Unheard: True Crime in Their Own Words - The Missing Person Case That Makes No Sense: Bryan Vladek Hasel

Episode Date: June 8, 2026

On November 6, 2021, 22-year-old Vladek Hasel walked away from a coffee shop near the University of Central Florida and seemingly vanished.More than four years later, his family is still searching for answers.In this episode, I sit down with Vladek's sister, Bethany Hasel, to discuss the day her brother disappeared, the investigation that followed, the theories surrounding his case, and why she refuses to give up hope.This is not just the story of a missing person. It's the story of a family living through every unanswered question imaginable.If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Vladek Hasel, please contact law enforcement immediately.Make sure to follow and subscribe so you don't miss an episode.Follow Find Vladek Hasel on IG, FB and TikTok#VladekHasel #MissingPerson #TrueCrime #UnsolvedMystery #Missing #BryanHasel #ColdCase #Justice #CrimePodcast #JustInTheNickOfCrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Before we get into today's episode, I wanted to take a moment and share something important. And for reference, I'm adding this note after the episode was finished because we have a bit of an update. You're going to learn who Brian Vladick Hassel is in this episode. And I can go ahead and tell you that he has been missing since 2021. But since recording this episode, I've spoken with Gabby Petito's mother, Nicole Schmidt, and learned that the Gabby Petito Foundation will be conducting a search for Bladdick sometime this month. Now, this episode is airing on June 8, 2026. So by the time you're listening, the search may already be done or it could still possibly be ahead of us.

My hope is that it leads to answers for Vlad's family and everyone who has spent the last several years wondering what happened to him. If there are any developments from that search, I'll be sure to update you guys on my channel, YouTube channel, that is, just in the nick of crime. But I also want to take a moment to recognize the incredible work being done by the Gabby Petito Foundation. Many people know the foundation because of Gabby's story. What you may not realize is that they have become a powerful force in helping families of missing and endangered loved ones. They assist with searches, provide resources, raise awareness, and help families navigate some of the darkest moments of their lives, and that's also between them trying to change laws in several states, which they've been successful in doing. This search for Vladick is just one

example of this work. If you'd like to support the foundation, whether through a donation, volunteering, or simply learning more about what they do, please visit gaviepetitofoundation.org and follow them on social media under the same handle. Gabby's legacy continues to help other their family search for answers. And I think that that's something that's worth recognizing. Now, that said, let's get into today's episode. Welcome to Unheard, True Crime in Their Own Words. This is the show where we strip away the headlines and let people speak for themselves. The victims, the families, and the people whose stories remind us was truly at stake. Today's episode takes us to Orlando, Florida,

where a man named Brian Fladdick Hassel vanished without a trace in November of 2021. He was only 22 years old. Vladic's story is one of mystery and heartbreak, but it's also one of resilience. His sister Bethany has never stopped searching and she's here with us today to share who her brother was, what led up to his disappearance and what the family is faced in the years since. This is the, this is the disappearance of Vladic Castle. Bethany, thanks for being here. Thank you so much for having me, Justin. So you've been, you guys have been searching for him for pretty much four years now. And, you know, I've spoken to other families and I know the toll that that takes on you as a person, on takes on families. For all transfer, full transparency,

for the audience. This is a case that Nikki Schmidt, who is Gabby Vatio's mother, introduced me to. She's friends with Bethany. And I wanted to make sure that we gave Bethany to have this conversation. Now, that being said,

I didn't get a chance to do a lot of research beforehand. And I decided to do that purposefully because this way we can kind of learn about this case together. And it really truly makes it in her own words. So with that being said, why don't you walk us through Vlad's disappearance, We'll just start there. Let's walk through Vlad's disappearance.

So Vladik went missing in November of 2021. We were going on a 10-day trip for my birthday, and he decided to stay home a couple days beforehand. There's a lot leading up to that trip of things that he was going through that could have contributed to his disappearance, and there's a lot of unknowns, too. There's been no leads or sightings since he went missing,

and my family has just been fighting for, for answers, fighting for any sort of tip possible in his case since then. So what for that night, you know, we just spoke a second ago a little while ago and we were talking about the fact that there were some things going on. You know, there was a coffee shop. There was, you know, a situation with another person, which kind of adds a little bit of an air of mystery to it. Can you kind of walk us through that? Yeah. So Vladik wasn't working.

