Sins & Survivors: A Las Vegas True Crime Podcast - The Disappearance of Vladek Hasel

Episode Date: November 11, 2025

This week, we're sharing an episode from Navigating Advocacy. It's the Florida missing person case of the disappearance of Vladek Hasel. Whitney and Melissa are relentless and passionate victim advocates, and their treatment of this case is top-notch. Please give it a listen, if you have any information on Vladek's whereabouts, you are asked to contact the Orange County Sheriff's Office Missing Persons Unit 407-254-7000 or Call 911 - CASE #: 21-83864Email: [e-mail], head over to https://navigatingadvocacy.com/ and check out their amazing work. A special shout-out to Haley Gray, who provided the original research on Vladek's case. https://haleygrayresearch.com/https://sinspod.co/99https://www.instagram.com/findvladekhaselhttps://findvladekhasel.wixsite.com/find-vladekBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/sins-survivors-a-las-vegas-true-crime-podcast--6173686/support.Domestic Violence Resourceshttp://sinspod.co/resourcesClick here to become a member of our Patreon!https://sinspod.co/patreonVisit and join our Patreon now and access our ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus content & schwag! Get ad-free access for only $1 a month or ad-free and bonus episodes for $3 a monthApple Podcast Subscriptionshttps://sinspod.co/appleWe're now offering premium membership benefits on Apple Podcast Subscriptions! On your mobile deviceLet us know what you think about the episodehttps://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2248640/open_sms

To listen ad free, visit sinspod.co slash subscribe. Starting at $2.99 a month, you'll also get access to our exclusive bonus content episodes when you join through Patreon or Apple subscriptions. Thanks for supporting the show. One of the most heart-wrenching stories we've encountered on our podcasting journey is the unsolved disappearance of Vladic Castle. November 6, 2021 was the last time that Vladic was verifiably seen in a Foxtail Coffee in Florida on police body camp video, though there are some reports of him being seen as late as November 12th. This week, we're bringing you an episode from Navigating Advocacy, where they did a deep dive into Vladik's life and ultimately his baffling disappearance. It's been nearly four years,

and his family is still desperately searching for answers. Hi, and welcome to Sins and Survivors, a Las Vegas true crime podcast, where we focus on cases that deal with domestic violence, as well as missing persons and unsolved cases. I'm your host, Sean. And I'm your co-host, John. Whitney and Melissa, navigating advocacy, are relentless allies and advocates for the families of missing people. We appreciate their efforts so much, and we know the families do too.

We have met and spent time with Bethany, Vladick's sister, at Advocacy Khan and the True Crime Podcast Festival, and she has shared with us stories about Vlatic and what this experience has been for her and her family. And with this month marking four years since his disappearance, we are grateful that Whitney, Melissa, and Bethany allowed us to share this episode with all of you. So without any more delay, here is their episode on the disappearance of Laddick Castle. Welcome to Navigating Advocacy. I'm Melissa.

And I'm Whitney. We discuss topics that may be sensitive to listener. Discretion of advice. So we're just going to get right into the Florida case, which is one that's a little bit special to us. It ended up being one of our action-oriented advocacy cases, even though that wasn't our intention going into this. While I would love us to be able to be this hands-on with every single case that we cover, hopefully, that's our goals. Goals one day that we can be this hands-on and be this helpful to families every single week. But because this one's out of Florida,

it's been Melissa's neck of the woods. And we were given an opportunity to meet with the family and do more than just share a story this time. Yes, yes. I attended a vigil that marked the two-year anniversary of this person being missing. And Lake Whitney said, met the family, passed out flyers at an event in Orlando. So it was a good experience. Glad we got to meet the family and help out any way we could. And I was going to say, I bet we end up doing this a lot more than we originally planned,

especially as we're meeting more and more families, their visuals coming up or searches. It's going to be, they'll ask us more often. So I definitely think it's going to be happening more often than once a quarter. Yes. Agreed. Also, shout out to Haley Gray from Haley Gray Research and co-founder of True Crime podcast training because she's the one that put us in connection with this family

and helped us create this or cultivate this relationship. So I am going to just jump right in. Just a few days ago, we talked about Orlando, Florida. I'm not going to bore you with all of the statistics all over again. We know the crime rates are high and the tourism industry fuels the economy. We are navigating advocacy one more time this month here at Orlando. The story I'm sharing today is one we've both been talking about for weeks. I'm sharing the story of Brian Vladick Hasel, who has been missing since November of 2021.

