Pictured below is Gary L. Copen, my sister, Lynn Florio ‘s coworker/friend who, after a planned trip to Cancún just Last Week, is now MISSING in Quintana Roo, Mexico… no call, no return, no-show, and he has been unreachable for several days.
HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW:
1. Gary booked a 6-night trip to Cancún departing PHX on Wed, 21 April. Text messages show he made that flight after using Lyft for airport transportation.
2 He stayed at the RIU Hotels and Resorts (Palace Las Americas) booked for 21 through 27 April.
3. He sent daily texts/photos to coworker and friend, Caryle, up until the evening of Saturday, 24 April, around 6pm, when he indicated he’d been invited on a dinner date, while also having an invite to meet a couple of other guys on the beach.
4. It’s assumed he went to that beach meeting, because he texted Caryle, “Off to the beach… I’m inviting a really hot guy to the beach right now is that crazy? There’s some other guys at the beach waiting for me!” (screenshot attached)
5. That was the last time he was heard from by anyone state-side.
6. According to RIU, Gary checked out Tuesday morning, 27 April, as expected.
7. According to American Airlines, Gary failed to check-in for, nor did he board, his return flight to Phoenix. He did not rebook.
8. Hotel RIU reports that guest, Gary Copen checked *back* in to the hotel on Tuesday afternoon, 27 April, the date of his scheduled return flight.
9. Hotel RIU further reported that guest, Gary Copen, checked out a second time, on Thursday, 29 April, as the hotel no longer had vacancies. They further report that the guest then asked for a less expensive hotel recommendation, to which they referred him to @MayafairDesignHotel
10. Mayafair Design Hotel has confirmed that a guest, Gary Copen, checked in on Thursday afternoon, 29 April, and, as of today, he is booked there for another night.
11. He does not answer his cell phone (which goes right to VM), nor has he responded to any messages of any form nor to anybody.
12. He had left his very-beloved dog with a friend, and his cat remained alone in his condo. Thanks to Phoenix Police Department and a locksmith, both pets have been rescued and are being fostered until this mystery can be solved.
13. Caryle’s husband has done most of the investigative work, but we’re having difficulty getting information due to privacy issues.
14. I have called Mayafair only to receive a recording with no VM option, and, also, this doesn’t seem to be a standard hotel that can ring a guest’s room. Several messages have been left.
15. I have sent emails and FB messages to Mayafair, and have yet to receive a response.
16. The Consulate has been notified, but have informed us that, even if they find Gary Copen, he would then have to give express consent for the Consulate to notify us of his whereabouts; if he’s found dead, only relatives will be notified.
17. He has a brother, Keith, who lives in Fountain Hills, but their relationship may be estranged, as brother seemed apathetic or indifferent to the story.
18. Gary Copen no-showed/no-call for work at Arizona Leather’s Tempe store on Thursday, 29 April.
19. Gary Copen did not contact his dog-sitting friend to extend the favor.
20. Gary Copen did not make arrangements for someone to look in on his cat…
21. So it seems, he did not intend to extend his stay, but he has not been heard from since Saturday, 24 April.
At this point, 4 days after his scheduled return from Cancún to Phoenix, a flight for which he was not on board… folks are worried!!
Reportedly, Gary doesn’t drink or use drugs.
Gary LOVES his fur babies more than anything, so it seems impossible that he’d abandon them like this.
Although it is *possible* that Gary got caught up in a moment, this does not match the usual actions of Gary Copen known by friends and coworkers.
We cannot help but suspect Foul Play!!
UPDATE: After a ton of effort and expat help, I spoke with Gary tonight. It all still seems pretty fishy, but he says he’s returning to the US tomorrow. I will leave my posts as-is until he physically arrives… just to be sure. Thank you, everybody!
