LAKELAND, Fla. — Even as five years have passed, the search still continues for a missing Disney employee and Air Force veteran out of Lakeland.
The last time anyone saw Brian Klecha was on this day exactly five years ago – Dec. 27, 2017. Investigators say they are not giving up.
The now 40-year-old man, who worked at Walt Disney World, was last seen at a MidFlorida Credit Union in Auburndale in 2017. Fast forward two months, investigators found his car abandoned on the Selmon Expressway in Tampa.
Authorities say there were signs of a crash but no sign of Klecha.
They said in a prior statement they believe he may have been the victim of domestic or drug abuse.
"Brian had a steady job, he had a good circle of friends...he loved his pets," Florida Department of Law Enforcement Tampa Special Agent in Charge Mark Brutnell said. "And then after Dec. 27, 2017, all that changed. No one has heard or seen from him. His social media is nonexistent. His pets had been abandoned, his storage unit which had some of his belongings in it was auctioned off by the storage unit.
"And the most important aspect of that is his mother has not heard from her son in five years, that's very concerning for us."
Authorities say they've tracked down several leads but nothing concrete as of now. This is why they are once again asking for people to speak up if they know anything about Klecha's disappearance.
"You just don't vanish off the face of the Earth," Brutnell said.
If you have information about the whereabouts or disappearance of Brian Edward Klecha, please call Special Agent Mark Seckley at (813) 878-7334 or email Info@fdle.state.fl.us.