Vladick Hazel, born on December 20th, 1998, in Russia, where he spent his early years alongside his older sister, Irina. In 2004, they were adopted by Steve and Cheryl Hazel in Florida. Steve and Cheryl had six other children and lived in Inverness, Florida. This is roughly 70 miles northwest of Orlando. As the two siblings settled in with the Hasel family, Vladik adopted the name Brian and became part of a bustling household with seven other siblings. The older siblings, Amy, Carrie, Jonathan, and Jody had already moved out or were moving out within the next couple of months,

leaving Bethany, Kristen, and the newly adopted siblings in the family home. Vladik's younger years in Inverness were marked by the support of a Russian woman and her daughter. They helped the family with the transition from adoption into their new family, and assisted Vladic and Irina in maintaining their connection to the Russian language. Before the adoption, the Hazel family would visit their home. And after the adoption was final, Vlatic and Irina continued to spend time there, allowing them to speak Russian and learn English with their assistance. Throughout his childhood, Vlatic was what I consider to be a typical boy,

a busy body, always moving and full of adventure and energy, but kind, sensitive, and always looking for ways to help others. His sister Bethany told us a story about how kind Vlatic was, even as a young child. Fladdock was really young when we adopted him. He was about five. And he would always be on the go, so active, always want to play outside and make new friends with the neighborhood kids.

There was this one time where the neighbor couldn't find their child. And at the point where they had the police helicopters going overhead, searching the neighborhood. and Vladick came inside and we had told him what was going on that his friend was missing. He was probably about seven at this point or so, six or seven. And it turns out that Vladik had helped the kid and was feeding him peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the freehouse. Because kid didn't want to go home. But that was just kind of his personality, helping where he could, even at a young age.

Always kind of the goof-off personality growing up. He would like to make sound effects as he played, like who would shit and stuff like that, everywhere he went, he would just make those sound effects too. His interests in sports helped him release some of that energy, participating in activities such as soccer, teaball, basketball, and even trying his hand at pee-wee football. Christmas also was a special place in Vladik's heart,

and the family recalls fond memories of Vlad's creative tree-decorating, including adorning himself with Christmas lights and placing the angel topper on his head. His older sister Jody also has fond memories of Vladick around Christmas. My favorite memories are really like around the holiday. Like he really enjoyed Christmas time. So it's kind of fun to see like especially when he was a little kid how into it he would get. How excited and he'd be goofy when we'd be decorating the house and outside of the house for Christmas. So those were some good time for sure.

We spoke with his sisters, Bethany and Jody, and they described Vladdick as the friendliest person one could meet. He is very kind and never met a stranger. Despite the teenage stereotypes, Vladdick enjoyed spending time with his family. He cherished spending time with his sister and her friends during New Year's lock-ins, creating lasting memories of those gatherings. The family dynamics shifted a bit during Vlattuck's middle school years when his parents went through a separation.

He then lived with his father, Steve, in Claremont. And even with all of these changes, Vladik remained focused on his lifelong dream of serving in the Marines. After graduating high school, Vladick took a significant step towards his goal by moving to Texas to live with his half-sister Carrie in June of 2017. Here, he provided crucial support to Carrie during her pregnancy and was present for the birth of her daughter. During this time, Vladic worked various jobs, including as a games attendant at Six Flags, security for the Cowboys Stadium, and for a garage door warehouse company. In September of 2018, Vladick moved from Texas to San Diego, California for Marine Corps basic training. He completed the program in December of 2018.