He wasn't going to school. Dad was financially supporting him and Vladig was living with my dad. They shared a car, all those things. He would frequent quite a few different restaurants, but the one that he went to the most was called Foxtail Coffee House. And the manager later on had said that he would be there up to three times a week, hours on end for the year leading up before he went missing. So he was well recognized there, well known. There had been complaints in the past that customers would, you know, say, can you ask him to sit down, all stuff like that?

Because Blodick isn't one to sit still very much. He paces. He walks around and he would be drinking his phone. Say it again. I said, I get that. I can't sit on the phone and not pace. So I get that. Yeah.

He's not one to stay in one spot, so he'd be drinking his coffee and walking around the coffee shop. So when a complaint would be made, a worker would say, hey, can you sit down and he would always comply, no issues. Or he'd be listening to his music and his headphones a little too loud, and they would ask him to turn it down, and he would. So on November 4th, 2021, a customer said he's making, Vladik is making him feel uncomfortable. That's all the guy said. so they didn't approach Vladick because the guy said he was leaving. That guy came back later on and said, hey, I see him sitting outside your business.

I want to let you know that I saw him put a pocket knife on the table earlier. And, you know, zero weapons policy, they had to act. So they called the sheriff's office to have a trespass warning issued. But by this point, Vladik had already gone home. He had no idea there was any complaints or anything wrong. My dad leaves town the next day. Vladik helps him pack the car. Dad tells him, like, there's a package that should arrive on Monday or so.

Can you bring it inside? He leaves Vladik with $100, a credit card, ask him if he needs any more food for the fridge. And Bladik said there's plenty there. So dad leaves the next morning. Meanwhile, the car had broken down a few days before Dad left. So Vladic was without a car during the week we were gone. So Vladic, he likes to walk places too, and all those businesses are within walking distance. So oftentimes he would just walk to Fox Hill or any other other places.

So he walked back to Foxdale the following morning, and that's when they issued the trespass warning. The officer came out and he didn't tell him why he was issued a trespass warning. He just said, you know, it's a private business. They can issue it for the type of shirt that you're wearing. Vladik was very polite, you know, but you could tell how confused and hurt that he was because this is a place that probably felt like a safe haven for him. and he didn't understand what was going on. So he asked officer how his days going, trying to make small talk, all these things.

And at one point, you know, he even brings up the emblem on the officer's car saying, do you believe in God? And the officer said, we're not allowed to talk about that. And he points to the officer's car and he's like, oh man, that's messed up. It's on your car and you're not even allowed to talk about it. and like stuff like that trying to make conversation.

But at the same point, you could, I could see how hurt and confused he was. But he deflects when he's hurting. He doesn't want people to worry about him. So he tries to bring up other things to talk about instead. So that's the last time that there's visual proof of life. He's seen on body cam footage. There was a couple other sightings throughout the. week we were gone. But the way that they're described, I myself wonder if they really happened

throughout that week or if it was closer to the weekend that this trespass warning happened. But that's just my personal opinion. So I go by what I can see and I can see him on November 6, 2021. So let me go back to a couple things there because there's a few things that you said here. And first, you know, he'd been going to this, this coffee shop, you know, regularly for years. it's if he was going to be a threat to somebody, then they would have already been aware of that, I think. That's my opinion. So I think it was kind of a,

I mean, I understand why they did it. It was almost like they were looking for an excuse. But a pocket knife, I mean, isn't a weapon. You guys are in Orlando. I live in Tennessee,

right? And I've lived in Georgia. I've lived in Texas. Like my father-in-law, there's one thing I can always count on him is that he is going to have a knife in his pocket because I, sometimes I'll be with him like, hey,

you have your knife because I want to open this thing. And he will always have one. Sometimes that's just, how people are. I don't know if that was Vlad, but that's usually a pocketknife, not really a weapon is more of a tool, right? So I find that kind of odd

and that there's one other guy, because I would imagine, too, that if Vlad's going in there, he's probably a pretty good customer because, you know, they're not going to let you just sit there and not order anything. So he's a good regular customer,

and I could understand the confusion and the hurt when you think it's a safe place and when you're in there and people, you know, you've never been disrespectful. You brought up things like the headphones maybe being a little loud or people didn't like him pacing. which, okay, fine, whatever, but he took care of those.

