: I took a reset break from podcasting and I am now ready to go. again The podcast will be produced by me from now on, and my blog will continue to be written by me. This means that the sounds on my podcast will be less edited. I guess that's a good thing, as what you hear is what you'll get. Also, I want to let you know that I will be taking a break next week, December 31-January 7, for New Years. You can expect the next episode and blog entry, number twelve, to be published the week of January 8. Going forward, I will be taking a break and there will be no podcast episodes or blog entries around all major holidays. Thanks for understanding.
Warning: This blog post contains details about PTSD, mental health, and drug and alcohol abuse. Listener be advised.
Today, we're covering the case of Bryan "Vladek" Hasel, missing from Orlando, Florida since November 6, 2021. My husband and I are originally from Houston, Texas, but we have been living in the Orlando area for about four years. This city is generally safe, but we do know which parts to avoid after hours. Every city has places you don't want to go when the sun goes down, usually it's the center of the city, and Orlando is no different. However, in 2021, violent crimes were only 8 people per 1,000, which is a drop in the bucket. While Orlando surpasses the Florida crime rate (at a rate of 1 per 121 people versus 1 per 255 people), I have never felt unsafe in this city. Unfortunately, Orlando is rated a 4 out of 100, with 100 being the safest, by Neighborhoodscout.com.
The following information is from Satori Good and Haley Gray, with assistance from Whitney St. Andre (from Navigating Advocacy), and has been fact checked by the family:
Vladek was born on December 20, 1998 in Russia. He lived at an orphanage in Moscow, along with his older sister Irena until the two of them were adopted in 2004 by Florida family Steve & Cheryl Hasel. Bryan was a brother, a son, and a former Marine. Bryan's name was initially "Vladek," so he would go by that name sometimes. Vladek was known to be talkative and extroverted, and he loved hanging out with friends and riding horses. Vladek was always playing sports: soccer, T-Ball, and basketball. He even, at one point, played peewee football. He is a busy body, never one to sit still or stay in one spot for very long.
According to his sister, Vladek is an extremely talkative and outgoing person. He doesn't know a stranger. In fact, if you make eye contact with him in public, he will start up a conversation with you.
Vladek and Irena grew up in Inverness, Florida. There was a Russian woman and daughter around Irena’s age that lived in Inverness as well and helped the Hasel family before and
after the adoption. Before the adoption Steve, Cheryl, Bethany and Kristyn would go to their house and would be able to speak with Irena over the phone with the help of her translating. After the adoption, they were able to go over to their house often so Vlad and Irena could hang
out with her daughter and still be able to speak the Russian language while getting their help with learning English. They picked up English very quickly. Vlad no longer remembers how to speak in Russian, and doesn’t have a Russian accent. Before he disappeared, Vlad mentioned to Cari’s partner that he had an interest in visiting Russia again at some point. But he had no personal connection with anyone there, since it was a closed adoption. Vlad would not have been able to visit Russia since he disappeared because his passport was expired and law enforcement said he would get flagged if he tried to get another passport.
Vladek’s lifelong dream was to serve in the Marines, even at a young age. After graduating high school, Vladek went to live with his half-sister Cari in Texas in June 2017 so he could qualify to enlist in the California bootcamp for the Marines instead of having to be based in South
Carolina. He lived in Arlington, Texas, with Cari until he joined the Marines in 2018. Cari was single and expecting her first child at the time. Vladek has a huge support through her pregnancy and was with her when she gave birth to her daughter. He spent the week in the hospital with her. While in Arlington, Vladek worked as a game’s attendant at Six
Flags, security for the Cowboys Stadium, and for a garage door warehouse company.
In September 2018, Vladek moved from Texas to San Diego, California, to complete basic training. He graduated from boot camp in December 2018. While in the Marines, Vladek served a desk job for about 8 months. That’s not the kind of job he envisioned having in the Marines, and he did not enjoy it. Eventually, in the summer of 2019, he found a way to leave. He told the Marines he was having trouble adapting to the routine because it brought up negative memories from his childhood in Russia at the orphanage. He was given a general discharge under honorable conditions, with the words “failure to adapt” written on his paperwork. He
went home to stay with his dad, Steve, and Steve’s new wife in Winter Springs, Florida, for a few months.