His marine career wasn't quite what he expected. He found himself in a desk job position for about eight months. Vladik wanted to be a soldier. He was an active person. Sitting at a desk and a computer all day was not a fulfilling role. He was a giver and a doer. In the summer of 2019, he opted for a general discharge under honorable conditions, citing difficulty adapting due to negative childhood memories.

After his journey with the Marines, Vladik faced a period of uncertainty, struggling to find a new direction after his military aspirations. His ultimate goal has always been to have a career in the Marines. He had no direction when that dream wasn't what he expected. In January of 2020, he was, moved to the Detroit, Michigan area again to live with Carrie. This time, he worked as an environmental services tech at a local hospital and enjoyed bonding with his niece. Challenges arose with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting Vladik to financially support his sister and niece. Later,

they moved to Nashua, New Hampshire, where Vladik found employment for a short while, but after losing that position, he decided to return to Orlando, Florida in August of 2020, where he moved in with his father, Steve, and Steve's wife. In 2020, Vlad faced significant challenges with his own mental health. As noted by his father, Steve in an interview with W-E-S-H news, Steve mentioned that Vlad was struggling with confusion about his life direction, unemployment, and experiencing depression. He still had no sense of purpose. That's understandable, considering he had this lifelong dream, and it wasn't really what he thought it was going to be. And he's struggling probably with his identity, just doesn't know where he belongs. So I can, and that age, you know,

late teens, early 20s, you're just trying to figure yourself out. And I think it's even more difficult for Vladic in this sense. So I just, I feel for him. I can't. And he's still in those formative years, you know, just any general human is trying to figure out your life. But to have your dreams shattered at such an early age when you're still trying to just figure out how the world works is so just life-should, like, life-changing. Yeah, it's crushing. It makes you feel like you don't have a purpose. What am I supposed to be doing? And I think that's where he started down the path of figuring out this religion and other things like that. Yeah, it's tough place to be. That's for sure.

Vlad's unemployment became a source of frustration. Subsequent events led to Steve and his wife parting ways, and Stephen Vlad found themselves staying in hotels until securing an apartment in November of 2020 at the place at Alifaya, an apartment complex in Orlando near the University of Central Florida campus. The apartment was near McKay Boulevard and Alifaya Trail. Vlad shared a vehicle with his father, but preferred to walk or use UCF's free buses. He frequented places around Waterford Lakes Plaza and University Boulevard near UCF. Vladick was a night out. and he would take nightly walks around the apartment complex, but he was afraid of the dark,

so he generally stayed in well-lit places. He engaged in singing and smoking during these walks while establishing a friendly rapport with maintenance workers. Again, his family described him as kind and thoughtful, always ready to start conversations with anyone. During this period, Vlad was still exploring his purpose and wasn't working or enrolled in school. He maintained a minimal online presence

using social media primarily for messaging. His leisure activities included PlayStation and watching YouTube videos. Vlad became a regular at a fox tail coffee shop near UCF, spending hours there, up to three times a week. He also frequented a few other shops nearby. Customers occasionally raised concerned about his behavior, but Vladic adjusted his actions based on feedback. Steve financially supported Vlad, covering his expenses,

offering money for a scooter, and allowing him to leave large tips for restaurant workers. We're talking one to two to $300 tips. That was one of his many traits that brought him joy, helping others as often as he could. In early 2021, Vlad underwent a significant shift, rejecting materialism and embracing a more minimalist lifestyle. He gave away his tablet, he broke his smartphone,

