Missing
David Alexander Gimelfarb
Gimelfarb, approximately 2009
Date and time person was reported missing : 08/10/2009
Missing location (approx) :
Liberia, Costa Rica
Missing classification : Lost/Injured Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 12/02/1980 (40)
Age at the time of disappearance: 28 years old
Height / Weight : 5'8, 135 pounds
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian male. Brown/red hair, brown eyes. Gimelfarb had a goatee at the time of his disappearance. He has a surgical scar on the right side of his torso. He speaks fluent Spanish and Russian as well as English.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Gimelfarb flew out of O'Hare Airport in Chicago, Illinois on August 9, 2009, for a vacation to Costa Rica. On August 10, he emailed his parents and spoke to them on the phone and said he planned to visit a national park that day. He told them he would call them every day. He was staying at the Hotel Chachipelin in Liberia, a city in the Costa Rican province of Guanacaste.
On August 11, Gimelfarb's parents contacted the hotel because they hadn't heard from him. The following day, the hotel notified them that his rented white Hyundai Tucson was found locked in the parking lot of the Rincon De La Vieja National Park, three miles from the hotel. The date and time stamp for admittance to the park was for August 10. The national park is 35,000 acres in size and mostly volcanic jungle terrain.
Gimelfarb has never been heard from again. He has no known mental problems and no history of drug or alcohol abuse. An extensive search of the park, involving local officials and volunteers, the Red Cross, and two United States Army Black Hawk helicopters, turned up no indication of his whereabouts.
His parents traveled to Costa Rica on August 13 to assist with the investigation. They stated he's an experienced hiker and traveler; he had previously gone skiing in Colorado and had traveled alone to Israel.
At the time of his disappearance, Gimelfarb was a third-year Ph.D student at the Adler School of Professional Psychology in Chicago, and resided in the Buena Park neighborhood of that city. Highland Park, Illinois police are investigating his case; his parents live there. is profiling his case due to his American citizenship.
Other information and links : ncy
Highland Park Police Department
847-432-7730
September 2021 updates and sources
The Chicago Tribune
The Tico Times
Chicago Breaking News
Facebook pageheader for David Gimelfarb
The Lonely Planet
Interpol
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