Not knowing what to do with his life yet, Vladek moved to the Detroit, Michigan area in January of 2020 to live with Cari again. He worked as an environmental services tech at the local hospital, and loved hanging out with his niece. Vlad was a very loving, supportive, and present uncle. In March 2020, when COVID hit and daycares closed, Cari was a single
mother and had to take a leave of absence to take care of her child. Vlad financially supported all of them for a while. Later, they moved to Nashua, New Hampshire. Vlad did not like his new job there, and was eventually let go. He lacked motivation to get another job. He then moved back to Orlando, Florida to live with Steve (his dad) and Steve’s wife again in August 2020.
At that time, he got a job at a local hospital. At the beginning of 2021, Bryan began reaching out to the homeless as well. However, he struggled with keeping a job.
Steve’s wife became frustrated that Vlad didn’t have a job. Some other things happened (of which the family hasn't specified to me), and Steve and his wife eventually split. Steve and Vlad stayed in hotels until they found an apartment. In November 2020, they moved into The Place at Alafaya, which is an apartment complex in Orlando, Florida, close to the University of Central Florida’s campus.
While living in the apartment, Vladek shared a vehicle with Steve. However, Vlad was bad with directions, and didn’t use public transportation very much. The family has been told that he did occasionally utilize the UCF free buses, as they would make a stop inside the apartment complex. But he would typically prefer to walk places if he didn’t have access to the car. He frequented places in Waterford Lakes Plaza and University Boulevard near UCF.
Vladek did not really party or date at that time. He had a couple friends, especially one friend who worked at a nearby restaurant and texted with Vlad frequently. Vlad had social media
accounts, but he would rarely post anything on them if at all; he mostly used them for their messaging platform and would message family via Facebook or Instagram Messenger. He also liked PlayStation and watching YouTube videos.
Vladek was a regular at Foxtail coffee shop on University Blvd and Collegiate Way near UCF, around one mile from Vlad’s apartment. Over the course of November 2020 until November 2021, Vlad went there up to 3 times a week, spending hours at a time - he went by Bryan there. In the past, customers had made complaints stating Vlad’s behavior was atypical - he was known to pace inside drinking his coffee/listening to his music and occasionally would
sing out loud...in the past, when a customer made a complaint asking employees to tell him to sit down or be quieter, Vladek would do that.
Foxtail: University Blvd & Collegiate Way
Vladek also began becoming hyper focused on Heaven and saying "Why are we here when we can just be in Heaven?" Also, before he went missing, Vladek was talking about angels and speaking manic. As someone who struggles with anxiety, depression, and past suicidal thoughts, this phrase is concerning to me. I remember thinking this a time or two. Now, I'm not a doctor and I don't know the inside of Vladek's mind, but I can relate to this psyche.
In September 2021, Vladek purposely broke his phone because he said it was a distraction. His parents required him to have one, though, so they bought him a new one. When he went missing, he left it at his apartment.
Right before Vlad “broke” his phone, he had received over 40 calls from a specific number. This number belonged to an unhoused couple, who had taken advantage of Vlad financially in the past. (I do not have the names of this couple.) After Vlad got his new phone, he no longer kept in contact with the couple - it doesn’t seem like they had his new number because they never tried calling him.
In the summer of 2021, Vlad started talking about his desire to hike the Appalachian trail. Dad and Vladek were considering renting a four bedroom house with Jodi & Bethany in Orlando and Vlad had made comments about how he didn’t need a room, he would just camp outside to get prepped for the Appalachian trail.
On November 3rd, 2021, Vlad purchased a $60 pocket knife. When Steve asked why, Vlad said it was for protection. They didn’t really talk much else about this. That same day, the family car broke down and Vlad walked back home. The car was towed to a shop. On November 5, 2021, Steve and Vlad's mom planned a trip to Tennessee to celebrate Bethany's birthday. They planned on staying ten days and returning on November 15. Vlad was invited but opted not to go.
The next day, November 4, 2021, Vladek was seen at Foxtail Coffee by the employees and another customer. The other customer complained that Vlad was making him uncomfortable and after complaining, he left. That same customer came back later to say that Vlad was playing with a pocket knife outside, and since Foxtail has a no weapons policy, Vladek was issued a trespassing warning by the business.
Steve went ahead to Tennessee for the family trip on November 5. According to Facebook, Steve tried to check in with Vlad multiple times while he was in Tennessee, using text and voicemail. However, Vlad did not respond to any messages from Steve, the rest of his family, or his friend who worked at the nearby restaurant. Steve and the rest of the family were in the mountains, so they weren’t sure if Vlad wasn’t answering because their texts weren’t going through. So they weren’t panicking at first. Plus, Vlad was known to not keep his
phone on him, so going without an answer was pretty usual for Vlad. According to Facebook, Steve received a message about a package delivery to his apartment on November 8th. Steve had not heard from Vlad, but assumed he would take it inside like he said he would.
