In the summer of 2004, Ande Fan, known to some as Andy, was a 31-year-old man living in New Haven, Connecticut. Originally from China, he had made New Haven his home since 1998. Fan resided at the Bella Vista Apartments, an independent living facility located on Eastern Street. He was known by staff and residents as a friendly and respectful person, often seen enjoying the outdoors or riding his bicycle, which he was kindly permitted to store in a ground-floor stairwell.
Despite this friendly demeanor, he was also described as a quiet individual. Fan lived with bipolar disorder and other medical conditions, receiving services from Continuum of Care of New Haven, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing mental health care. He maintained strong ties with his family, speaking regularly by phone with his mother in China and his sister, Anji, who lived in San Francisco. In the days leading up to his disappearance, his conversations with both his mother and sister were described as entirely normal, offering no hint of what was to come.
The early morning hours of August 8, 2004, marked the last time anyone is known to have seen Ande Fan. He vanished from his apartment, leaving behind a life seemingly paused in time. All of his essential personal belongings remained in his residence, including his keys, money, ATM card, passport, and other forms of identification. Since that day, there has been no activity on his bank accounts. Although he had previously mentioned a desire to one day return to his native China, the fact that he left his passport behind makes this possibility unlikely. At the time he went missing, Fan was also dealing with an injury to his left kneecap and may have been in need of medical care. The staff at his residence noted that he did not appear troubled or despondent before he disappeared. One employee at the facility recalled seeing him with an unidentified man she had not seen before; she exchanged a brief greeting with Fan, and that was the last time she saw him.
In the aftermath of his disappearance, Fan's family was left with an agonizing void and a complete lack of answers. His sister, Anji, traveled to Connecticut at the end of August 2004 to search for her brother, posting hundreds of fliers around the New Haven area and sending them to hospitals and social service agencies, but her efforts yielded no information. By Thanksgiving of that year, she had the heartbreaking task of clearing out his apartment. The New Haven Department of Police investigated the case, but no solid leads emerged to explain the sudden departure. Authorities have stated that while Fan had a mental illness, there was no evidence to suggest he took his own life. The case has grown cold over the years, with Fan's family reportedly not receiving any updates from law enforcement since late 2004. The disappearance of Ande Fan is a baffling case, marked by the complete and sudden cessation of all communication and financial activity, and the puzzling fact that he left behind every item one would need to start a new life. With no evidence of foul play or a planned departure, what happened to Ande Fan after he walked out of his apartment remains an unsolved mystery.Last Seen: Aug 8, 2004
