Vladek Hasel

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2:00have been changed or omitted per their request or for safety purposes. Listener discretion is advised. My name is Sarah Turney and this is Voices for Justice.

2:16Today, I'm discussing the disappearance of Vladek Hassel. This case has to be one of the most puzzling I've seen yet. 22-year-old Vladek was a staple in his community. Local shop owners and employees, along with police and countless community members, are very familiar with Vladek. He's friendly and outgoing, the type of guy who can strike up a conversation with anyone, and is genuinely interested in learning more about your life. The type of guy to leave a server a$500 tip if they told him they were struggling, while he went back to his apartment and slept on a deflated air mattress. But in the fall of 2021, Vladek began expressing concerns for his safety, even going as far as buying a knife and asking a friend if he had a gun he could borrow.

3:03And then, he was just gone. This is the case of Vladik Hassel. Brian Vladik Hassel was born on December 20th, 1998 in Russia. He and his sister, Irina, were adopted by the Hassel family in Florida in 2004. His older sister, Bethany was kind enough to speak with me for this episode. She's really been leading the charge to find Vladek and is a wealth of knowledge on this case, so you'll be hearing a lot from her in this episode, especially when it comes to his state of mind before he went missing, which I think is crucial to finding him. Here she is to tell us a bit about growing up with Vladek and their family structure.

3:46Yeah, thank you guys so much for taking the time to share Vlad's story and help get his face out there to more eyes and listeners. It's so greatly appreciated. I'm Bethany. I'm one of Vladek's older sisters. We have a very large family. Vladek has six sisters. It's a blended family. Oldest two siblings are ones from my mom's previous relationship, ones from my dad's previous marriage, four of us, and then Irina and Vladik, we adopted into our family from Russia in 2004. And Vladik's the baby of the family. So growing up, Vladik has always been your typical boy wanting to have adventures outside, climb trees, play with neighborhood friends.

4:46He enjoyed sports growing up, basketball, a little t-ball, football, those kinds of things as well. And just always on the go. Didn't really stay in one spot for very long. In the summer of 2011, when Vladek was 12, his parents separated. And Vladek went to go live with his father, Steve, in Claremont, Florida. He stayed there until 2017. when he went to live with his half-sister Carrie in Arlington, Texas. At this point, Vladek is an adult, and he begins to pursue his lifelong dream of joining the Marines. Here's Bethany to elaborate. Before COVID, he had joined the Marines, went through boot camp, and that was something that was a goal for his life even from a young age.

5:37He had talked about his desire to join the Marines, And he worked really hard to do that. Graduated from boot camp in December of 2018 and was given a desk position after that. Wasn't quite what he was expecting post-Marine boot camp life to be. He had always envisioned more of an active role, especially with his personality. and he even received like marksmanship awards for how well he did. So he thought it would be more like a soldier type role. He found a way to get a discharge from the Marines and had told higher ups that it was just bringing up negative memories from his childhood in Russia and was able to get a discharge and it was classified.

6:36the paperwork has it say that it's classified under honorable conditions for failure to adapt so he moved back to the Orlando area lived with my dad and really kind of struggled for what was next after leaving the Marines because there wasn't really a plan b that was his goal Tried some jobs here and there Nothing really stuck Lasted a day, couple days Maybe a week tops And dad really felt like he was kind of Going through potential periods of depression So he didn't want to put too much pressure on him To get a job, keep a job Vladik ended up moving to Detroit, Michigan To live with my sister Carrie In January of 2020 and got a job at a hospital there and did really well, was cleaning hospital rooms.

7:41COVID kind of, you know, exploded a couple months later and he was still working at the hospital. And my sister Carrie is a single mom. Aftercare and childcare kind of closed down during that time so she had to take a leave of absence and vladic would pick up extra shifts and do what he could to help support the three of them financially and carrie would also say how different nurses would tell her how grateful they were for vladic because you know he would be one of the first first employees to volunteer to clean some of these covid positive rooms when people were too scared to go in. He did that for a little bit.

8:28They moved to New Hampshire a couple months later. He got another job, ended up getting let go from that one, and kind of struggled again for what was next. So he decided to move back to the Orlando area in summer of 2020. Now, Bethany says that this just really wasn't the best living situation in general. By this time, their father had gotten remarried and was living in a small condo. Steve and his new wife also rented one of the rooms to another couple, so the only place for Vladek to sleep was the couch. Eventually, Steve and his new wife did split up, and this is when he and Vladek began looking for a new place to live in Orlando.