and replaced it with a flip phone later, but we'll talk about that, citing distraction as the reason. Before the smartphone broke, Vlad had received over 40 calls from an unhoused couple who had previously taken advantage of him. Vlad did not want to replace the phone at all. In fact, it was Steve and Irina that convinced him to get a flip phone to carry in case of emergencies, but the convincing took five weeks. After Vlad got a new number on this flip phone, that previous unhoused couple no longer reached out. They probably couldn't reach out. Throughout 2021, Vlad became actively involved in supporting the unhoused community in East Orlando,

providing food, taking individuals to dinner and movies, and even letting them use his credit card on occasion. He expressed a desire to hike the Appalachian Trail, discussing his plans with his family. Vlad's living conditions continued to reflect his new aversion to material possessions. He initially slept on an air mattress even after his father offered to purchase a bed for him. Steve would later convince him to at least get a mattress in a box, but it remained unused. Despite the changes he was making with his personal items, he still liked to devote time to the local Catholic Church's prayer garden. Vlad became interested in a YouTube pastor focusing on heaven, archangels, and demons. But as he didn't use a smartphone, his family was unsure who exactly he was watching or what sorts of materials he was learning.

In September of 2021, the Hazel family began planning a trip to Tennessee to celebrate Bethany's birthday in November. Vlad initially considered hiking the Appalachian Trail and meeting them there, but later dismissed that as a pipe dream. On November 3, 2021, Vlad purchased a pocket knife for protection. That night, he experienced car trouble while driving the car he shared with his father, leading to a breakdown at Waterford Lakes Plaza. Despite concerns about the incident, Vlad walked home and the car was told for repairs the next day. On November 4th, Vlad visited his regular coffee shop, the foxtail, and a customer lodged a complaint expressing discomfort.

The individual informed the employees that he intended to leave, resulting in no immediate action taken with Vlad. Later, upon returning, though, the same customer reported seeing Vlad sitting outside the establishment and mentioned to the staff that he had also noticed Vladik had placed a pocket knife on the table earlier. Due to the Foxtale's Zero Weapons Policy, a decision was made to issue a trespass warning. However, by this point, Vladic had already departed, oblivious to any issues during his time at Foxtel. The family remained unaware of this incident for several months, but we will get to that in a bit. On the evening of the 4th, Vlad had an unsettling conversation with Steve about Archangels and Demon. and he even made a cryptic statement remarking,

quote, you have to be dark to kill the dark, end quote. A notion that left Steve puzzled. Steve wondered whether Vlad might be quoting something from the YouTube pastoral he had been watching, and the out-of-character behavior had him so confused that he reached out to Jody, expressing the difficulty he had understanding Vlad's recent conversations. Jody suggested a wellness check,

but Steve hesitated, believing Vladic would not. navigate the situation in a way that would it raise alarms with authorities. On November 5th, Steve and Vlad's mom left to go on a trip to Tennessee to meet up with Bethany and a couple of her friends to celebrate her birthday. Again, Vladic had originally planned to join but had decided to stay home just a few days prior to them leaving. Steve left Vlad $100 in cash, a credit card, and instructions to collect a package that was to be delivered.

Steve had also offered to purchase groceries before leaving town so that Vlad's, you know, would be more than cared for. Vlad declined the offer, stating there was enough food already in the house. Concerns about Vlad's well-being heightened due to his behavior that previous night. Despite attempts to trick-in, Vlad did not respond to messages from his family, causing some concerns to arise. Vlad's family also were in the mountains of Tennessee where service is spotty. When Vlad didn't respond, they explained it away with perhaps the text weren't making it through

because of the service issues. On November 8th, a message about a package delivery reached Steve, who assumed Vlad would take it inside. The family continued monitoring the situation, and sure if Vlad's like-of-response was due to the poor connectivity or his habit of not keeping his phone on him. Around 4 p.m. on November 15th, Steve returned home from his 10-day Tennessee trip

after picking up his car from the repair shop. When he got home, he noticed the package he had ordered, still sitting outside of his apartment, despite Vlad's promise to bring it inside. Steve observed the untouched kitchen with no missing food from the fridge and no dirty dishes. According to Q missing persons,

it became apparent to Steve that it seemed like Vlad hadn't been staying at the apartment. Vlad's flip phone contained unread text messages and missed calls from November 6th onwards. Jim's shoes and the pocket knife that he had just purchased for protection were all found in his bedroom.

