ORLANDO, Fla. – This month marks three years since Bryan “Vladek” Hasel was last seen at home in the area of Alafaya Trail and MacKay Boulevard.
“Love will find a way,” said Vlad’s father, Steve Hasel. “If it will, we’ll find him, because I know he’s deeply, deeply loved.”
To honor Vladek’s memory and continue raising awareness, the Hasel family held a vigil on the campus of the University of Central Florida on Saturday evening. They handed out flyers, bracelets, and other materials, determined to bring Vlad home.
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“It’s one of the last places around this area that he was. My family being here on University Boulevard, passing out flyers, I feel him close to me,” said Vlad’s sister, Bethany Hasel.
The vigil drew more than a dozen of supporters, including Nicole Schmidt, the mother of Gabby Petito, a young woman whose tragic story captured national attention.
“When your loved one is missing, you’ll do absolutely everything to find them,” Schmidt said. “They’re doing the right thing. They love their brother, their son, and they just keep going.”
Vladek disappeared in November 2021 without a trace. He was last seen near The Place at Alafaya apartment complex, close to UCF. Despite extensive searches and investigations, no leads have surfaced regarding the whereabouts of the former Marine.
“We adopted him from Russia, and in these last seven years, he’s leaned on me heavily after leaving the Marines,” said Steve Hasel. “We kind of made a promise that we’d stick around for each other as long as we were both there. That’s why I just don’t understand why we haven’t heard from him if he’s alright.”
Despite several searches and investigations, they haven’t found any leads or signs of the former Marine.
“He is somewhere. We believe,” Cheryl Hasel, Vlad’s mother said. “All the searches have found nothing definitive, but we hold on to the hope that he’s out there.”
With a new detective from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office taking on the case and the continued support of Gabby Petito’s family, the Hasels feel a renewed sense of hope.
“I have the word believe all over my home,” Cheryl Hasel said. “I just have to believe.”
The Hasel family has expanded their search beyond Florida, traveling across the country to keep the effort alive.
In March, they plan to visit Indianapolis for Advocacy Con to raise awareness about the search for Vladek.
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