9:17Vladek and dad stayed at hotels. for about six weeks before they found the apartment complex. And they were moved into that apartment at the place at Alifea. They were there for about a year before Vladek went missing. And so that was around November of 2020. And then at the beginning of 2021, Vladek really kind of found a purpose. he wasn't working he wasn't going to school my dad was financially supporting him and Fladdick just found ways to kind of reach out in the community help the homeless population we've heard from different individuals of how he would bring meals to individuals and take them to the movies or sit down with them at restaurants and just chat with them and make sure they knew how much they mattered and their story mattered.

10:26And dad and Vladek would also eat out a lot. And, you know, Vladek would start up conversations with the waiter. And if he found out that they were going through a hard time, whether it was a car in the shop or unexpected bill coming up, you know, he would leave a very, you know, significant tip at times, you know,$100,$300 tip, a couple times even a$500 tip. And it was because of his generosity that he is so well remembered in that area. This message is sponsored by Greenlight. Money is this invisible thread that ties us all together. It's something everyone has to deal with. That's why teaching kids about money isn't just smart, it's essential.

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12:17At this point, it's 2021, and Vladikassel is 22 years old. His dream of a lifelong career in the Marines unfortunately didn't work out as he'd hoped. And like a lot of people in their early 20s, he's trying to figure out his purpose. Not just a way to make ends meet, but he wants to find his passion. And it's around this time that his perspective on life really begins to change. It's here when he begins to reject consumerism, live a very minimalistic life, and focus on giving back to his community however he can. Here's Bethany to discuss this shift in his behavior. He had like a change in mindset, I guess you could call it.

13:03Throughout childhood, you know, middle school, high school years, your typical boy, you know, wanting the name brand clothes, the Michael Jordans, the newest iPhone that comes out, you know, as anyone... typical teenager would. But really at the beginning of that year, he, that all changed. He would start to make remarks about, you know, why do we need things of this earth? Things of this earth are just a distraction. Why can't, you know, we, why are we here when We can just be in heaven. And really took on a minimalistic perspective of life.

13:54When my dad and Vladek moved into that apartment, dad, you know, encouraged him to get a bed. And Vladek said, oh, no, I've got an air mattress. This is fine. And that air mattress, you know, as air mattresses do, did not last long and did not keep air. It was completely flat in his room. And dad would, you know, all right, you got to get a bed now. And Vlad had kept telling him no when he finally caved and said, okay, got one of those mattress in a box things. and it was delivered maybe, I don't know, a month or so before Vlad went missing and it remained in the box. He never took it out. While the air mattress sat on his floor, completely deflated, like he just didn't focus on items.

14:54Gave away his tablet and was just really focusing on helping those that he could. While it seemed that Vladek was trying to find his purpose in life through giving back and being a very active and helpful member of his community, his family was growing concerned with his frequent discussions about heaven, archangels, and demons. And it was really near the end of 2021 that things began to escalate before Vladek went missing. So let's dig into the timeline leading up to Vladek's disappearance. On November 3rd, 2021, Vladek bought a pocket knife, telling his father that he needed it for protection.

15:34Of course, I asked Bethany what or who Vladek might need protection from, and she told me that she's really not sure. One side of her believes that Vladek may have bought the knife just for generic protection versus some specific threat. But of course, in hindsight, she believes that Vladek did seem worried during this time period. She just doesn't know exactly why. And as we'll discuss later in this episode, this wasn't something Vladek carried around with him at all times. But either way, later that night, the vehicle Vladek shared with his father breaks down at an outdoor shopping center in Orlando called Waterford Lakes Plaza, and Vladek walks home.

16:14The following day, on November 4th, the car gets towed to a mechanic, and Vladek visits his favorite coffee shop, Foxtail Coffee. This is a shop he visited often, and during this particular visit, Fladek takes his pocket knife out of his pocket before sitting down, and he places it on top of the table. This made one patron uncomfortable, and after reporting it to the coffee shop, a trespass warning is issued against Fladek with the Orange County Sheriff's Office, but he's not told about this. So when he goes back to the coffee shop two days later on November 6th, he's pretty surprised that after he purchases his coffee, he's confronted by a member of law enforcement.