He would sit down or he'd turn it down. So none of that to me is like, hey, this is a problematic person. And so let's also go then go back to the guy who you brought up, the person who made the first complaint, then came back to make another complaint and said that he's got the knife on the table. What do you know about that guy? They don't know much about him. He wasn't a regular.

They don't know. They didn't get a description of the person, a name, anything. and I do feel like it was, you know, they felt that they needed to get a reason to have him trespassed. Like he had made a statement to the manager in the past that, you know, he was in the Marines and he's sleep deprived and those types of things. And so maybe those components, along with how he paste and whatnot, they decided that, you know, the knife was the last straw, I don't know, just to be on the safe side. But he's always been respectful there. And I asked the manager if they knew anything about the guy that witnessed the knife and they said no. even in their rules it says that

in order to trespass a employee has to witness it too but nobody in the store witnessed it as well but I do believe that Vladik brought a pocket knife with him because he had just bought one the day before and he's one that he likes I don't know if he was like showing it off which

could be him I think it was more of he wanted to sit down and it was bulky in his pocket and he took it out and set on the table. And he's not one to think about those things of like where you can and can't bring a pocket knife. I wouldn't have even thought about that. Like it's just a pocket knife kind of thing. Exactly.

A lot of people, especially in the cell, carry pocket knives or carry like little blades. I mean, that's a very common thing. Yeah. And in the body cam footage on Saturday the 6th, Blattick empties his pockets and he has his credit card, his debit card, his driver's license. He doesn't have the pocket knife on him. And the officer asked him, you know, what his phone number is? And he had recently changed it.

So he's like, I don't remember my number. The phone's back at the apartment. And when my dad got back 10 days later, his cell phone and the pocket knife were still at the apartment. and the last time the phone was used, like there was calls and text messages and all of that, but it was all unread from Foxtail on. So it's like he never looked at his phone again after Foxtail. And the only charge on the credit card that my dad left for him

was the cup of coffee at Foxtail that morning on the 6th. There was no other charges after then either. So to me, everything stops on the six. So let me ask this, and this might be a really dumb question, okay? And you can tell me, you can say, Justin, this is a dumb question, okay? Is there a chance, or have you thought about the fact that made, did this alleged patron maybe just not exist? I believe he existed. Okay.

I believe they just took the first person to say something that they could take. because it was probably at that point where they needed him to not hang around anymore. But at the same time, I really wish that when you're issued a trespass warning, you should have the right to know what it's for. Like if he knew that it was placing a pocket knife on a table two days ago, I don't feel like, I feel like it was a, that whole event was a catalyst for him being missing. I think it was an emotional break in him. and if he had known that it was just setting a pocket knife on a table,

I don't think it would have taken that big end of effect on him at all. Like, I don't know if he was worried that someone was after him and making complaints kind of thing. In the body cam footage, he says, I have to get out of this area. He was helping the homeless a lot, giving large bill, you know, he had large bills on him at all times. So I don't know if he was afraid of someone or not. but I feel like a lot of this could have been avoided if they were required to tell a person why they're getting trespassed.

Well, and the thing is, too, is if you own a business, you can, I mean, you can kick somebody out with no reason. You don't have to have just calls. It's a private business. You can be like, you're just not welcome here anymore. Yeah. And yes, that might have hurt his feelings or whatever, and I'm sure it would. But, you know, so is getting hit with a, you know, having to speak to a cop. then that adds, you know, another layer of being like nerve-wracking.

So if they didn't want him here, there was a different way that could have been handled. That didn't involve law enforcement or making up some excuse. And, you know, why another patron is getting involved in his business is a little. I mean, again, I understand because I live in areas like, you know, I've lived in areas like this might my whole life for the most part. And sometimes people just get a little, little nosy or a little too involved. But it seems that there are other ways that this could have been handled that would have left him in a position. I don't know what the word I'm looking for here is,

but not feeling as maybe stressed or as attacked. Yeah, that's a great. That's the word. Yeah, not feeling as attacked. And yeah, I mean, if somebody, nobody likes to be rejected. So if somebody's going to call and say, hey, or come up to him and say, hey, you know, we have a lot of complaint. You know, all you got to say, we've had a lot of complaints and people are uncomfortable,

man. I'm sorry. You know, we got to watch out for the other customers. You know, yeah, it's going to sting a little bit, but it's not going to be the same is if you call the police. That's a completely different, you know, mindset. So. Yeah. And I don't, I don't hold anything against Foxtail. I don't hold anything against Foxdale. I feel like they, they felt like they did what they had to do.