Concerned, Steve chose to delay filing a missing person's report. Considering he arrived home earlier than originally planned, Fladdick was an adult, and perhaps while Steve was away, he stayed elsewhere. However, when Vlatic neither returned nor contacted Steve, the worry intensified. And on November 17th, Steve and Bethany filed a missing persons report with the Orange County Sheriff's Office and initiated advocacy efforts. They created and distributed flyers all around the area. Bethany even posted on her own personal Facebook page to spread awareness.

The flyers led to a tip from a maintenance worker suggesting Vladik might be in the woods behind the basketball court. It was an encounter between the maintenance man and Vladick at the basketball court. No. The flyers led to a tip from the maintenance worker suggesting Vladik might be in the woods behind the basketball court. This encounter between the maintenance man and Vladik. at the court, was it initially thought to be on November 12th, but confusion arose, raising the possibility of it being November 5th. This was all left by the maintenance worker on voicemail. Steve, who is hard of hearing, thought the worker stated he saw Vlatic last Friday. At this point,

that could have been the Friday that had just passed on the 12th, but could also have been confused for November 5th. If it was, in fact, November 12th, that Vlai was, that Vlai was. Laddick was seen, he would have had to take the sidewalk past the apartment to get to the basketball court. He would have seen the package and taking it in as he had promised his father he would do so. If it was November 5th, the package hadn't yet arrived. Steve also thought he heard the maintenance worker say they saw Vladic walk into the woods. Steve then relayed the information to authorities. After Bethany listened to the voicemail, she was able to clarify that the maintenance worker said he saw Vlad, spoke to him for a few minutes, and then mentioned that Vlad liked to

hang out in the woods behind the basketball courts, suggesting a search. Stephen Bethany contacted authorities again to clarify this information on the voicemail, but the reports and flyers were never updated and continued to state that Vladic was last seen walking into the woods for several months, even after the family asked for corrections. Bethany requested surveillance footage from the place at Alifaya on November 18th. Unfortunately, footage from the last seven days were all they had available, and the complex promised to review the footage from two security cameras, but would only release it to law enforcement upon request.

Bethany relayed this information to law enforcement, but over a week later, it was still, quote, on their list of action items in Vlad's disappearance. Any footage that would have been there would know. longer be. That is just so frustrating because you can have a vital piece of evidence of a sighting of him know if he was with anyone. You have to get that footage quickly. In a world, like a digital world that we live in with the technology the way that it is now, it's we're more likely to have surveillance footage than not. Everyone has a ring door bill. Every business has security cameras. It's an affordable option now for people to have. So it's there and available. The problem is,

is that not everyone pays for extra backup storage or iCloud storage. So you only have that limited amount of time. That should be one of the first questions you're asking. Okay, we know that he was seen at the apartment. We need any security footage you have. That should be question number two. Do you have cameras is one. Question number two is how long do you have your footage because we need that now and exactly most people and businesses want to help they're going to provide that information unless they're part of some big conspiracy for cover up they're likely to or they're doing unsavory things as a business they're likely to give you that without a warrant without a subpoena that's something i feel that law enforcement can do easily is at least get the footage you

might not be able to go through it immediately but you ask for that footage and you get it in the following days go through it. Exactly. It doesn't seem that typical. There should just be a checklist. Hey, try to get surveillance footage. All right, next step. Interview. I also, goodness gracious. Right. I also feel that this would be one of those items that would be great for civilians. There's certain law enforcement agencies that use civilian volunteers. Have a civilian sit there and watch through hours and hours and hours of security footage. Just Tell them what to look for. Have them write down the time stamps.