Vladek went to Foxtail Coffee again at around 8am on November
6th. He purchased a cup of coffee and went to sit down. This was his last purchase on the credit card. Foxtail went ahead and called the sheriff’s office to come issue the trespass warning. An officer came out and issued the warning, telling Vladek he couldn't come back to this particular Foxtail Coffeeshop. Vladek was last seen wearing a black hoodie over a gray shirt with a necklace. He also was wearing khaki shorts, crew length black socks, and bright red
slides.
On November 12, the apartment maintenance man stated that he believed he saw Vladek at the basketball court outside the apartment. On November 15, at around 3 am, a friend of Vladek’s at the apartment complex said Vladek came to his door asking to stay there. The friend said he did not let Vladek stay there, but Vladek asked if he had a gun. The man said he had a record so he couldn't be around guns and asked Vlad why he needed one. Vlad answered that he needed a gun to protect himself.
At around 4 p.m. on November 15th, Steve went to pick up his car from the repair
shop and returned home from his 10-day Tennessee trip. He noticed that the package he’d ordered was still sitting outside his apartment. This was strange because Vlad had promised to take the package inside. Then, Steve looked in the kitchen, which looked untouched. There was no food missing from the fridge and no dirty dishes. According to CUE Missing Persons, Steve quickly realized it seemed like Vlad hadn’t been staying at the apartment. Vlad’s flip phone (with unread texts and missed calls from the afternoon of the 6th and on) and gym
shoes remained in his bedroom. His pocket knife that he had recently purchased was also in the bedroom. Steve was concerned, but he decided to wait to file a missing persons report. He had gotten home a day early–he wasn’t supposed to be home until evening Tuesday the 16th–so he wondered if Vladek was waiting to come home until Steve returned. When Vladek never showed up or contacted Steve, the family grew even more concerned. Steve and Bethany filed a missing persons report with the OCSO on the 17th. They created and hung up flyers with Steve’s phone number to spread the word.
Bethany requested surveillance footage from the Place at Alafaya on November 18th. Unfortunately, the only footage available was from the past 7 days, with previous footage erased. The complex promised to review the footage from the only two security cameras they’d installed, which were outside the laundry room and gym. But they said they could only release it to law enforcement if they requested it.
The Place at Alafaya Apartments
Bethany and Steve also searched the woods behind the basketball court. The woods are a very dense area, but not large. They’re adjacent to a retention pond. The wooded area was overgrown - there were lots of trees, palmetto bushes, and wetlands with swampy areas. Bethany and Steve only made it 30 feet until they could go no further. On November 19th, between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m, the lead investigator sent several deputies over to the apartment and scoped out the woods. The Sheriff’s office needed to get permission from a local agricultural group to search dense areas like this, and searching such dense woods is always a challenge. They got as far as Steve and Bethany managed to get. They flew helicopters and drones overhead, and brought in a K9 search dog. According to Fox 35 News, deputies found a red slide sandal during the initial search along the tree line of the apartment complex. They showed Steve a picture of the shoe. He said those are the types of shoes Vlad
wears, but he couldn’t remember if Vlad had red ones. The shoe was sent off for DNA testing.
On November 19th at 11:30 p.m, another update was made to Bethany’s Facebook post. Officers had done a thermal scan over the wooded areas and did not find anything. The search dog did not find anything either, though it was raining heavily, which made it harder to search. Officers had posted flyers in homeless shelters, and the University Blvd/Alafaya Trail area. They also sent officers to Vlad’s Catholic church to scope out the prayer garden. Between 5 and 7 detectives were going door to door to canvas the neighborhood. According to the website, Orange County Sheriff’s office took Vlad’s phone. The phone was next to Vladek’s charger cord, but the phone was dead when it was found. All of Vladek’s messages were unread starting on the 6th. He also had a message from an unknown number that said, “Vlad, it’s OB from the back of the neighborhood.” This message was unread as well.
