A Manhattan man on a romantic anniversary getaway with his wife mysteriously disappeared from an Airbnb on a lush Caribbean island — and is now the subject of a massive search.
Brian Tarrence, 51, was last seen on security video leaving the rental home on Turks and Caicos Island around 3:30 a.m. June 25 and heading for a bustling tourist area, private investigator Carl DeFazio told Fox News.
“So far, we haven’t been successful in anything, but we’re not giving up hope,” said DeFazio, a former NYPD cop and US Marine hired by the missing man’s family. “What I tell the family … in cases like this, stay positive until you have a reason not to be.
“He’s a smart guy,” he added. “We don’t know what’s in his mind or if he did this on his own or if somebody took him.”
DeFazio said nothing seemed out of the ordinary before he walked out of the house, according to the family.
“Everything prior to the point where he walked out of that house, he seems fine,” the private detective told News12 Westchester. “They had a boat trip and went to dinner, just like every other family would do when they’re here.”
Tarrence graduated from Florida Atlantic University and since June 2023 was vice president at Diligent Software, a Manhattan firm that specializes in information-sharing technology, according to his linkedin profile.
“We are deeply concerned about our team member, Brian Tarrence, who has been reported missing,” the company said in a statement to The Post. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Brian and his loved ones during this extremely difficult time.
“We have made ourselves available to fully cooperate with local law enforcement and have engaged a security firm to support the ongoing search efforts,” the statement said.
Tarrence recently moved from Monroe in upstate Orange County to Midtown Manhattan, and touched down in Turks and Caicos with his wife of one year on June 22 and planned to stay until June 29.
But just three days after arriving on the island, a British territory in the Bahamas archipelago, he disappeared wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers.
He also had his cellphone and wallet with him when he left, DeFazio said, noting that the area from which he went missing is “very safe.”
But his early-morning disappearance remains a mystery.
“That’s a little bizarre in itself,” the investigator said. “He’s in the middle of town. His wife was sleeping.”
DeFazio has been working hard to obtain a record of Tarrence’s phone activity on the islands, but it’s a slow process, he said.
He said the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police reported Tarrence missing and issued an alert online.
Police on the island did not respond to requests for comment from The Post, but DeFazio assured that cops are tapping every available resource to locate the missing New Yorker — including using drones and surveillance cameras.
He said he’s also “very proud of the response from the local businesses and people on vacation,” many of whom have offered to help by distributing missing person flyers “everywhere in Turks and Caicos.”
DeFazio, who has been a private investigator since 1990, said he doesn’t believe there was foul play in Tarrence’s disappearance — but is not ready to completely rule it out.
Tarrence’s wife is remaining in Turks and Caicos to help with the search.
Turks and Caicos police are asking anyone with information about Tarrence’s disappearance to contact 911 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477.
In March, the US State Department issued a travel advisory for tourists to exercise increased caution in the Turks and Caicos Islands due to a rise in crime.
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Last year, violent robberies grew by 143% and gun-related crimes by 123% in Turks and Caicos, according to InSight Crime.
Turks and Caicos Islands’ homicide rate also surged to 103.1% in 2024 with 48 murders — making it the highest in Latin America and the Caribbean.
With Post wires
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