Possible sighting of missing Wasilla man renew interest in case

Over the past week, a Facebook post reporting a sighting of missing Wasilla man Dean Vroman has brought renewed interest from the community about the young man. Vroman has been missing since May.

Brittany Gattis, whose family lives in the Horizon Drive area off of Knik Goose Bay Road in Wasilla, posted that a young man bearing resemblance to Vroman wandered into her family’s yard early in the morning last week.

“I thought I had been hearing my nephew’s dog. Once I got outside, I realized it was a human and something was definitely wrong,” said Gattis, who woke members of her family at the commotion.

While she didn’t talk to the man herself, she says that her parents and fiancé did interact with the man, and she worried over his appearance.

“When my dad found him, he was waist deep in swamp water. He was covered in mud, and mud was all over his face. It was also raining and very windy that night so he could’ve been out there for hours before I actually heard him. I honestly have no idea how long he was out here.”

Gattis posted a photo of the man in question, which was a screen grab from a video taken by her nephew. The pictures are grainy and show a man in distress.

“The reason we think it was Dean was because we have pictures of the kid that we found on our property that morning and the troopers told my mom that they believe that the pictures of the kid we found was Dean,” said Gattis, adding, “the guy that we found at one point said his name was Clayton, and then changed his story to he was looking for his friend Clayton. And Dean’s middle name is Clayton.”

Gattis contacted the Alaska State Troopers, who were unable to locate Vroman.

“Dean Vroman is still listed as a missing person. Troopers did investigate, however they were unable to locate Dean,” said AST Public Information Officer Austin McDaniel, who asked that anyone having about the possible location of Dean Vroman that has not already been shared with law enforcement, please contact the Alaska State Troopers at (907) 352-5401.

Meanwhile, Gattis also reached out to Vroman’s family, who visited the Gattis family, but were unable to verify if the man they spoke with had been Vroman.

“It very well may not be him, but it also could be. I’m hoping when I see the video I can hear the voice or get a better look at him. I’m not going to assume it isn’t him until I’m 1000% sure. Regardless we appreciate anyone willing to help with flyers or just pass word around,” said Ariel Vroman.

Others who knew Vroman have raised doubt about whether the man in question was in fact the missing Vroman.

Private investigator Brenda Paradise has been working on Vroman’s case and has followed up on the sighting as well.

“I’m really worried because this isn’t a confirmed sighting. It’s disheartening because there’s a lot of different stories that leads to something being amiss. Someone knows something,” she said.

Either way, the social media posts have gained traction and renewed interest in finding the missing man, with many community members reaching out to offer prayers to the Vroman family and the man in the post,

Gattis, along with members from Vroman’s family went around the neighborhood hanging flyers and going door-to-door asking if others may have seen the man.

“We plastered as many of those posters as we could. I handed out as many to people that I actually saw walking around as I could.”

Earlier this spring, Vroman, 21, of Wasilla was reported missing, but there was no clear timeline for when or where he went missing. Family members reported him missing May 16, but no one is sure of the specific date the young man went missing.

Details were also unclear as to where Vroman was last seen or exactly what he was wearing. There have been reports that Vroman was last seen at a party at Man Made in Palmer on April 29, while another source posted that he was seen in Wonderland Park on May 15 with “several juveniles.”

“His roommate came to my house, asking if I’d seen Dean,” Michael Hollowell, Vroman’s friend and neighbor said.

Hollowell says that the unnamed roommate told him that Vroman had walked off around 1 a.m. May 1. Hollowell says this conversation took place on May 16.

“This is not normal for Dean to walk off or not check in with friends or family,” said Hollowell.

“Someone knows something-he doesn’t just run off like this,” he said.

Hollowell says that after Vroman’s father passed away last year, he struggled.

“When his dad died last year, it led to him (Dean) hanging around some bad people, people that would take advantage of him.”

Paradise says that because information from people close to Vroman has been vague, she hasn’t been able to conduct an organized search that is often seen in other missing person’s cases.

“At this point, I just want to know that he is alright. I would love to figure out where this kid went” says Paradise.

Hollowell echoes her sentiment, saying that Vroman is a good guy.

“I just want him to reach out, let us know he’s ok,” Hollowell said.

On flyers posted on social media and around Wasilla and Palmer, Vroman had been wearing either a grey hoodie or white to dirty white sweater and flannel shirt, khakis or jeans, and either Adidas tennis shoes or tan work boots, and a blue beanie. He has no known tattoos or scars.

Vroman is described as 5-foot-8, approximately 170 pounds Caucasian male, with greyish-green eyes and brown hair and light facial hair.

Anyone having contact or information regarding Dean Vroman is asked to contact the Alaska State Troopers in Palmer at (907)-352-5401 and reference incident AK-22048008.

People may also contact the AST Anonymous Tip Line by texting keyword AKTIP and their message/tip to 847411. Brenda Paradise may also be contacted with information at (907) 795-5292.