I would sign up for that in a harsh pream. I would not sleep and just spend hours watching security footage. Yes, I would love it. I would love it if that was a job. And volunteer basis job, I wouldn't need to get paid because I'm just nosy and want to know what's going on. Right. Exactly.

There's so many people that would do that for free. Searches were conducted in the dense wooded area behind the basketball court, along with the larger wooded area surrounding the apartment complex, involving helicopters, drones, and a canine search dog. Deputies discovered a red, slide shoe along the tree line of a larger wooded area during the search. However, subsequent searches using thermal scans and the search dog yielded no further results. The family continued their efforts, posting flyers, canvassing the neighborhood, and seeking information from the community.

When officials showed Steve a picture of the shoe, Steve said that those were the types of shoes that Vladic wore, but he was unsure if Vlad had red ones. The shoe was sent off for DNA testing. Flyers were hung in unhoused community shelters all along University Boulevard and Alifaya Trail, the area that Vlad had regularly walked. They even had officers check out the Catholic Church Prayer Garden

to see if he had sought refuge there. Knight Owl reconnaissance attempted to access Vlad's place and YouTube accounts, but access was not granted. On November 20th, sheriff deputies went door-to-door canvassing. A friend of Vladik in the neighborhood came forward. This friend disclosed a perplexing encounter with Vladic at 3 a.m. on November 15th. Vlad, seeking a place to stay, was turned away due to his friend's girlfriend and family being present. And in a tense exchange, Vlad seemed uneasy and asked if the friend had a gun.

Due to a previous criminal record, that friend couldn't legally own a firearm. Vlad's anxiety heightened, leading him to express a desire to go off the grid and a need for a gun for protection against animals. This raised questions about where Vlad's mindset may have been. As investigations heightened, the family received the help of a private investigator, who was able to put together some of the pieces of the puzzle for the family. They were able to consolidate a bit of the timeline for Vlad's decision. appearance. After Steve left for Tennessee, Vlad called his sister Irina around 2 a.m. Irida said the two had a normal conversation as they did almost every day. The package was delivered on November 8th and left outside the apartment until Steve's return seven days later. On November

12th is when the maintenance man said he thought he saw Vladic at the basketball courts. And then November 15th is when the neighbor is saying Vlad showed up at his door at 3 a.m. On November 20th, Bethany was asked to not post any more updates on our personal Facebook because it could hinder an investigation. That is all the information the family had up until that point. They continued to search the areas and hand out flyers. Vlad was a memorable person because of his friendliness and willingness to have a conversation. November 24th, Jody posted about the colder weather and how clean of a person Vladic was. He was always washing his hands and he likely wouldn't stay somewhere without plumbing. He would have wanted a shower by now, because sometimes he

showered two, three times a day. Orange County Sheriff's Office did not conduct media interviews or provide any sort of information to the media to help keep Fladdock's disappearance in front of the media for others to also keep an eye out. In December of 2021, Bethany and Jody started the fine Brian Vladick-Hazzle Facebook group to keep pushing to find their brother. It wouldn't be until February 24, 2022, that the sheriff's office finally gave Vladex family an update. They were given Vladex Flip Phone and Steve's laptop and Steve's laptop back and said that they hadn't spoken with any of the people in Vlattick's phone because they thought the family had already done so. There were no contacts saved in Vlattick's phone, so it would have just been

phone numbers. Law enforcement also said they couldn't get the laptop to turn on, so they didn't go through it. The laptop worked, but the battery no longer held a charge. It required to be plugged into an outlet for it to be powered on, which this is like basic IT one-on-one. Is it plugged in? When my head has been worked in IT, that was the first question he asked everyone. Is it plugged in? Yeah. And you think, oh, it's not turning on. It's probably the battery. Let's go ahead and try to charge it and then you would see it would come on. Like with it being charged, this just makes absolutely no sense to me. And then the fact that they thought the family would be the one reaching, they didn't have the numbers. The police had the phone, the phone and the phone numbers.