16:55Now, we do have about 14 minutes of body cam footage of this interaction, but even after trying to enhance the audio, much of it is difficult to hear, specifically Vladek. So I'm just going to explain the interaction. The officer approaches Vladek in the shop as he's drinking his coffee. He asks Vladek to step outside, which he does voluntarily. While asking for his ID, the officer asks if he understands that the shop has issued a trespass warning against him. Vladek said that he was not aware. At this point, the officer explains that it's private property, and they can do what they want. He further explains that if he comes back, he'll be arrested, and Vladek complies without any type of fight or argument.

17:38He also empties his pockets, and we can see that Vladek is not in possession of the knife that initiated the trespass warning. The officer then grabs Vladik's ID, goes back to his vehicle, and begins filling out the trespass warning paperwork. Vladik runs back inside to grab his coffee, and then begins telling the officer that he appreciates what he does, while he just continues filling out the paperwork. Vladik is just kind of walking back and forth while sipping his coffee and waiting for the officer to finish. When the officer asks what his phone number is, Vladek explains that he got a new phone and can't remember the number and doesn't have the phone on him.

18:16Just as a side note, when I interviewed Bethany, she did confirm that Vladek had broken his smartphone not long before this incident and had since switched to a flip phone after his father insisted he needed some way to communicate, but he didn't often carry this phone with him. After this, Vladek confirms that he's never been arrested and says something I think is pretty curious. He says he can't be around this area anymore. He then looks at the officer's vehicle, which says, In God We Trust, and he asks the officer if he believes in God, but the officer refuses to engage in conversation about whether or not he believes.

18:54Vladik's fingerprints are then taken, and he asks the officer if he's a felon now. The officer explains that he is not. Vladik again explains that he didn't know he did anything wrong until the officer arrived, but he says he understands and that he isn't mad. Then he says it was nice doing business with you. The officer then walks back into the coffee shop and asks the manager to sign the paperwork before giving Vladek a copy and returning his ID. The officer says take care, Vladek says you too, and he walks away. It's honestly a tough video to see. While Vladek is cooperative with the officer, you can see that he's having a hard time either following directions or just remembering them.

19:37The officer repeatedly asks him to take his hands out of his pockets, which of course makes sense. Officers need to ensure their safety too, and Vladek apologizes, saying it's just a habit. He also reiterates that the officer has seen that he doesn't have anything in his pockets, and he looks a little hurt and confused. He's also told to wait in a certain spot, and he does, but then he begins kind of just walking around. It's this mix of Vladek being compliant, kind, and even trying to strike up friendly conversation with the officer, while also likely being hurt that his favorite coffee shop has asked him to leave and not come back without any explanation.

20:17During this entire interaction, Vladek is never told why he's being issued this warning, or why they don't want him to come back, just that it's private property and they can do whatever they want. This may be why he said that he couldn't be in this area anymore or it could be something completely different. Unfortunately, we don't know and can only speculate. But we do know that this interaction was pivotal because after this, Vladek would seemingly disappear for about a week resurface just one more time and then go missing. here's bethany to discuss this interaction me as a sister can see the confusion behind those eyes and how he's trying to put on a brave face and trying to make sense of what's going on and um it's just so frustrating because not to be told a reason why you're in trouble just to kind of like say, you know, it's a private business.

21:27They could do it for the shirt that you wear. Like that frustrates me to no end. Like if you're going to have a document against you, I feel like it's your right to know why. And I feel like that could have changed a lot of things if he realized, oh, I put a pocket knife on the table. Can't do that. My bad. Like he's not one that thinks those things through. He probably had no idea like that was a no, a no go kind of thing.

22:02Yeah, just things like that. And I wish I could just reach through that screen and hug him and change the outcome. foxtail was a place it was kind of like a refuge for him I would say because he would go there the most out of all the businesses and the manager had said you know over the year that he lived there he was there probably at least three times a week spending hours on end and um a lot of kind of made like offhand comments in the past about to my dad about you know maybe I can maybe I can do something with my singing one day maybe I can do something with that and it kind of you know took dad by surprise because like I haven't even heard him sing anything like I didn't know that something he enjoyed um but after talking to the foxtail manager he had mentioned on his own that he said you know sometimes Ladek would sit at a table and he'd be singing to his music and people would actually sit down next to him and listen so like that had to have a level of comfortability to be vulnerable enough to just sing.

