Paul Staehle says he never went missing in the Amazon, despite his family's fears ... chalking it up to some poor phone service and a snag on a river.

The "90 Day Fiancé" star tells TMZ ... he's been living by himself in Manaus, Brazil and he recently went out on a boat with a fan of the reality show in an effort to clear his head, a decision that had a snowball effect.

Paul says they were heading to a floating house in the Amazon, but along the way the boat had some mechanical problems, and his companion temporarily left him alone. Paul tells us he grew nervous and started reaching out to folks for help, but his buddy was ultimately able to fix the boat and they resumed their journey.

Once they got to the floating house, Paul says he didn't have a phone charger and there was poor cell service ... limiting his means of communication with his family back in America.

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