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Brett Bean, from the passport found at his Phuket bungalow last night

Missing Phuket Surfer's House 'As Though He was Living There'

Thursday, December 6, 2012
PHUKET: Police searched the Phuket bungalow of missing US surfer Brett Bean last night and are issuing a missing persons bulletin to all police stations in the region.

The 43-year-old American's mother Lynne is flying to Phuket from California tomorrow to find out as much as she can from Phuket's surfing community and Mr Bean's acquaintances.

Inside the studio-sized bungalow in the Kata-Karon region, officers found Mr Bean's passport, a small amount of cash, flight departure information, a newspaper clipping and a map of the Thai province of Udon Thani, north of Bangkok.

Mr Bean's surfboard, which a close neighbor had never seen him carrying, was also inside the bungalow. Clothing was hanging outside to dry.

The bungalow had an ''I'm living here now'' appearance, say investigators.

Among the items that police could not locate were Mr Bean's wallet, his grey Honda motorcycle and the mobile telephone that was switched off around the time he was due to catch a flight off Phuket more than a week ago.

Six months' rent on the bungalow has been paid in advance.

Instead of catching the aircraft to leave Phuket to meet a flight for Hong Kong then another flight on to Los Angeles, Mr Bean has simply vanished.

Deeply concerned, parents Lynne and Wayne in California raised the alarm with Phuketwan after their son failed to arrive as arranged.

A neighbor on Phuket later came forward to provide Mr Bean's Phuket address. Since then, the mystery has deepened.

Preliminary inquiries have established that Mr Bean was a regular at a restaurant at the southern end of Kata beach, the surfing end when waves are breaking during the monsoon season.

A Thai man and his father, both known members of the surfing community and friends of Mr Bean, have been unable to provide any additional clues to his whereabouts.

Police and Lynne Bean are likely to seek more information from others in the surfing community.

Mr Bean had commuted between the US and Phuket for at least five years, spending his time at the beach on Phuket and working as a skiing instructor in the US.

Those who knew him on Phuket have said he was a quiet, non-smoking, non-drinking person who loved animals.

Missing Person flyers seeking information describe Brett Chapman Bean as having blond hair, blue eyes and fair skin. He is 6 feet 2 in and could be bearded or clean-shaven.

He rides a light grey Honda 125cc motorcycle.

In a piece of new information, his parents say he has a tattoo on the inside of his left forearm.

Anyone who sights Brett should contact the US Embassy in Bangkok on 02 2054049 or after hours on 02 2054000, or contact Phuketwan via the Comments space at the end of this article.

Comments

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-Map of Udon Thani-?
Lots of women on Phuket come from there.
So, the police should also check the Airport Parking lot for his Motorbike and the Passenger list, special Air Asia who has a Non Stop flight to Udon Thani and other Airlines.

Posted by Alfred on December 6, 2012 15:02

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also try the bus station because they don't normally let foriengers fly internally without a passport

Posted by Michael on December 6, 2012 19:52

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Michael... Actually they do. That is not a problem if you show an international driving license or maybe he also had a thai drivers license. That is sufficient.

Posted by Chris on December 7, 2012 08:41


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