Daniel Mazilu was 23 and a student at the University of Akron when he was last seen by his brother at the family home on Graham Road in Silver Lake, Ohio, at about 2:30 p.m. on March 28, 2002. He left without saying where he was going, made a purchase in Akron’s Spicertown area, and then all contact stopped. His brother reported him missing two days later.

In early April 2002 a white 1992 Plymouth Duster belonging to Daniel was found unlocked and undamaged on a runaway truck ramp on a major highway near the West Virginia–Maryland border. The car contained his student parking pass but its Ohio license plate, COT 3588, had been removed. Investigators said the vehicle’s location appeared chosen to delay discovery. Daniel had no bank account or credit cards and little cash, and his family said he had no ties to West Virginia and hadn’t shown signs of wanting to leave home.

Daniel was born in Romania, raised Eastern Orthodox, had developed an interest in Judaism, and enjoyed physical fitness and racing carrier pigeons. There has been no confirmed trace of him since 2002. Did anyone in the Silver Lake or Akron area ever see Daniel or his Plymouth Duster after March 28, 2002?