Vycheslav Arjkadyevich Akopov was a man who vanished in 1998.
Background[]
Vycheslav was born on July 26, 1946. He was originally from Uzbekistan and at the time of his disappearance he had a wife and two children still living there. He would regularly send them letters and photographs. He would also send them money from his job at Harriet and Henderson.
It was normal for Vycheslav to allow other Uzbekistanis he met to live with him until they were able to find work. At the time of his disappearance he had two men, both in their thirties, living in his trailer with him. They were both 5'9-5'11 tall with stocky builds. Unlike Vycheslav's previous tenants they did not seem to be able to find work and were relatively young. His landlord has expressed that she didn't like them. They have never been publicly identified.
Case[]
Vycheslav vanished from Bladensboro, North Carolina on September 12, 1998. That day he was apparently driving to Raleigh, something he did frequently, with his roommates. He was trying to find his insurance agent. In Elizabethtown, he met his employer who helped him with this. Vycheslav was last seen getting into his light coloured, four door 1987 Plymouth Caravelle with the other men. None of them have been seen or heard from since.
Vycheslav was reported missing by his employer, Wanda Phipps, on September 22, 1998. He had not been showing up for work and hadn't given any notice as to why which was extremely unusual for him. Since Vycheslav had also been renting his trailer from Phipps she was able to check in on it after realising he had vanished. She found the trailer to be in a messy condition despite unusually being "neat as a pin". The refrigerator was dented and some photos had been removed from their frames.
Vycheslav had approximately $500 to $600 in cash on him at the time of his disappearance. He also had his last two paycheques, which were never cashed, with him. His Uzbek/English dictionary, which he took everywhere with him, was missing from his trailer but he had left all of his other belongings behind.
Sadly, Vycheslav's family continued to send him letters until law enforcement and a missing person's organisation were able to find a translator to explain the situation to them. Male skeletal remains were found near Wilmington, California, bore certain similarities to Vycheslav. This John Doe has never been identified. Foul play is considered possible in his case.
Characteristics[]
- Greying black hair.
- Spoke limited English.
Sources[]
- Vycheslav Akopov at the Charley Project
- Vycheslav Akopov at NamUs
- Vycheslav Akopov at the Doe Network