Canadian who mysteriously disappeared in Fiji still missing three months later
A Canadian man who disappeared in Fiji is still missing nearly three months later, and his friends and family are desperately searching for answers.
In late June, international reports surfaced about Ildar Rakhmatulin mysteriously vanishing from the island’s Coral Coast, a tourist hotspot on the island of Viti Levu.
The 38-year-old dual citizen of Canada and Russia went missing on April 9 after spending two nights at the resort, reported Yahoo! News Australia.
Supplied by Alexander Patrushev
In an email to Daily Hive, Global Affairs Canada confirmed that it’s aware that a Canadian tourist has gone missing in Fiji.
“Canadian officials are providing consular support to the family of the Canadian citizen and communicating with local authorities,” stated the agency. “Due to privacy considerations, no further information can be disclosed.”
According to a June 7 statement from Fiji police, some of Rakhmatulin’s belongings were found on the beach.
“While search efforts continue on land, a team of divers from the Police Mobile Force (PMF) are searching in nearby waters,” it reads. It adds that they are investigating the missing person’s case as prompted by the Russian Embassy in Australia.
The latest update on the case is new footage of Rakhmatulin at a yoga class an hour before disappearing.
The video, supplied to Yahoo! News Australia, shows the 38-year-old reclining in a beach chair as meditation music plays.
The recording is from 8:46 am on April 9. About an hour later, at 9:48 am, Rakhmatulin checked out of the resort, never to be seen again.
Rakhmatulin’s friend Alexander Patrushev has been conducting his own investigation into the disappearance.
The pair met at Western University in London, Ontario, in 2009 and have kept in touch after graduating.
Patrushev told Daily Hive over the phone that Rakhmatulin’s ex-wife contacted him on April 17, asking if he had any information about his whereabouts.
“She said, ‘His mother is looking for him. Do you have any information?'” recalled Patrushev.
He messaged Rakhmatulin on Skype and other social media sites but got no reply.
Patrushev says his friend’s missing persons case wasn’t officially registered in Canada until about a month later after Rakhmatulin’s ex-wife went back and forth between police departments in London and Mississauga.
According to Patrushev, Rakhmatulin lived in an apartment in Mississauga before he decided to travel around the world once COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.
Supplied by Alexander Patrushev
He added that Rakhmatulin’s mother was the last person who spoke with him on April 8. “She was kind of scared that there were drunk voices around in the background, but I guess it was just the tourists,” he said.
Patrushev’s running theory is there is no foul play and that Rakhmatulin may have drowned. “Everybody there tells us that Fijians are kind of peaceful, and this violent crime is super rare,” he said.
Patrushev says he contacted a Russian guide in Fiji who found all of Rakhmatulin’s bookings on booking.com, where they confirmed his stay at a hotel on the Coral Coast.
The guide even went to the local police to inquire about the case. Patrushev says local authorities seemed nonchalant about it, saying that when Rakhmatulin appears, he can go to the police, and everything will be okay.
“So, it’s kind of like nobody cared,” he said.
Patrushev says he’s reached out to authorities in Fiji and Canada but is frustrated with how they’ve handled the situation.
He says Canadian police have told him there isn’t proper communication between them and authorities in Fiji and that Fijian police haven’t been replying, so they can’t do anything.
“I think it’s just crazy; at least you can do something,” he said. “It’s kind of sad.”
Police in Fiji are urging anyone who may have information to contact them.
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