Costa Rica - David Gimelfarb, 29, Chicago man, 11 Aug 2009

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http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/Grad-Student-Missing-in-Costa-Rica-53350632.html

Chicago Grad Student Missing in Costa Rica
Parents join search efforts
Updated 11:08 AM CDT, Sun, Aug 16, 2009

The Highland Park parents of 28-year-old graduate student David Gimelfarb are searching their son after he disappeared while hiking in Costa Rica.

The doctoral student who went to South America a week ago was last seen by a park ranger about 10 a.m. on August 11. Gimelfarb was reportedly driving a rented sport-utility vehicle the Parque National Rincon de la Vieja, friend Michael Kipnes told Chicago Breaking News. His parents, Roma and Luda Gimelfarb, have flown to Costa Rica to look for him.

"He [Roma] was OK," Kipnis said about his conversation with David's parents. "She's not holding up very well."

David Gimelfarb graduated from Highland Park High School and Beloit College in Wisconsin. He has been studying psychology at the Adler School of Professional Psychology.



David Gimelfarb has disappeared while hiking in... He was staying at the Hotel Guachipelin in Guanacaste province, according to a Costa Rican police report. Roma Gimelfarb was unable to reach his son by phone on August 12 and was told by the hotel that David had gone hiking the day before but had not returned, according to the police report.

The local Red Cross had begun a search when the parents reached Costa Rica Thursday. The vehicle he rented was found locked in the park, the police report said. The dense forest and rain have impacted their search.



Help Find David Gimelfarb
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=235888305359#!/group.php?gid=235888305359&v=wall

41596_235888305359_105_n.jpg
 
David's parents were recently victimized by a cruel hoax:

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Missing-Mans-Parents-Targeted-in-Extortion-Plot-226966321.html

The caller claimed that his people were holding David hostage and wanted $250,000 for him to be released.

<snip>

But after analyzing the photo further, they determined the man in the picture was not David, a determination backed up by the Costa Rican authorities.

The Gimelfarbs are hoping those same authorities will ask American federal law enforcement to help in the investigation. "We tried to encourage them to do that all the time. No, they haven't tried yet, they never tried to ask for help," Ludmila Gimelfarb said.
 
I just read about David in a book I'm reading, "The Last Place You'd Look" by Carole Moore, about missing persons. The part that mentions David emphasizes how he just seems to have vanished out of thin air.

When anyone disappears abroad, it always seems like it's possible they could have been a "random victim" of a robbery gone wrong, but I just don't know. There's just so little on this case.

My prayers are with David's family. :please:
 
http://www.ticotimes.net/2014/08/11...-no-answers-for-parents-of-missing-us-tourist

Five years have gone by and still there is no sign of the Gimelfarbs&#8217; son, David, who went missing on Aug. 11, 2009 at Costa Rica&#8217;s Rincón de la Vieja National Park, in the northwestern province of Guanacaste...

This year, the Gimelfarbs plan to focus on Costa Rica&#8217;s border area with Nicaragua, where they will hand out the same missing person handbill as in years past, with a $100,000 reward offer for information leading to David&#8217;s return to his family.

A spokeswoman for Costa Rica&#8217;s Judicial Investigation Police, or OIJ, told The Tico Times the investigation is ongoing and the case remains open, but investigators have little new information to follow up.
 
Family of US hiker disappeared in Costa Rica passes another dark anniversary
http://www.ticotimes.net/2015/08/11...ng-costa-rica-passes-another-dark-anniversary
Six years ago Tuesday, David Gimelfarb, a 28-year-old doctoral student from Chicago, Illinois, disappeared without a trace in Costa Rica’s picturesque Rincón de la Vieja National Park.
The family, convinced that David is still alive, has traveled to Costa Rica every year since their son’s disappearance to look for him, offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to his safe return. Last year the Gimelfarbs focused their search on Costa Rica’s border area with Nicaragua, handing out flyers with David’s face. The Gimelfarbs have delayed their search this year, they told The Tico Times, citing the poor health of Roma, David’s father. They plan to return later this year.

More at link.
 
