A Florida Man’s Loved Ones Are Desperate For Answers After He Disappeared Without A Trace
According to his mother, Brian Klecha never would have willingly abandoned his beloved cats.
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (Screenshot from ID's "Disappeared")
Brian Klecha called his mom, Kathy, around Christmastime in 2017 to thank her for the Christmas money she’d deposited into his account. It was the last time she ever heard from her only child.
It wasn’t unusual for her to go several days or even several weeks without hearing from Brian, so she wasn’t initially concerned when he didn’t answer his phone on Dec. 28, 2017. He worked as a bus driver at an Orlando, Florida theme park and often drove an Uber to help make ends meet. She assumed he was busy.
As time wore on, however, she started to get a nagging feeling that something was horribly wrong. She kept trying to call him at all hours of the day, but he didn’t answer. Eventually, she even tried calling in the middle of the night, hoping she would just rouse him from sleep to check in. Her calls continually went unanswered.
Kathy didn’t know Brian’s new address because he’d recently moved, but she drove around hoping to see him at some of his favorite haunts. She called Brian’s workplace and asked if they’d seen him, but there was still no sign of her son.
In January 2018, Brian’s friend Nate was having trouble reaching him as well. Nate assumed Brian was tangled up in another romantic relationship and didn’t initially think much of it — until Kathy called him looking for Brian.
Kathy filed a formal missing persons report in March 2018, and Det. Chuck Massucci of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was assigned to the case.
Brian’s Last Moves
Kathy told Det. Massucci how unusual it was that Brian disappeared and abandoned his cats. When he vanished, he left them with a landlord he’d known less than two weeks.
That landlord was Andrew Dowler who rented Brian one of the rooms in his house on Dec. 15, 2017. Brian kept to himself, Dowler recalled, and he was generally very private about his personal life.
The detective did learn that there was some tension between Brian and one of the other occupants in the house — Brian had once dated AJ, another man living in the home. Brian still had feelings for AJ, but AJ had moved on and was dating a third man living in the home. Dowler described the home as tense as the men attempted to cohabitate.
The last time Dowler saw Brian alive was Dec. 22, 2017, as he prepared to leave on vacation. As Dowler walked down the hall, he saw Brian asleep with his cats on his bed. Dowler was the last person to see the man alive.
Find out what the detective uncovered on Disappeared on ID on Oct. 26 at 10/9c.
If you have any information about Brian Klecha, please call Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay, Florida at 1-800-873-8477