23:31And, you know, there had been complaints in the past where people would say to employees, you know, he's making me uncomfortable. He's pacing with his coffee. Can you tell him to sit down or he's singing too loud or whatever it might be. And every time an employee in the past had mentioned anything, he would comply with no troubles at all. He would sit down, he would, whatever it might be. And like this time around, the person said he was leaving. So they didn't approach Fladdick. They didn't mention anything. And the guy came back and said, you know, the person I complained about, I also want to let you know, he put a pocket knife on the table.

24:11And it was at that point that they had to quote unquote do something. And like, I get it, you know, this day and age, you never know you own a business you have a policy no weapons fine I really don't hold anything against foxtail for acting upon it um they didn't witness the knife and according to their rules with no weapon policy it has to be also witnessed by an employee so I felt that was odd. But honestly, you know, what frustrates me the most is, you know, by the time, you know, the complaint was made, Vladek had already left. So it was two days later that there, when he comes back in and not to be told by the sheriff's office of why.

25:05Like, I get it, you know, when you have a trespass against you and it's something that is instantaneous. Like, you got in a fight with another customer in the store, you're being trespassed right now. Like, you know what it's for. But when it's two days later, like, that's not right. At this point, Vladek's family isn't even aware that this interaction happened. And his father, Steve, was actually away on a trip at this time. It's not until he returns home on November 15th that he realizes Vladek is missing.

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26:41On November 15th, 2021, Bladdick's father, Steve, returns to Orlando after a 10-day trip to Tennessee. He swings by the mechanic to pick up his vehicle that was previously towed there and heads home to the apartment he shared with his son. But when he gets there, he notices something odd. A package that was delivered on November 8th hasn't been brought inside, despite him specifically asking Vladek to do so. So he grabs the package and heads inside. And this is when he notices that Vladek's phone and pocket knife were still in his room. When he grabs the phone, he sees that he has missed texts, calls, and messages dating back to November 6th, the day he was issued the trespass warning at the coffee shop.

27:27Now, Steve isn't immediately panicked. He knows that despite his wishes, Vladek was technology-resistant and didn't love having a cell phone to begin with. He was also home from his trip a day early, so he figures maybe Vladek was staying somewhere else waiting for him to get home. But of course, we know that didn't happen. So Steve begins contacting family and Vladek's friends and he discovers that Vladek had been asking around for a place to stay. The last verified sighting of Ladek was at 3 a.m. on November 15th, just hours before his father returned home to their apartment. So like the days leading up to him going missing, you know, it did, as we hear these, about these encounters of people that, you know, spoke with him, it did seem like he could have been paranoid.

28:19He had asked to stay at a couple different friends' houses while dad was gone. A friend at the apartment complex, you know, the potential sighting on November 15th, wee hours of the morning, the friend said that Vladic came to his door at 3 a.m. out of breath, asking for if he could stay there. And the guy said, no, man, my girlfriend's here. her kids are here they're getting up soon for school and when he was told no he asked his friend if he had a gun and his friend said no i have a record i can't be around that why do you need it he said it was for protection and when asked protection against what the vladic said against an animal and you know that's just kind of how vladic kind of downplays things so like Like, was it for protection against an animal or was it protection against someone that he was afraid of and he didn't want his friend to worry about him?

29:29And like he had told him he was going to go off grid, just like different interactions like that. And the clothing that his friend describes him wearing is very similar to what he's wearing in the trespass warning. So, like, I wonder if that encounter happened then or was it, you know, closer to when the trespass warning happened? And why is he trying to find different places to stay when the apartment is empty? You know, they weren't, they didn't lock their apartment. So was he afraid someone would just come in? Was he afraid someone would find out where he lived or where dad lived and he was trying to protect where they lived?

30:12I don't know. It's just different things like that that make me wonder, is he staying away because he's trying to protect us or trying to create space? Of course, the question is, what would Vladek be afraid of? Well, Bethany explained to me that one possible explanation for this fear could be that it appeared he was being harassed by a couple Vladek offered assistance to. Before he broke the phone, the smartphone, he had received like close to 40 phone calls from a couple, homeless couple that he had helped in the past. And then he, quote unquote, broke his phone, went without one for a while.