An American tourist has vanished in Turks and Caicos after he left his Airbnb in the early morning, walking toward the downtown area of the popular tourist destination.
Brian Tarrance, 51, was last seen on security footage leaving his rental home in Grace Bay, Providenciales, and walking toward the downtown area around 3:30 a.m. on June 25, according to private investigator Carl DeFazio.
DeFazio, who was hired by Tarrance’s family, told News 12 Westchester that nothing was out of the ordinary leading up to his disappearance.
“Everything prior to the point where he walked out of that house, he seems fine,” DeFazio said. “They had a boat trip and went to dinner, just like every other family would do when they’re here.”
Tarrance, who recently moved to Manhattan, arrived in Turks and Caicos with his wife on June 22. They planned to stay until June 29.
The evening Tarrance went missing, his wife had gone to bed. When she woke up, he was no longer at the Airbnb.
“They seemed to be having a normal couple days, and he ended up walking out of his condo, which is in a very safe place and in the middle of Grace Bay Road,” DeFazio told Fox News. “We have him on camera, and he walks into town, and then he basically disappears, and we haven’t heard from him since.”
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He was seen leaving the rental wearing a T-shirt, shorts and sneakers. He also had his cellphone and wallet with him.
DeFazio said that it remains a mystery why Tarrance left the Airbnb in the first place.
“That’s a little bizarre in itself,” he said. “He’s in the middle of town. His wife was sleeping.”
DeFazio said he has been working to obtain a record of Tarrance’s phone activity while on the island, but it’s been a “slow process.”
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police have listed Tarrance as missing and are currently investigating the matter.
DeFazio said that police are using drones to scan the area and reviewing CCTV footage of the night of his disappearance.
“We are trying everything we can. We’ve blanketed the area with photos, put it on social media chats and all kinds of things,” DeFazio said.
He said that he’s “very proud of the response from the local businesses and people on vacation,” who have offered their assistance after missing person flyers were distributed all over the island.
“So far, we haven’t been successful in anything, but we’re not giving up hope…What I tell the family…in cases like this: Stay positive until you have a reason not to be,” DeFazio said.
Turks and Caicos police are asking anyone with information about Tarrance’s disappearance to contact 911 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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