And they've been amazing, you know, keeping his flyer up in their business ever since then. It's the only business that I've never had to re-put up a flyer. I really am frustrated with the officer that came out and did the trespass warning, not giving a reason and it being the same organization the same sheriff's department that you know got his missing person's case you know after that point and being told that they didn't follow any body cam footage from there or anything like that was frustrating to hear when they were the one that did the initial report so so let's talk about that so he he goes missing um fox tail's working with you you have body You know, you have the one officer who did the report but didn't give him a reason, which is kind of, in my opinion, a little BS.

You know, if somebody's in trouble, they should know why. Otherwise, you know, how do you change? How do you affect change in your behavior if you don't know why? So I'm just going to leave that at that. And then police department is supposed to be looking for him. And I'm guessing that's probably going to be a pain point because here we are four years later and you and I are having this discussion. What in the last four years, almost four, because I'm going to be a pain point, because you. it'll be no in November it'll be four years so two months from now um or depending on whenever

this drops close to four years but what have you learned if anything about his disappearance what clues do you have what sort of you know how close are you to having any answers it's still like day one there is so many possibilities of what could have happened it's still like day one There is so many possibilities of what could have happened, but there's been no leads. There's been no sightings, which is wild to me because he is always starting up conversations with strangers. And there have been so many people that have reached out to me about interactions that they've had with him before he went missing. Complete strangers. One person messaged me on a social media platform saying,

is this your brother's phone number? And I said, yeah. And they said, oh, he stopped and talked with me, gave me his number. We were going to hang out. It never happened. But, like, you know, that just reminds me people will remember him. The officer that came and took the missing person's report was in his room with my dad. and he just he started to describe vladic before he even saw a picture he said isn't your son you know

five ten blonde hair hefty guy usually wears a black hoodie and dad's like yeah that describes him pretty well and the officer said i know vlad he came up to me and my partner just recently and thanked us for our service and started to have a conversation with us and that's just who Vladik is. He will find ways to start conversations with anybody that's around him because he wants to know what's going on in your life and if there's a way that he can help. For waiters and waitresses,

why? Dad and Vladik would go out to eat quite often and if he found out that, you know, the waiter was going through a rough time, you know, their car was in the shop. He left significant tips. And dad was financially supporting Vladik, and he was able to do that at that time. And he didn't care how Vladic was using the money because it was bringing purpose in his life.

So he would leave $300, $500 tips for individuals. And that's why Vladic is so remembered in the East Orlando area. And we've had advocates go out into homeless camps and cross pass with people that remember Vladic and bringing, you know, bag full of Chick-fil-A sandwiches and, you know, bringing others to the movies or sitting down with them at restaurants. And, you know, we've heard that from restaurant owners, remembering Vladik bringing people inside. And Vladik would tell Dad about how he took people to the movies and stuff.

And that's just Vladik's heart. He went through a lot as a child. we adopted him from Russia when he was only five and he went through a lot through those five years and he's always had a heart for others he's always had a heart for joining the Marines and he worked really hard and you know he went through boot camp he graduated

he was given a desk position and it's not what he thought it would be you know, he thought he would see active duty with the Marines and be on the go. And here he is sitting behind a desk. So he had told higher-ups that it was bringing up negative memories from his childhood in Russia. And they gave him a discharge under honorable conditions. And that was in 2019. And then COVID hit, which is more isolating.

And he's trying to figure out what's next for him because it's always been. in the Marines. There hasn't been a plan B. And, you know, COVID was 2020. In the beginning of 2021, he finally started finding a purpose with reaching out to the homeless in his area and giving back to waitresses and waiters. And then he's gone. I just need my brother back. I just need some sort of answer. There's, I believe he's out there somewhere. I believe that He's had countless interactions with people, but we haven't reached the right people. We need to get his face, his story out far enough, so they remember those interactions. And they can come forward with the first tip, the first credible lead that could mean everything in his case.

