Family Seeks 2 Vanished Clothing Wholesalers : Disappearance: Men were to have met with a business associate on Thanksgiving, but dropped out of sight. Relatives search the Valley for them.

Authorities continued their search Monday for two Van Nuys men who apparently disappeared Thanksgiving Day after stopping by a restaurant here to collect on a debt, Los Angeles police said.

Eliyahu (Eli) Asaraf, 32, and Prosper Revah, 39, were last seen Thursday at Jerry’s Famous Deli in the 16000 block of Ventura Boulevard, LAPD Detective Alex Valadez said.

The men, who operated a clothing wholesale business, had apparently gone to the Encino restaurant to collect $2,000 an unidentified associate owed for clothing sold on consignment, police and family members said.

Asaraf’s brother, Cobi, said Monday the meeting was set for around 6 p.m. but Eliyahu Asaraf phoned home and told his wife that the associate was going to be an hour late.

Neither Asaraf nor Revah have been heard from since, Valadez said. They dropped out of sight between 6:15 and 7:15 p.m.

“It’s at the point where there’s no evidence of foul play, but their disappearance is very unusual,” Valadez said. Cobi Asaraf speculated that his brother has fallen victim to foul play.

“The only thing I know for sure is that something happened to him,” he said.

“My brother was the type of guy who would call back home every 30 to 40 minutes to ask how his kid or wife are doing.”

Cobi Asaraf said Eliyahu’s wife began paging her husband Thursday afternoon but that he never returned the call.

In addition to hiring a private investigator, Cobi Asaraf said, friends and family members searched the Valley over the weekend for the two men, who had been in a rented dark metallic gray Lincoln.

“It’s bad,” Asaraf said. “Everybody is crying.”