Russian tourist Sergei N has gone missing in Pattaya, Thailand, after becoming separated from his wife in a crowd during a walk.
According to the Russian Telegram channel Mash, Sergei, a father of two daughters from the Siberian city of Tomsk, had gone out with his wife along the resort city's famous Walking Street. As the couple made their way along the busy street, they lost each other in the crowd. His wife was able to return safely to their hotel, but her husband failed to arrive.
Sergei later managed to telephone his daughter on a roaming line from a mobile phone that was almost completely out of battery. During the call, he stated that he did not understand how to get back to the hotel. Following that brief conversation, he disappeared and has not made contact since.
Disappearance and police search
According to his wife, Sergei had been drinking, was carrying almost no money, and had no access to the internet. Those circumstances left him without mobile data to check maps or message relatives, as well as without cash to pay for local transport. His wife has already reported his disappearance to local police in Pattaya in an effort to trace him.
In Russia, Sergei works professionally as a massage therapist and lives in Tomsk, an educational and administrative centre located along the Tom River in southwestern Siberia. He is known as an enthusiast of outdoor activities who regularly goes on fishing expeditions across the Siberian wilderness and enjoys riding quad bikes.
Sergei has also previously been involved in domestic politics. During the penultimate elections to the State Duma, the 450 member lower house of the Russian parliament, he served as an official campaign proxy and authorized representative for one of the parliamentary candidates.
Walking Street nightlife and missing travellers
Pattaya, situated in Chonburi province along the eastern coast of the Gulf of Thailand, is one of Southeast Asia's busiest holiday destinations and attracts hundreds of thousands of Russian tourists each year. Walking Street serves as the central hub of the resort's nightlife, running as a pedestrianised corridor filled with bars, nightclubs, and entertainment venues where large crowds gather every night.
Sergei's disappearance follows another recent case involving a Russian national in the region. Earlier, a Russian travel blogger went missing during a bicycle journey from China to Thailand. That traveller last made contact with his relatives on October 16, after which he disappeared.
