Name: Hakan Karacay
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: September 20, 1999
Location Last Seen: Clifton, Passaic County, New Jersey
Date of Birth: January 1, 1971
Age: 28 years old
Race: White/Turkish
Gender: Male
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 190 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Two scars on forehead
Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Available
Clothing: Brown pants, a gray short-sleeve shirt with a grid-pattern design and black leather dress shoes
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: He had his wallet with him, which held his driver's license and about $200
Hakan Karacay was reported missing by family members in New Jersey on September 20, 1999. They last saw him on the staircase inside his Lake Avenue apartment building on September 20. Karacay told his sister and father that he would "be right back," then drove away in his older brother's Mazda 626.
The car, a silver, 1989 Mazda with NJ License Number RW3-48E was found on September 25, 1999 on Wells Hill Road in Lewis, New York. Wells Hill Road is about five miles west of Route 87 and about 60 miles south of the Canadian border. In good weather, the road is passable and is used by hunters and hikers.
A local resident discovered the vehicle while clearing the road of debris caused by Hurricane Floyd. The road had been blocked by trees. The car was stopped at a washout, on the west side of the washout facing east, and was pulled to the side in mountainous terrain.
Karacay's car was found with the door closed, a dead battery, no gas and with the light switch on.
Hakan Karacay has no connection or contacts in the area. An intensive search of the woods around the car by forest rangers and New York State Police turned up nothing. There were no footprints on or near the road, no signs of a struggle, and no property belonging to Karacay was found inside the car. The only items in the car were two packs of cigarettes - an empty pack of Parliaments, which Karacay smoked, and a pack of Marlboro's, with two cigarettes left inside.
Karacay is an unemployed Turkey native who immigrated to the United States in 1988. Karacay, who is not married, at the time lived with his mother and father in an apartment complex. Karacay has been unemployed for several years but had worked as a manager in a factory in Paterson, he quit his job after suffering from mild depression.
He is described as being nonviolent and non-suicidal. Karacay had never been to the Adirondacks before, or expressed an interest in going there.
Agency Name: Clifton Police Department
Agency Contact Person: Det. Sgt. Robert Bracken
Agency Phone Number: 973-470-5908
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: 1999-13877
NamUs Case Number: 26512
NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs
NAMPN
The Press Republican
Added: 2/3/09; Last Updated: 11-13-2021 - By: Htmlcnvtr
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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