Before we go on with our discussion, this will be a good place to interject this. Do you guys have a website or something you'd like people to go to if they have any information in email? Like, how do you want people to be able to get a hold of you? And you can obviously give your socials as well. Yeah, there's a page on every social media platform, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, X, whatever you want to call it. Just search the hashtag find Vladic and you'll find it. And then you can reach out to me directly by email as well.

By his full name, find Brian Vladicassel at gmail.com. And with potential interactions, whatever you can remember of where you are, the location, the time of day, the day of the week, as much as you can to narrow it down. So law enforcement is more willing to request CCTV footage. Because if they're looking through a week of footage, they're not going to do it. But if people can narrow it down to, okay, it was last Tuesday in the afternoon, I feel like I interacted with him at a Wendy's. I can get someone to request footage and see if it's him or not. As much as you can remember, if you can even record his voice, I would know immediately if it's him or not.

You know, he was adopted from Russia, but he doesn't have a Russian accent or anything like that. And for listeners, I can put, I'll put the, you know, the socials as well as the email and the show notes. So anybody's listening to this, whether you're watching it on YouTube or listening to any of the many podcast streaming platforms, you can go there and get to any of these. And I would encourage you to follow because one thing I can tell you as a social media creator myself

is that something free that you can do that's easy, especially for people who are missing loved ones. Hitting that follow button just shows some engagement for the algorithm. It's something very easy for you to do that's free. So Domit and I encourage you will do that. But everything will be in the show notes so that you can recap to Bethany.

Yeah. And also, I try to go live every Tuesday night on TikTok, 9 o'clock Eastern for anyone that, you know, might hear this story a month ago, two years ago and want an update. You know, you can be a part of the conversation. You can be a part of the search form, the ongoing search forum, by just joining in that way as well. And so just follow her on the problems again. We'll link everything and you can do that.

So, and I would encourage if you have any information, even if you think it's minuscule, reach out. It's helpful. Now, let's go back to the police for a second because, you know, one comes out to take the report. one, you know, or to give him the trespass. Another one says, oh, we remember we can do the missing report. We remember him. He spoke to us. And it sounds like, based on what you're saying, and I'm not sitting here trying to dog the police

because I know that they have a fairly big caseloads, and I know that they have a lot of work to do. And most of them are, you know, overworked, understaffed, underpaid. Okay. So I'm, I'm cognizant of that. But I also live in Tennessee myself. I know you're not in Tennessee or Florida. But I personally live in Tennessee.

and I look at like Sebastian Rogers and Summer Wells. And there's another case, Jennifer and Adriana Wicks, who've been missing for nearly 20 years. And there's so many, I mean, there's more than that that I'm not even thinking of at this moment. But they do a really bad job finding these people. And it sounds like Florida's not doing much better, at least in Vlad's case. Have they given you, do you think that, how do I work? I don't, you know, I'm just going to say it directly.

Do you think they're even working this case? So I think at the beginning we had some major setbacks with the detective that was working his case. I don't feel like they took it seriously enough. They had Vladick's phone and all that and they gave it back to us three months later. And I asked the detective if they were able to reach out to anybody that Vladik was in contact with. And she looked me in the face and said, no, I thought you did. And then I asked, yeah, yeah. All right.

And then I asked her if they were able to look at any video footage from these fast food places that he would go to quite often. I didn't know about Fox Hill at this point. And so I asked her, like, were you able to look at any footage from these places he would go to, any street cameras? and mind you there was a camera at the video at the apartment complex for the laundry room and the gym and I went the day we reported missing I went to the front desk and was like hey can we get the footage and they said it only saves for seven days and we'll only release it to law enforcement so I have had told the detective about that and followed up a week later and she never followed up on it. So any relevant footage was gone. And then when I asked her about footage of like street cameras or places that he would frequent, she said it was too much footage to look through and that street cameras weren't working around that area.

Yeah. Street cameras weren't working and any, you know, businesses, it was too much footage. So that's when she said, well, there was a sighting at the apartment complex. Someone said he came to, it was actually a friend of Vladik's, came to his door at like 3 in the morning on the 15th asking to stay there. And his friend's like, no man, my girlfriend's here, kids are here, they're getting up in a few hours, it's not going to work. So Vladic immediately asked for a gun. and the friend said, I don't have a gun, I can't be around that, you know, why do you need it? And he said it was for protection.

