The search for a missing British tourist in Brazil has come to a tragic end as a body has been found after nearly four months. Denis Kopanev, a 33-year-old financial analyst from London, was last seen on CCTV leaving his rented apartment in early June before disappearing.
Following a report of his disappearance, the Met Police and Brazilian authorities launched an extensive search effort. Denis, a Russian citizen with British nationality, had been staying in Rio de Janeiro’s Gávea neighborhood. After an exhaustive 115-day search, a body was discovered in the Tijuca National Park on Tuesday.
Rio’s Missing Persons Unit recovered the body from a challenging terrain in the park, along with Denis’s wallet, credit card, and other belongings. The alarm was raised when Denis failed to show up for a planned meeting in June, wearing beige trousers, a white shirt, a dark baseball cap, and a jacket.
Denis had planned to travel to São Paulo to meet a friend but never made it. Concern grew when he stopped communicating with his close friend, Pedro Campos, who described Denis as excited about his trip. Denis’s mother and best friend expressed shock at his disappearance, describing him as a caring and responsible individual.
The discovery of the body has brought a sense of closure to the search for Denis, leaving his loved ones devastated by the tragic outcome.