Founder of Granolife Disappears at Sea in Bali
The founder of the granola brand Granolife, 36-year-old Sergey Eliseev, has mysteriously gone missing off the coast of Amed, Bali. A few days ago, he set out alone on a routine boat trip but never returned. His motorboat was later found drifting by local fishermen—with no sign of him on board.
On the evening of April 17, at around 9:30 p.m., Sergey set out on what seemed like another one of his regular solo outings. He and his fiancée had been living in Amed for several months, during which he purchased a small motorboat. It was common for him to take evening rides alone on the water.
That night, as usual, Sergey started a live video from his boat to share the experience with friends on social media. But unlike his previous streams, he didn’t say a word—he just quietly sailed into the darkness.
By morning, his friends expected him to check in, as he usually did, sharing how the trip went and how he was feeling. But instead of Sergey, they received a call from the police. Officers informed them that a fisherman had brought his boat ashore. It was empty—only his phone, laptop, speaker, and a pair of shorts remained.
“Around 6:30 a.m., a local fisherman found the boat drifting and pulled it back to the beach,” one of Sergey’s friends said. “There was no sign of him onboard.”
Since his disappearance, friends have spread the word across Bali’s online communities. A team of professional rescuers has been searching the coastline and speaking with locals, but so far, no solid leads have emerged.
“The weather was rough that night, so immediate search efforts at sea were delayed,” another friend shared. “Now they’re focusing on water searches, but nothing has come up yet.”
Those close to Sergey believe the engine may have stalled, and the current could have pushed the boat away from shore. An experienced athlete, he may have tried to swim back. In theory, he could have made it—but with each passing day, the chances of finding him alive grow slimmer.
His fiancée is leading the search efforts, while friends try to estimate where he could have ended up based on current, wind direction, and wave patterns.
“It’s possible the boat was slowly drifting south overnight and ended up near Tukad Tiis by morning,” one friend suggested.
Who Is Sergey Eliseev?
Originally from Kaluga, Russia, Sergey moved to Moscow as a student, later graduating from the Bauman Moscow State Technical University with a degree in mechanical engineering.
“He used to be a well-paid top manager at a bank,” a close friend recalled. “But he left the corporate world to build his own business. He started Granolife from scratch with his team, opened a production facility back in his hometown, and turned it into a successful brand.
He was a kind person—always full of ideas. Right before he went missing, he was talking about bringing old friends together and starting something new. He even offered to buy me a ticket to Bali, but I couldn’t make it because of work.”
Sergey also ran a blog where he shared his business strategies and personal reflections. In early March, he announced that he had proposed to his girlfriend with a diamond ring during their beach vacation.
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