And when the guy pressed him, he said it was for protection against an animal. But Vladica is also one that he doesn't want people to worry about him. So I don't know if like for an animal was just like something to get him off his case or if he was worried about somebody. And he told the guy that I need to get off grid. like he sounded paranoid what the guy describes him wearing is what he was kind of wearing during the trespass warning so that's why I wonder if that happened

the night of the 6th or around that time but yeah she said you know this person saw him on the 15th 3 a.m. And I said okay is there any way that we can confirm that is there any way we can verify that? And she said no he didn't take out his phone and take a picture of your brother that day.

And I was like, okay. And she said, but I can tell you that my office interacted with him on November 6th when they issued a trespass warning. And I was like, what do you mean? He doesn't get in trouble. Why was he issued a trespass warning? And she's like, oh, you know your brother. He was probably just talking too much. She didn't even know the reason why.

So after that, we reached out to Foxtail to get more information from the manager, and that's when we learned about the pocket knife that happened two days prior and all of that. So we missed a lot of important opportunities at the beginning, footage from these places that he would frequent following his steps from the body cam footage from there, of seeing where he went from there when he walked off camera. like that was something that we could have tracked but we didn't find out until three months later and there was no more footage um i will say we've had two detectives since then um and they they've been great um our current detective that we've had for a year now has been incredible he works side by side with me any potential sighting that comes through um he sends my way and like there was one potential site in Washington state. And he said someone had an interaction with a guy that they thought resembled Vladek

and a Walmart parking lot, but we can't get any footage to see if it's him or not. So I was able to partner with advocates. Brandy from Evaporate the Missing, mailed out postcard-sized flyers of Lattick to businesses around that area to be on the lookout. moms and mysteries did digital Facebook ads for that area so people could be on the lookout stuff like that. But we were able to get more information about the potential siting and it wasn't him. But that's just encouraging to me of how our current officer has been just so supportive and so quick to respond to things. he even came to the candlelight, the three-year candlelight last year, which means more to me than he'll probably ever know.

He wore Vlad's shirt there. Like something so simple just means the world to me and my family. I think that it's pretty interesting that some, I think that this kind of gives you or shows you the power of how far this story is getting by somebody in Washington State having something like, maybe this is this guy and calling that in. I think that that in and of itself is pretty incredible as well. And I think that that's fantastic. It's sad that it wasn't him, but you were able to kind of at least get a determination and know that. And then as far as the police officer,

I just want to say is, I'm glad that you have a good detective now. I can't imagine the frustration. You must have tried to deal with law enforcement over a missing person who doesn't seem to care. I can only begin to imagine how infuriating that is. because that's their job, right? Somebody's went missing.

It's their job to find them or at least get answers. And, you know, the families deserve answers. Whether, you know, no matter what the outcome is, families deserve some kind of answer. And especially with when adults go missing, I feel like, you know, it's that common phrase. You know, they're an adult. They're allowed to leave. But you have no idea the backstory. You haven't tried looking to see if they're okay.

And, you know, one of the persons that I spoke to at the sheriff's office was like it was a couple weeks afterwards or something. And they're like, no, it was the first visit we had three months later. He's like, I'm surprised we're still looking for him. I thought he would have showed up by now. And like, it's that kind of mindset. Like, you don't think it's real, but we're four years into this. And there hasn't been one sighting. There hasn't been one mark on his bank account.

One mark on his social security. Nothing. Like, act like put everything you have into it at the beginning. And we might not be here four years later. Exactly. Because now a lot of tangible evidence would be gone. And, you know, you and I have, you know, Nikki is friends of both of ours, right? So, you know, she's, I'm sure she's told you, she's told me the story about how they got Gabby.

Like she had to pretty much like, like get on the floor of a police, you know, a police officer say, I'm not leaving until you take this report. Trying to report a missing adult is very, very difficult. I mean, it's even difficult if they're a teenager because oftentimes law enforcement just wants to, you know, treat it as a runaway. And that even if it, even if it's a runaway, they're still a vulnerable person. There's still somebody out there that's not looking. And I think that for men is actually what I've discovered. that's a lot harder to get them to take it seriously. Yeah, they can defend themselves. They're fine.