How would the family reach out to these people? Number one. Number two, did they communicate, hey, why don't you guys, it's a little bit easier if the family reaches out to these random people versus the police? Did they communicate that? I'm sure they did not. So this is just so frustrating The family also learned that the DNA testing from the red slide shoe had returned as inconclusive. But it did appear to be the same size as Vlad's shoe size. On November 6th, 2021, around 8 a.m., Vladick had walked into Foxtale coffee, where he had used his credit card to purchase a cup of coffee. He sat down, and this is when Foxtale called the sheriff's office back out to issue that trespassing warning. A sheriff's officer arrived on site and issued the warning to Vlatic, but the officer didn't tell Vlatic Fox tells reasoning behind it.

They just told him it was a private business and they can trespass you for any reason, like the type of shirt you wear. Vladic was clearly confused by what was happening, but he was respectful and showed no ill will towards the business, the officers, or the other customers. He struck up a conversation with a police officer and was pleasant. The conversation was confirmed. with body cam footage from the sheriff's officer, but the family didn't know that this was even an item until many months later. It was clearly a blow to Vladik's feelings because he wasn't sure why he was being treated

as a trespasser when he was causing no harm or discomfort. It was a place he regularly hung out. He also emptied his pockets on the footage and didn't have the pocket knife with him, only a credit card, a debit card, and his ID. Vladik calmly walked away at 8.26 a.m. in the direction of a Wawa convenience store. This is the last evidence confirming where Vladik was.

He was wearing a black hoodie over a gray T-shirt and khaki shorts, crew-length black socks, and bright red slide shoes. At the time of the meeting with Orange County Sheriff's Office, the family didn't know the details of the trespass warning. The detective working the case stated he was probably receiving the trespass warning for talking too much. This is the first time the family had even loved. learned of the footage. When the family asked the Orange County Sheriff's Office to get footage

from the stores in the direction Vladick walked, officials said there was too much footage for them to go through and that it was likely already erased. They didn't even ask for it. By April 9th, the family learned from the owners of the Fox Hill more information about the trespassing incident. They gave the family a still photo from their security footage, showing Fladdick in that same outfit as before. Fladdick had told the man. manager that he was tired and sleep deprived in the past. They also learned that Vlad had contacted an acquaintance on November 4th around 7 p.m. They chatted on the phone for around five minutes. Vlad appeared happy and asked if he could crash for a night or two. The acquaintance declined

saying he wasn't comfortable with that, and the conversation turned to Vlad's upcoming plans. Vlad mentioned that he had wanted to travel and preach the Bible and its teachings originally, but he had recently decided to sing instead. Billboards went up across the county and several news stations covered Vladic's story after his family consistently expressed their concerns for their brother. A few tips that Vlad had been seen at a 7-Eleven

were sent in, but those leads turned out to be nothing of importance. By summer, a search organization did a more thorough search of the woods with more dogs and also turned up empty-handed. In September of 2022, Steve's apartment was flooded by Hurricane Ian, and most of Vladik's personal belongings were destroyed.

Vladik's personal Bible, childhood passport, and a few items of clothing were all that survived. Due to the flooding, the apartment complex also terminated all of the leases of its tenants, and everyone was required to find new housing. The complex is now abandoned and slated to eventually be demolished. Just after the one-year mark, new detectives were assigned to Vladik's disappearance. A tip regarding a potential sighting came in saying they saw Vladek talking to an older, unhoused person at Wawa after the trespass warning. Again, this is where footage would come in handy. On August 4, 2003, the private investigator posted on social media that human remains had been found not far from where Vlatic was last seen.

