Well if you immediately signed back in to same server that is your problem, you cannot just log back in that fast, you have to wait for the server to update the time in server browser, say the server resets to 0800, wait till the browser says 0801. If you don't, you will run the risk of resetting your character and there is no fix at all for it. So sounds to me as if you are SOL. Sorry.

i didnt

it was a day later

The only thing I could say is maybe you had bad timing logging back into the server, maybe it has just reset and what I stated before is what happened. It was the EXACT same server or a dif one?

different

i would like my character back couldn't they just duplicate a another public hive character my one

No it doesn't work that way. This being an Alpha and you clicking I UNDERSTAND at the beginning means that things like this will happen. My guess is the server had just done a reset and you entered it too soon. Kinda sucks I know, I had a character that had an M4 (back in June) and he had been alive for a long time, they did a hive reset and POOF gone, same sorta thing. I had many more hours into that one and gone. The fun of the game is usually finding stuff. Yes a Smersh vest is super rare and the odds of finding another one are very low. Just keep at it.