But you have no idea what they're facing. Exactly. You have no idea what they're going through. And it's, to me, it's not acceptable. And I would, I would have expected more, you know, out of it, especially this long end and you guys not have any answers. And my heart just breaks for you on that. I mean, like legitimately because it's, you keep hitting, I mean, I'm glad you have a good detective that's trying to work with y'all now. but to have hit those many dead ends early on when everything was fresh, I want to pull my hair out, and that's me putting it nicely.

So, so, you know, I don't get what. The only way that I'm still able to fight as hard as I am over these four years is the community that surrounded Vladik's case. So many amazing advocates and strangers who have now become my extended family of what kept me going. and their support, your support, I can't do this alone. So I'm just so grateful for each of you. Oh, no, I'm grateful that, you know, and I truly mean what I'm going to say here.

I am grateful that you, you trusted me enough to share your story to share a Vlad's story. And that's a weight that I take with great responsibility because, you know, this isn't, what I always have to remind people about the true crime or is Jim Schmidt likes to say, real crime. is that while people, yes, find it fascinating and I guess a pseudo form of entertainment, you have to remember that there are real people behind this. You know, for the people who are listening to this episode, you know, you want to binge, you know, true crime stuff.

And that's good, you know, it's good for awareness. It's good for your education to learn. For cases like this, it's good for, you know, Bethany to, you guys know, you know, Vlad's name now. And you can kind of help find them. But they're real people at the core of this, for loved ones. Bethany is at the core of this looking for her brother. And I mean, imagine being in her situation and not being able to get much answers or get much help. And that's

where, you know, social media or podcast things like that can really come in and make a difference and having advocates because all it takes is one person to have seen something, to know something. And even if you're not sure, call it in because you'd rather than exhaust it and turn out to be nothing, then it actually had been something. And you just never know. Yeah. It always, it renews. lose hope within me with any potential citing that comes our way. Even if it doesn't turn out to it be anything, it just reminds me that there's people that are aware, aware of their surroundings as they're out and about, and they're looking for them.

And it's just going to take one person to call in and be him. So I never want to discourage people from calling in even if it's a slight possibility. You just never know. Exactly. You just never know. Because it could be the tip that that changes everything. You just learn out. What else that I've not asked to or that we haven't talked about?

If there is anything, do you want to share? The biggest way that you can help my family, anyone that's listening to my voice, is resharing his flyer, resharing his story to the 10 friends you have on Facebook, your family members, anybody and everyone. It just takes one person to recognize him. And this world is incredibly small. We will reach someone that remembers him. I don't believe he's local anymore. I feel like I've been able to get a lot of coverage here in Orlando and I feel like there would have been tips by now

if he was nearby. So my goal is to reach every state in the country with his picture and his story because I do believe he's somewhere out there. He might be someone that you sat next to you at a coffee table. He might be someone that you played basketball with last Friday. Just being aware of your surroundings and reaching out with that tip. And for people, so with a podcast, you know, it's difficult to add a fly or two. But what again, what we'll do is we will link. Yeah, it's on the link, free.

You know, the side. You know, the side. get to it. Again, remember, there's real people with this. Bethany is a real person looking, you know, and I can tell you, she, you're, you know, Bethany, you're not the first person, obviously, that I've spoken to who is missing a loved one.

And I can tell you that this becomes their life. You know, when you're searching for a loved one, you want answers and it can be years or decades if they don't get a tip soon. And people don't deserve that. They deserve some kind of an answer. So if you know anything, even you want to call an anonymous, fine. You can email me. You know, my email is just in the nick of crime at gmail.com.

You can email me anonymously. I won't, you know, and just say, hey, this is what I have. Just tell them where to look. I want to stay out of it. Fine. We'll take that, you know, and just anything. So if you have, you know, I'm just trusting it. If you have anything, come forward.

It's more important than you realize. Absolutely. Bethany, thank you for staying coming on and sharing your story. and, you know, let's see we can get out there to hopefully find him. Thank you so much, Justin, for having me and being a voice for Blatic. Absolutely. Any time. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are solely those of the individual speaking and do not necessarily reflect those of the host.

Unheard is intended to provide a platform for personal stories and lived experiences, not to establish facts, determine guilt, innocence, or provide legal, medical, or professional advice. Listeners are encouraged to conduct their own research and form their own conclusions. Thank you for listening to Unheard.