According to Vladek’s website, on November 20th, the Sheriff’s office continued
door to door canvassing. They ended up finding a witness (who was a friend of Vladek’s) at the apartment complex who had seen Vladek at around 3 am on Monday, November 15. This friend said Vlad asked if he could stay the night, but the person said it wouldn’t work because his girlfriend and her kids were there and they would be waking up soon. Vlad then asked him if he had a gun, and the person said he did not and he had a record and can’t be around guns. Vlad
seemed like he was anxious to leave but the person asked Vlad why he needed a gun and Vlad said it was for protection...the person asked Vlad protection against what and Vlad said against an animal. Vladek said he wanted to go “off the grid”.
Also according to Vlad’s website, a nonprofit search org called Night Owl Reconnaissance offered to study Vlad’s PlayStation and YouTube accounts. The family shipped Vlad’s PlayStation to the company on 2/19/22. According to Vlad’s sisters, Night Owl Reconnaissance was unable to
gain access to Vlad’s accounts.
Meanwhile, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office were not willing to do any interviews with the media. Usually police are available to do interviews. In this case, the OCSO had other priorities. However, the investigation is active and open, and the OCSO continues to conduct searches and follow up on tips. At this time, Vlad’s family learned about the Foxtail body cam footage for the first time. The family requested that OCSO get footage from the Wawa convenience store and other stores Vlad was walking toward in the footage. However, officers thought that was way too much footage to go through, and most footage was probably erased anyway.
In April 2022, billboards went up in the Orlando area about Vladek. A vigil was held about Vladek in November 2023. People are still seeking information about Vladek, but so far, there has been no movement in his case.
According to News Nation, the Sheriff’s Office had received multiple reports by May 2022 that Vlad may have been spotted at a 7-Eleven convenience store and an Orange County unhoused encampment. These tips led nowhere.
In the summer of 2022, a search organization, called “CUE”, conducted a more in depth search of the woods with around 30 search dogs, but they didn’t find anything.
On November 28th, 2022, Bethany posted to Facebook that new detectives were working on Vlad’s case. The family hoped that the new detectives would start requesting footage from local businesses, particularly the Wawa from the day Vladek walked away from Foxtail Coffee. They were still hoping more information could be recovered. The family also hired private investigator Steve Fischer to pursue additional leads on the case. Recently, Bethany received a tip about a person who possibly saw Vlad at Wawa at around 8:30 or 9:00 on November 6th, 2021. This person said they saw Vlad speaking to an “older” unhoused person.
On August 4th, 2023, Steve Fischer posted to Facebook that human remains had been located at 1200 N. Alafaya Trail in Orlando on Wednesday the 2nd. This was close to where Vladek went missing. The medical examiner confirmed it was not Vladek’s body. The search continued.
Bethany was asked by another podcast what she thinks happened to Vladek. She stated, “There’s one million and one possibilities of what could have happened, but there's no clear direction to look. I do believe someone out there knows what happened. There's so many people that probably have interacted with him that just don't realize that he's a missing person and the information that they hold could be key to his case. Just reaching them is going to be what it takes to really find him. And if he is out there okay, doing his own thing, that's great. That's all
we need to know. But in my heart of hearts, something is wrong. Vladek has never been without contact with his family. He wouldn't let Irena, his biological sibling, worry for two years. And he definitely doesn't like the spotlight on him. It's like pulling teeth to get him in pictures. If he had seen any of the coverage that he's had, he would have reached out to someone and be like, ‘I'm good, just doing my own thing’. But there's been nothing. So something's not right. And I
really worry about the potential of someone taking advantage of him or he's afraid of somebody. Something is not right.”
Bryan “Vladek” Hasel is 5’8”, white, with blondish-brown hair and blue eyes.
This ends the information given by Navigating Advocacy.
What do you think happened to Bryan "Vladek" Hasel? Do you think he ran into foul play, or is this a case of mental health? Either way, my heart goes out to him and his family.
Vladek, if you're out there, your sister hasn't stopped looking for you. You are important and your life has value. I can personally understand struggling with mental illness, so I can say without a doubt that you are not alone, nor do you have to be. There is help to be had if you're wanting it. If something has happened to you by the hands of someone else or yourself, I pray that you will be found or the truth will come out.
If you have any information about where Bryan "Vladek" Hasel is, you can email me at mysteriesofthemissing2023@gmail.com, or you may visit the Facebook group "Find Bryan 'Vladek' Hasel," the Instagram page "Find Vladek Hasel," or by calling the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Missing Persons Unit at 407-254-7000 Case#: 21-83864. If you see someone resembling Vladek, please discreetly take a picture and record when and where the sighting occurred. Please send to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
This has been another episode of Mysteries of the Missing. Until next time, stay safe.
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