Missing Person

Do you have any information of the volunteering organization that he might have used? May be they may have some information regarding your brother. Or if you have any information about hotel / hostels / guest houses that he used for accommodation in Kathmandu would be another reliable source.
The picture in your profile is very small. There are many photo hosting sites in the internet. You can use some sites like http://www.photobucket.com, http://picasaweb.google.com or http://www.flickr.com are good options for hosting your picture in big size. Please host a bit large picture and post in the forum again. May be if someone has seen your brother it might be helpful for them to recognize your brother.
I wish you will find him soon! All the best! Please do not mind to write if you need any helps!

Hello Sima

I hope you find your brother safe and sound.

It might help if the moderators made this thread a sticky so it remain

s visible at the top of the list. I have already asked but more people asking might persuade them.

Good luck.

scoodly

Guideupendra, thank you very much for your response and for kind advice.

Here is the link to a bigger photo of my brother, so please have a look if you are going to Nepal, maybe you will meet him: http://s1119.photobucket.com/albums/k631/zalia_smilga/?action=view&current=Paulius.jpg

The volunteering organisation is called Helambu Project ( http://helambuproject.org/ ). We constantly have contact with them, but currently they don't have new information. While my brother was in Kathmandu he was staying in Kailash Guest House (the owners do not know where he went next), but we do not have such information about other places he visited. Basically the traces go cold from the middle of March.

We are terrible concerned and desperate to learn what happened to my brother. Any information is very appreciated.

Scoodly,

Thank you so much for your help!

I certainly agree that this should be made a sticky - two months is a very long time for someone to be missing, especially in Nepal.

Have you checked with the banks and credit card providers whether there has been any activity or attempted activity on your brother's bank debit and credit cards. Did he have any electronic devices with him - some people carry mobile phones, GPS or emergency locator. I assume that you have looked at social websites - Facebook etc for any messages or information.

Has the Consul or anyone checked with the Nepal Immigration Ministry whether he has left Nepal - he may have decided to got to India. I have never been to Tibet, but I understand that all westerners must have visas - the Chinese authorities will have records. If he tried to enter Tibet illegally, he may well have been arrested - again the Chinese authorities will advise, but you may well need the Consul or embassy in Beijing to assist with this.

I do not know how easy it is to go into Tibet from the Helambu - Langtang part of Nepal - I believe that there are routes north of Syabru Bensi to the Tibet border.

You should also post this on the Tibet and maybe India parts of this website.

Was your brother travelling alone.

My advice would be to seriously consider going out to Nepal and to begin to make inquiries. Other people who have had relatives go missing may be able to give you advice on this (Aubrey Sacco, Julian Wynne (I think) or David Koch).

You or someone may need to visit monasteries, if your brother is into Buddhism. Some monasteries are very remote.

Obviously I hope that your brother is OK - please keep us updated.

Dear rdccomments,

Thank you very much for your comment and for all your suggested ideas.

The thing is that my brother has not travelled a lot like that before, and he just wanted to take a break after studying. As far as we know, or up till we know, my brother was travelling alone, unless he met someone on the way, but we don‘t have such information. Also having read in forums on the internet that there is limited access to electricity and the usage of credit cards in the area further from Kathmandu, he didn‘t take either his phone nor a credit card (It seems quite unwise now, I know). So the way we kept in touch was through e-mails, till we got the last one at the beginning of March.

The Consul was checking with the border agency to confirm whether my brother is still in the country, but we are still waiting the results for that. The Indian embassy has been informed too, but no news from that side. We had left Tibet aside then as we thought he wouldn‘t take chances to try to get there without a visa. But thank you for suggesting that; as now it seems there is possibility it may have happened, I will try to contact Chinese authorities.

I am planning to go to Nepal soon too (at the beginning of June or even earlier, if I can arrange it) and try to locally organise the search. So thank for sharing the idea to contact the relatives of Aubrey Sacco, Julian Wynne and David Koch, that may be really helpful.

I will try to give updates on the situation. Also, if you have any more advice, it would be very appreciated.

Zalla, in your first post you mention Paulius went to Kathmandu, Pokhara and "Pang" (not sure about this last one - could it be "Dang"?). These are some distance from the Helambu. Where was he when he last emailed you Mar 7 - did he say? Are you satisfied that he really did return to the Helambu? Could it be that your search has been concentrated in the wrong area?
By the way, there is a border crossing into Tibet from Rasuwa District (northwest of the Langtang area) but it is not open to foreigners. There are only two crossings from Nepal into Tibet (Kodari/Zhangmu) on the Friendship Hwy to Lhasa and Hilsa/Sera in far western Nepal north of Simikot. It is not possible to cross (legally) at either border crossing without the proper credentials and they are carefully patrolled.
I think the Post by John555 must be referring to a TIMS permit (not SIM card). These are required by every foreigner trekking in Nepal and the information on them is registered on the Trek Information Management System by the Trekking Agents Association of Nepal. Has anyone checked this database as the information should contain a description of the area where Paulius was planning to trek. Check Posts in those areas should also have a record of his progress on the planned route. If he kept to his plan, authorities should be able to check those trek registers to determine where he last registered to determine at what point he went missing.

When did you initiate your search with the authorities?
If you can provide more details, others trekking in Nepal on similar routes could make inquiries at villages and lodges along the way.

I would make an appointment with the Consul prior to your arrival in Kathmandu, and then meet with them as soon as practical after your arrival. As mentioned above, I would contact the family of Aubrey Sacco because they have recently gone through something similar. Ask the family what worked and what didn't work as they attempted to locate their daughter. If you can't find the email address of the Sacco family, send me a private message by clicking on my name to the left of this message. I corresponded with them last fall before and after my trek to Langtang. Finally, after talking with the Sacco family and considering all the suggestions, listed above, I would arrive at the Consulate with a list of questions.

The best to you and your family during this difficult time.

Stilltrekkin,

Thank you very much for explaining the situation on Nepal-Tibet border. It seems the border would be extremely hard to pass without relevant documents, so if my brother did attempt that, there should be a record. I have contacted the Lithuanian Embassy in China to see if they could check on this.

Pang seems to be a small village close to Pokhara where my brother had a wish to see a local wiseman to make his birth-scroll. We are not ruling out that he may be in the area in Pokhara too. Actually, when I am in Nepal, this will be one of the first few places I plan on checking. But the volunteering project staff said they have seen him back in the Helambu area after that, so this is the last place we know he went to.

Also thank you very so for telling me about the Trekking Agents Association of Nepal. I was trying to find this organisation myself and check if would be possible to learn the route that my brother was travelling from their data; and have made and inquiry to them and waiting for response. Thank you very much!