Nicolas Holzem
 

Hi all,

I got back to Bolivia and try to write a short update here again.

Catherine, Nicolas sister, left Bolivia after a month searching for Nicolas, but she will come back when needed. She back in New Zealand now, but we are in regular (a couple of times a day) contact with her.

When she was here, she made a lot of noise to get the story out with TV and radio interviews and newspaper reports. Today a friend told me, that when he got his tyre change in Santa Cruz, the mechanic told him about Nicolas and showed him a picture. So the story is big here and most bikers are aware that we are looking for him. Catherine got over 1000 posters printed and they are being distributed at the moment.

Catherine went with the police to the border station at Puerto Acosta. But they could not find any other lead than the custom entry document (TIP) for Nicolas bike. One police officer searched the road from Puerto Acosta to La Paz without success for two days.

At the moment we have three confirmed sightings (Rurrenabaque, Trinidad, Santa Cruz de la Sierra) and a lot of other unconfirmed sightings, that are being investigated at the moment.

As being said above, we found a hotel register entry from Coroico, Bella Vista Hotel (June 18-21), and the friend who found this, is searching in Rurrenabaque at the moment.

The Consulate in Brazil told us, that Nicolas did not enter Brazil. This means, if he entered, he did not get his passport stamped. But most of us here, believe that he is still in Bolivia.

Nacho Piccone, a Argentinean biker that Nicolas spent some time with in Cusco, told us a lot about Nicolas plans and ways of traveling.

So, that is all that comes to my mind at the moment, but we are trying our best to find him. More later.

mika from Samaipata

Mika.
Cheers for the update.
Still positive that good news is coming.

Hope some of the sightings will point you to him!

https://www.facebook.com/NicInBolivi...&theater&ifg=1


this is an open letter from Nicolas' sister to Luxemburg autorities asking help.

Still no news?

Jesus... All my support to his relatives, it must be a nightmare. Keep the faith.

not that i've looked at every bit of evidence with a microscope, nor have i been on the ground in bolivia, but from what i'm reading here, it seems as though the guy does not want to be found. they found evidence of him continuing his voyage long after he went out of touch.


maybe, hopefully, he's just angry with his family and wants to be left alone.

Not yet. Yes. Hopefully, it would be best scenario a single mistake among families. But, it seems not. On the ground search, perhaps, may begin, made by a guy of this HUBB living there.

Well, from what his sister has said, he “hasn't been in touch since June 15. He was in Cusco at the time and he was planning to continue towards Bolivia, and finally travel down to Buenos Aires”…

Then was “found a hotel register entry from Coroico, Bella Vista Hotel (June 18-21)” just few days after last contact, and then nothing for the last 3 months.

So, looks that isn’t the case you think…

As Javier said above, you're wrong in this regard. It would be worth reading the posts on the Facebook Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1172629699586558/

A moderator recently suggested that posters on this forum post in a compassionate way. The family read here too. I can't imagine the anguish they face 24/7.

Here's hoping for a positive outcome!

Nicolas Holzem
 

Hi all,

just a short update here from our search for Nicolas in Bolivia.


@teevee.

Thank you for your reply and your thoughts. You are not the first one I come across who tells me this version, but I can assure you that this is not the case.

We know now, that Nicolas bought a Sim card in Coroico, just five or six days after entering Bolivia, and he registered it in his name. As we dont have the number yet, and also Tigo (the network operator he bought his card with) did not give us any information yet. The Bolivian police is hopefully getting this information, lets see. We dont know if Nicolas bought a new phone or found his old phone, that he lost in Cusco.

The witness we have here in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, could now remember the date he met Nicolas. He was here on 29th of June. We are searching the hotels and putting up posters everywhere.

Catherine, Nicolas sister, just posted an open letter to the government in Luxembourg on Facebook. I know its in French, and I also cant read it, but please if you have Facebook like this post, she said, that this would help.

More later.

Saludos desde Samaipata
mika :mchappy:

Nicolas Holzem 07/10/2019
 

Hello again,

its been two weeks since the last update here. So, its time for me to write again a bit here in Bolivia about our search for Nicolas.

Bikers from all over Bolivia are still helping as much as they can to find Nicolas. Marcelo Camacho from La Paz took time off work and went to look for him around Coroico (where Nicolas stayed at Hotel Bella Vista 18.06. - 21.06.) for a few days. But he did not find any new leads.

The Bolivian police (FELCC) checked all three network operators for cellphones if Nicolas phone was registered with them. Even we have a witness that sold a Sim card to Nicolas and registered it with Tigo, the police said that there is no Sim card registered under Nicolas name and his phone (that he maybe lost in Peru) was not used in Bolivia. But as the registration was done by phone, his last name could have been misspelt. So, nothing came out of this.

Catherine, Nicolas sister, came back to Bolivia yesterday. Today she met with the police in La Paz. Tomorrow she will come to Santa Cruz, also to meet the witness that we have here. Pls check facebook for more detailed information about this.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1172629699586558/

Nicolas daughter, Elise, posted on Facebook as well. She is 19 yrs old and studies in Canada now.

The press in Luxembourg started publishing articles about our search, well written but of course in German and French. This will hopefully gets the police in Luxembourg moving, as we still dont have the some of his credit card numbers.

So, one last short story. Yesterday I met Peka, a biker from La Paz here in Samaipata. As soon as I showed him the poster of our search, he told me his story. Of course he knew about our search. When he passed through Coroico, two weeks ago, he talked to a friend and a DR650 came up for sale. And all of a sudden a white DR650 passed him, so he followed the bike and stopped the rider and talked to him about the bike. Yes it was the bike that was for sale. He took a few pictures. We checked this pictures yesterday, but it was NOT Nicolas bike that he saw in Coroico. As you can see, this story is big here in Bolivia.

So, this is it for today. More later.

mika :mchappy:

Mika, thanks for the update...this sounds like big news...so what did the rider of the white DR650 have to say?!?

NOT Nicolas bike
 

Hi Motoreiter, sorry for the confusion :oops2:, it was NOT Nicolas bike. The rider of the white DR650 just said that he was selling his bike.

mika :mchappy:

Damn! Thanks for the update.

I'm a bit shocked that the Luxembourg police don't seem to have done anything after all this time...checking for credit card activity is Missing Persons 101...

Uyuni?
 

do you think by chance he might want to go down to the Salar in Uyuni?
Been following off and on, concerned and my best thoughts to all.
Jeff

You might want to keep posting on ADV Riders, or post with a cyclist adventure groups, I passed quite a few 2 wheelers on my journey through Bolivia.

Keep the faith,
Smiles