US parents still looking for answers in son's 2009 disappearance in Costa Rica

http://www.ticotimes.net/2016/08/11/david-gimelfarb-missing-costa-rica

Roma and Luda Gimelfarb are in Costa Rica this week for what’s become a tragic, annual ritual: searching for information about their son, David, who went missing in Rincón de la Vieja National Park in Guanacaste seven years ago today.

Except for last year, when Roma was recovering from surgery, David’s parents have come to Costa Rica every year since to remind people that they still want answers. They meet with the U.S. Embassy, Costa Rican authorities and people with knowledge of the case in Guanacaste.

The Gimelfarbs said they’ve spent a good chunk of their retirement fund looking for David, who was their only child.

Over the years, hope has occasionally cropped up. A few years ago, a psychic contacted the U.S. Embassy and claimed to know where David’s remains were. The Gimelfarbs told The Tico Times that the psychic took U.S. Embassy staff to a river in Guanacaste, where they searched and dug but found nothing.
 
Aug 25 2018
Nine years later, US parents still searching for missing son in Costa Rica


Roma (L) and Luda (R) Gimelfarb are still searching for their son, David Gimelfarb. (Alejandro Zúñiga)
"How every year it seems fewer people are searching for David, even though Roma and Luda believe he’s still alive.

“People look at this as a cold case,” Luda told The Tico Times. “They really don’t pay very much attention.”

It has been nine years since David went missing. His parents came to Costa Rica this week, as they do nearly every August, with a focused mission: to remind the public of David’s disappearance and to convince officials to continue their investigation.

But their trips have so far been unfruitful.

“If we’re not going to help him, who’s going to?” Roma said. “And we both think he’s alive.”

That belief stems from a lack of contradictory evidence. If David had gotten lost or hurt while hiking through Rincón de la Vieja National Park, the Gimelfarbs say, surely the search party would have found something.


Roma pulls out a stack of drawings and sets them on the table. Found in an abandoned house in Quepos several years ago, the Gimelfarbs believe the crayon sketches share stylistic similarities to David’s artwork. They wonder if the person who left those drawings at the house crossed paths with David and has more information about his whereabouts.


“We follow all possibilities,” Luda said.

The latest possibility is a tip received earlier this week when a woman contacted Luda and said she thought David might have received treatment at the National Psychiatric Hospital in Pavas. But an OIJ representative who visited the medical facility Wednesday told the family they found no one matching David’s description."
The Gimelfarbs pledge to repeat their annual trip to Costa Rica until they are too old to travel. They continue to offer a $100,000 reward for information that leads to David’s discovery.

Please report any tips to the family by emailing
gimelfarb@comcast.net or calling the Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) at 800-8000-645."

 
Does anyone know if there are any details about WHERE in the park his car was found? This is my first post, so let me know if this question should be asked elsewhere on the platform. Thank you! ~V
 
Does anyone know if there are any details about WHERE in the park his car was found? This is my first post, so let me know if this question should be asked elsewhere on the platform. Thank you! ~V
Welcome to Ws BrittVanSoest this is the right place for your question, hoping someone knows the answer!
 
David Alexander Gimbelfarb
David Alexander Gimelfarb – March 10th 2009 – Liberia – Costa Rica

Updated January 31st 2019 rbbm.

August 9th 2009 David took a flight from O’Hare airport in Chicago to Costa Rico.

"August 10th he emailed and spoke over the phone to his parents. He had plans to visit a National Park about 3 miles from his hotel, Chachipelin in Liberia, a providence of Guanacaste in Costa Rica. David told his parents they would here from him at least once a day. However, that was the last day he contacted them.

August 11th 2009 David’s parents contact the hotel to enquire about if they had seen him.

August 12th 2009 David’s white Hyundai Tucson rental car was found parked and locked at Rincon De La Vieja National Park. The park pass was stamped for August 10th 2009. The park is roughly 35,000 SF and mostly volcanic jungle.

August 13th 2009 David’s parents travel to Costa Rica to help search.

An extensive search done by locals, the Red Cross and two United States Army Black Hawk Helicopters turned up nothing."



 

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