DENVER – It’s been nearly a week since a Denver man went missing while on a solo trip in Europe.
Alex Tyk, 31, was last seen at the K Urban Beach Club in Lisbon, Portugal on Thursday, June 27. The next day, he was supposed to get on a flight to meet his friend in Barcelona, but never made it to the airport.
“I want him to know that he’s loved by so many people,” Alex’s mother Lynn Tyk said.
Lynn is desperate to find her only son, the man who convinced his parents to leave behind their life in suburban Chicago to move to Colorado.
“When we first came out here, he thought we were going to be like him, you know, climb mountains and go kayaking and water rafting. And he almost killed us several times,” Lynn said, laughing.
She said last Wednesday night, Alex joined the “Wild Walkers Pub Crawl” in Lisbon. He was last seen at 3:30 a.m. on June 27 at the K Urban Beach Club.
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“He never checked out of his room, which means he never made it back to the hostel after the pub tour,” Lynn said.
Alex’s luggage and passport were found in the Lisbon hostel called Selena’s Secret Garden.
His cellphone is dead. Lynn has contacted Portuguese hospitals and police as she scours the internet for information.
“I still have hope. He could be in a hospital. He could have been mugged. He could be in jail. It’s just hard to know when you don’t know anything,” Lynn said. “The worst thought is he fell in the water — it’s my biggest fear.”
Alex’s sister flew to Europe and is tracing his last steps. She is trying to track down any and all surveillance video in the area where he was last seen.
For Lynn, she would give anything to have her son home safe, even if it meant going on another one of his wild rafting trips.
“I need him back. I need to see his face. Give him a big hug,” Lynn said.
Lynn is working with Portuguese officials as well as a lawyer in the U.S. to get a hold of Alex’s cellphone records and attempt to get a ping on his phone.
If you have any information on Alex’s whereabouts, contact FindAlexLisbon@gmail.com.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family pay for Alex’s sister’s flights and other costs associated with the search.