36-year-old American Andrew Bolland has been missing in Albania for more than a month, and his family has appealed for help in finding him.
In a live broadcast for the "Në Kohë Reale" show on RTSH, his father, Arden Bollati, said that the last contact with his son was recorded on May 21, while since May 22 there has been no information about his whereabouts.
"We have lost all contact with him and we think he is homeless and without help. He has been to Europe twice before, in 2024. He likes to travel as a tourist, he likes different cultures and in 2024 he fell in love with Albania and its people. He first worked as a volunteer in a house in Shkodra. During that time he made friends and also made a visit to Georgia to see a vegetable farm. He has been missing since May 22 ," the father said.
According to him, Andrew arrived in Albania on April 30 and had planned to stay in Tirana until May 28, then return to the United States. Before losing contact, he had lost his phone, passport, and passwords to his accounts, which had made it difficult to communicate with his family.
"He arrived in Albania on April 30, before he went missing we talked on WhatsApp. He had difficulties because he lost his passwords, passport, phone. He is on minimum wage, has no credit card, lives with little money. On May 21 he had his last phone call and during that call he showed panic, anxiety and a not very calm situation. He said he would stay in Tirana until the 28th and then return to the US. Due to the autism spectrum he refuses to have any social communication. He has been in Shkodra and has not left Albania. The embassy has suggested that I get a lawyer and follow the legal path."
The family believes that Andrew has not left Albania. According to his father, an employee of the hostel where he was staying claimed to have seen him in the protest area in Tirana on June 6.
"There was another piece of information that a person from the hostel staff where he stayed said he saw him in the protest area where the latest information is dated June 6 ," he said.
Further, several other reports of his presence were reported on June 9 and 13, which the family considers credible based on the descriptions received. He is suspected to have been seen twice near Lana, once in the Student City area and also in Durrës.
"He was seen in several areas on June 9th and on June 13th we are very sure it is him because of the description they gave. He was seen twice in the Lana area, he was seen in the Student City area and he was seen once in Durrës ," said Andrew's father.