The Missing 
Hakan Karacay
Clifton, New Jersey

🕯️ The Disappearance of Hakan Karacay (1999) 🕯️

Hakan Karacay, a 28-year-old Turkish immigrant living in Clifton, New Jersey, vanished without a trace on September 20, 1999. That evening around 5:00 p.m., he was last seen leaving the Lake Avenue apartment he shared with his parents. He told his family he would “be right back” and borrowed his brother’s silver 1989 Mazda 626 (New Jersey license plate RW3-48E) to go to the store. He never returned and has never been heard from again.

Karacay was described as a white male with light brown hair and brown eyes, standing approximately 6’2” to 6’3” tall and weighing around 180–190 pounds. He had two visible scars on his forehead. When he disappeared, he was reportedly wearing brown or khaki pants, a gray or black short-sleeved collared shirt with a striped or grid pattern, and black leather dress shoes. At the time, he was unemployed, having previously worked as a factory manager in Paterson, New Jersey. Family members said he had a history of mild depression but had not been acting unusually before he went missing. He was unmarried and spent much of his time reading Turkish newspapers and visiting friends and relatives.

Five days later, on September 25, 1999, his vehicle was discovered abandoned on Wells Hill Road in Lewis, New York, a remote dirt road in the Adirondack Mountains, about five miles west of Interstate 87 and roughly 60 miles south of the Canadian border. A local resident found the car while clearing debris left by Hurricane Floyd. The Mazda was pulled to the side of the road near a washout in mountainous terrain. The battery was dead, the gas tank empty, the keys remained in the ignition, the door was closed, and the light switch had been left on. Inside the vehicle were two packs of cigarettes, an empty pack of Parliaments, the brand Karacay smoked, and a pack of Marlboros with two cigarettes remaining. There were no signs of foul play, no footprints or signs of a struggle, and no personal belongings left behind.

Karacay had no known connection to the Adirondacks and had never expressed interest in visiting the area. Extensive searches by forest rangers and New York State Police yielded no evidence of his whereabouts. Despite ongoing investigation, his disappearance remains unsolved, and he is classified as Endangered Missing.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the New York State Police at 518-962-8235 or SP Lewis BCI at 518-873-2750.

His story remains a haunting mystery that has endured for decades. 🕯️

Sources:

Hakan Karacay – The Charley Project

HAKAN KARACAY – CLIFTON, NEW JERSEY — FBI
An 18-Year-Old Essex County Missing Person Case – Adirondack Almanack
Missing: Karacay, Hakan | New York State Police
1856DMNJ – Hakan Karacay 

18 cold cases in Upstate NY that stumped police: Murders, disappearances, mysteries – newyorkupstate.com