Ex-US marine, who Putin called a 'sh**-faced troublemaker', has 'vanished' in Russian prison system and US State Department is 'concerned' about his whereabouts

A former marine has disappeared in the Russian prison system, and the U.S. embassy in Moscow has demanded to be told where he is.

Trevor Reed, a 29-year-old Texan, was last known to be in a Moscow prison, and was described by President Vladimir Putin as 'just a drunk and a troublemaker' who 'got himself s***faced and started a fight.' 

His attorneys told the family that he had been moved to a prison camp in Mordovia, 400 miles south east of Moscow, they said on Tuesday.

But on Wednesday the State Department said they had no idea where he was, and their repeated requests for access to him were being rejected.  

Trevor Reed, 29, has been in custody in Russia since August 2019. On Wednesday the State Department said that they had no idea where he was, and were urgently seeking access

Reed is seen on July 30, 2020 - standing inside a defendants' cage during a court hearing in Moscow

'It is now 19 days since #TrevorReed was transferred from a Moscow prison & the Russian government has still not officially informed the embassy of his whereabouts, despite our repeated requests,' tweeted Jason Rebholz, spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Moscow.

He demanded that the foreign ministry allow U.S. officials to see him.

'We urge @mfa_russia to honor its obligations & grant us consular access to Mr. Reed.'

Reed was arrested in August 2019, after attending a party with his Russian girlfriend at the home of her colleagues.

His family say he was encouraged to drink large quantities of vodka.

Police were called, and Reed was taken to jail to sober up. But when two Russian intelligence agents from the FSB came to speak to him, he was charged with assaulting them.

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, is seen on June 14 speaking to NBC News

During the interview Putin said that Reed was 'a troublemaker' who 'got s***faced'

In July 2020 he was sentenced to nine years in prison following a trial that the U.S. authorities said was absurd. 

During the court hearings, the two police officers struggled to recall the alleged incident and contradicted themselves.

At one stage in a session, attended by ABC News, even the judge began to laugh at them.

The U.S. has called for Reed to be released, saying his conviction was 'ridiculous'.

'This conviction, and a sentence of nine years, for an alleged crime that so obviously did not occur, is ridiculous,' said John Sullivan, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, at the time. 

'I cannot even say 'miscarriage of justice,' because clearly 'justice' was not even considered. 

'This was theater of the absurd.'

In the military Reed had served as a marine presidential guard, whose assignments include providing security at Camp David when President Barack Obama was there.

Reed's parents, Joey and Paula, have been campaigning for his release from their home in Fort Worth, Texas. Joey Reed spent months in Moscow working to free his son

Reed's parents, Joey and Paula, have been campaigning for his release.

Joey Reed even traveled to Moscow and spent months living there, working to try and free him. 

When President Joe Biden met Putin, the case of Reed was brought up, plus that of Paul Whelan, who was detained several months before Reed.

Whelan was arrested by the FSB in December 2018 at his hotel in Moscow while visiting for a friend’s wedding. 

He was charged with espionage and sentenced to 16 years in a prison camp in a case that his family and U.S. officials was also fabricated.

Whelan, 51, a native of Michigan, left the Marines in 2008 after being convicted in a court martial on larceny charges and given a bad conduct discharge.

Paul Whelan, who has U.S., British and Canadian citizenship, was arrested in December 2018 and charged with espionage, and sentenced to 16 years. He insists he was set up in a KGB sting

When he was arrested in Moscow he was a global security director for the auto parts company BorgWarner.

Officials have said they believe Whelan was the victim of a KGB-style sting. 

Whelan said a Russian friend collaborating with the FSB planted a memory card on him while visiting him in his hotel room during the wedding trip. Five minutes after the friend called on Whelan unannounced, FSB agents burst into the room and detained him, Whelan said.

Putin told Biden that he was open to a prisoner swap, but the U.S. is yet to agree a deal. 

Of Reed, Putin told NBC on June 14 he had little sympathy.

'He's just a drunk and a troublemaker,' the Russian leader said. 

'As they say here, he got himself s***faced and started a fight.'