Medical examiners would later confirm that they were not Vlattac's remains. In September of 2023, the Ombudsmanes had been found, the Ombudsmanes had been found, not Vladek was last seen. In September of 2023, the Orange County Sheriff's Office issued a renewed call for information regarding Brian Vladick Hasel's disappearance. Vladik's family is extremely concerned and miss him terribly. Steve recently revealed his struggles with sleep, constantly seeking solace and prayer to ensure his son's well-being. The family is not opposed to Vladik being on his own. They just want to know that he is alive, safe, and healthy. The family urges the public to share Vladik's missing person's flyer.

emphasizing the impact of strangers, re-sharing and reaching potential sources of information. Sharing his face and his story to as many people as you can is the best thing that we can do. Because we have to get the right people to see that he's missing and realize they have some type of information that could be helpful and call the sheriff's office so that we can make some progress here. And I'd really like to focus on areas where he used to live, especially Arlington. Okay. Because Vladic really, he has a lot of fond memories of being there. And I don't know his friend groups that he had there. So I don't know if he might have reached out to people there.

So if you know of anybody that lives in that area and is willing to post flyers around Arlington, that would be a huge help. or target different Facebook group pages to that area or homeless group pages to that area just in case that would be a huge help and just really sharing his flyer anywhere and everywhere across the country is what it's going to take because like I said, I don't think he's here in Orlando. There's been too much coverage for him and he's always talking with people and there would have been sightings, but there hasn't. But he's somewhere in the United States. His passport had expired, so he's not back in Russia. He's somewhere here, and we just need to locate him, make sure he's okay. Brian Vladic Hazel is described as being 5'8 with blondeish brown hair and blue eyes. If you have any information, please contact the Orange County Sheriff's Office Missing Persons Unit at 407-254-7,000, with case number 218383.

to stay updated on vladic's case please follow at find vladic hazel on all social media platforms vladic's love and compassion for the unhoused community empowered us to pay it forward with one small random act of kindness and that's what powered our world kindness day project if you donated to that we want to thank you on behalf of vladic's family and us as well we were able to reach our goal of getting 50 bags out into the community in both Austin and Florida. We also hope that with that random act of kindness that we may reach Vladick and let him know that his family is still looking for him and loves him dearly. So I would like to reach out to our Arlington, Texas area listeners.

Vladic had a few ties to Arlington. And if you're there and would like to distribute flyers, please DM us on any social media platform or email us and we will send you flyers for free. that he was in Arlington for quite some time and he may have gone back to that area because he had fond memories. Exactly. And you never know.

And if it just takes someone passing out some flyers that we provide, then that's an easy thing to do. So we encourage you to reach out to us if you're in that area. This one is just knowing the splatic sisters and meeting his mom and dad,

it's just where could he, be. And I know so many people miss him. And I just, I can't wait for the day that we do get to meet him because I believe one day he will be home. Just by listening to our content, you two are advocating for justice for these families. Thank you for making a difference in their lives as well. We want to share a few ways you can support us to continue our mission. You can become a Patreon subscriber for as little as $1 per month or a simple rate and review on your favorite podcast. platform helps us get in front of someone who may know something. We will continue traveling state by state seeking justice because we will be there no matter where, no matter who.

Thanks for listening. Visit sinspod.com slash subscribe for exclusive bonus content and to listen ad-free. Remember to like and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and threads at Sinsinsins. survivors. If you're enjoying the podcast, please leave us a review on your podcast platform of choice. You can contact us at Questions at Sins and Survivors.com. If you or someone you know is affected by domestic violence or needs support, please reach out to local resources or the National Domestic Violence Hotline. A list of resources is available on our website, Sins and Survivors.com. Sins and Survivors, a Las Vegas true crime podcast, is researched written and produced by your host, Sean and John. The information shared in

this podcast is accurate at the time of recording. If you have questions, concerns, or corrections, please email us. Links to source material for this episode can be found on our website, sins and survivors.com. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the podcast creators, hosts, and their guests. All individuals are innocent until proven guilty. This content does not constitute legal advice. Listeners are encouraged to consult with legal professionals for guidance.