Jesse Galganov

**Jesse Clint Galganov** was a young man who was last seen on October 1st, 2017 in Huaraz, Peru, four days into an eight-month backpacking trip.

## Background

Jesse Galganov was born on February 8, 1995. He lived with his mother, with whom he was very close, and sister; his parents were divorced. Jesse, who has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Canada, had just graduated college and was headed to medical school. He decided to take a gap year and spend eight months traveling to South America and then Asia.

## Case

### Disappearance

Jesse flew from Montreal to Lima, Peru on September 24, 2017. While in Lima, he stayed at the Loki Hostel and enjoyed the city for a couple of days. On September 27, 2017, Jesse took an eight-hour overnight bus ride (Cruz del Sur) to Huaraz, Peru. He arrived in Huaraz on September 28, 2017 at about 6:12 AM and arrived at Kame House, a backpacker's hostel, at around 6:40 AM. He spent the day gathering supplies and slept at the hostel that evening. At some point that day he texted his mom that he would be taking a four-day trek, the Santa Cruz Trail and would be unlikely to have service until he got back.

The next morning, Jesse left for the trailhead early. There were numerous people who remembered seeing him along the trail. He arrived at the Taullipampa Camp late on September 30, 2017, and camped with a pair of French hikers. These hiking companions claimed that Jesse told them that he arrived late because he got "lost or disoriented." He also claimed to be suffering from headaches and diarrhea. Jesse woke up, ate breakfast with them, and then headed out early that morning. The pair that had stayed with him that night remarked that he seemed in good spirits that morning. On October 1, 2017, at around 3:30 PM, he was spotted asking a Czech hiking group for water near Punta Union Pass. This was the last confirmed sighting of Jesse. His body and all of his gear have never been found. Jesse was to text his mother by October 2, 2017, but he neglected to do so. His return bus trip ticket for October 2, 2017 and his flight to Bolivia for October 5, 2017 also went unclaimed.

### Investigation

Jesse's mother was not initially concerned when she didn't hear from him on October 2, 2017. She surmised that he could have taken a longer route. As time went on, however, she grew concerned that she was unable to reach him. She reached out to friends on Facebook and by text, but no one had heard from him. A friend he had been texting and Snapchatting with claimed that all communications ceased after September 29, 2017. Jesse's mother filed a missing person's report on October 14, 2017. She contacted the Peruvian, American, and Canadian embassies for assistance. Initially, authorities were concerned that he had never made it to the hostel, but he had sent Snaps to friends while there. The hostel owner had claimed that he was never there after first confirming that he was there. The owner of the hostel was allegedly not even there during the time period indicated, and was himself hiking. The first break authorities had to confirm that he had actually made it to the trail came when Magnus, an Israeli search-and-rescue company, located the French hikers who had camped with him.

Despite the clues that could be found, there were many things working against everyone looking for Jesse. Muleteers, who worked the trails, often refused to talk to authorities for fear of being held responsible if he was found. Jesse had also apparently not registered when entering the trail, likely because the people working that day were not employees. Jesse's parents spent months searching for him and maintaining a strong social media presence. Currently, it is unknown where the investigation stands.

## Characteristics

* Light brown eyes.
* Curly, short brown hair.
* Short, close-kept brown beard.
* Jesse is Jewish, and his Jewish name is Chaim Yosef ben Aliza.

## Clothing and accessories

* Clothing described as "black."
* Hiking backpack - "Gregory Paragon 58 Pack Omega Blue."
* The backpack has a red and white Canadian flag patch on the upper of one side.
* His backpack contained all or some of the following and weighed just 24 pounds:
	+ Hiking shoes.
	+ A "one-person tent."
	+ A camping mattress.
	+ A small, portable stove.
	+ Eating utensils.
	+ Clothing.
	+ A headlamp.
	+ Unspecified medication.
	+ An Amazon Kindle.
	+ A journal.

## Gallery

Wearing his hiking backpack and a sweatshirt he wore frequently on the tripWith longer hair and a mustache.With short hair and just a mustacheCCTV footage of Jesse in front of the Kame House hostelDuring a walking tour in LimaBackpack, Canadian flag patch visible

## Sources

* *The Gazette*
	+ Article #1
	+ Article #2
* *The Calgary Herald*
	+ Article #1
* *The Ottawa Citizen*
* Jesse Galganov at *Missing People Canada*
* JesseProtected
* Help Us Find Jesse on *FaceBook*
* *NBC News*
* *Latin Post*
* *Vice*
* *The Canadian Jewish News*
* *Chabad News*
* *The Montreal Gazette*