Family Rallies For Missing Father On One Year Anniversary Of Disappearance

By Nicol Jenkins
Editor

March 9 is a day the Levinson family will never forget.

What should have been a joyous anticipation for an upcoming birthday celebration at Disney World; instead turned into a year-long hunt for a missing husband and father.

Bob Levinson, a loving and kind-hearted husband and father of seven, went missing that day one year ago on the eve of his 59th birthday. He was on a business trip in Iran looking into cigarette smuggling.

A year later, the family has not received information on his whereabouts but has not given up hope either.

The Levinson family recently held a rally of hope for his return home to Coral Springs so they can celebrate his 60th birthday.

“Today is the one year anniversary of his disappearance,” his wife Christine Levinson told a group of friends and supporters at a rally. “I know that I will, with the help of everyone here, find Bob and bring him home.”

The Levinson family held the rally at Wings Plus in Coral Springs March 9, 2008- the one-year anniversary of Bob Levinson’s disappearance. Hundreds of friends, community members and leaders attended to show support for the family. The family spoke of his disappearance.

“I wonder how many know what it’s like to live with a broken heart because their most favorite person is missing,” said his oldest daughter Susan. “This year has been a living hell.”

“We really want Bob home. We need him, his kids need him and we miss him a lot,” added Ken Parkerson, a retired FBI agent who worked with Bob.

Friends and family described Bob Levinson as a dedicated father and hard working FBI agent.

“He is a good family man,” said Brian Walsh, owner of Wings Plus, where Bob and his family used to frequent.

“He was a tenacious investigator, fun to be around and took the job seriously,” said Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti, who used to work with Levinson in the FBI. “This has been a tragic period for law enforcement and we need to prop each other up and show that we care for one another.”

Bob’s oldest son Daniel, who went to Iran with his mother to find information, said all he wants is for his father to return home.

“We miss him daily, his guidance, wisdom, and we want him to come home and be proud and happy. We have not given up,” he said.

Missing

Bob Levinson, a former FBI agent, went missing a year ago March 9, 2007 while on a private business trip to Iran for consulting work on cigarette smuggling.

He first arrived in Dubai, United Arab Emirates March 3, 2007 and then traveled to Kish Island, Iran March 8, 2007. Christine said she spoke to her husband on the phone every day in Dubai and talked to him before he got on the plane to Kish Island.

“He told me that he would call me back in 24 hours because he didn’t know when the cell phone would work,” she said.

She knew he was supposed to stay in Kish Island for a day and then fly to London on March 10. When she didn’t hear from him March 10, on his birthday, Christine knew something was wrong.

She later found out that her husband checked into the Hotel Maryam in Kish Island where he met Dawud Salahuddin about cigarette smuggling. Salahuddin, the last known witness, was later picked up by local authorities who wanted to check his papers. According to Salahuddin, when he returned to the hotel hours later, Levinson was gone. Salahuddin believed Levinson was picked up by authorities to have his papers checked and that he would be released in a few days- but he disappeared and the family still has no information on the whereabouts of Bob Levinson.

In December, Christine, her sister-in-law and oldest son Daniel, traveled to Iran to find information on her husband. On that trip, they discovered that Bob checked in and out of the hotel and was last seen leaving the hotel in a taxi. The family also confirmed that Bob Levinson was not on any of the Kish air flight manifests. He never got on a plane and his passport has not been recorded in any other country. This leads the family to believe that he is still in Iran. At that time, the family hired an Iranian attorney and the Iranian government promised they would help the family find out what happened to Bob.

“We know he checked out of the hotel, but what we don’t know is what happened next,” Christine said.

The U.S. Department of State released this statement March 6, “We once again call upon Tehran to share with the family and diplomats of the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which looks after U.S. interests in the absence of normal diplomatic relations, details of any and all information the Iranian authorities have uncovered.”

The statement continued, “If Iran is holding Mr. Levinson, we demand that the Iranian authorities notify us to that effect, grant the Swiss consular access, and release him and re-unite him with his family.”

Family Man

Everyone who knew Bob called him a family man. He always spent free time with his seven children ranging in age from 14 to 30 and his new grandchild.

“His favorite thing to do was to spend time with the family and we hope to do that again shortly,” said his wife.

In 1973, Bob and Christine met at a Friday’s in New York and every year on their anniversary they go to the Friday’s in Coral Springs to celebrate. Since that chance encounter, they have made a life together in Coral Springs with their seven children.

“I do believe he is alive and in Iran somewhere,” she said. “And I will never stop looking. I do believe that the Iranian government can find him for me, and I’ll do what I need to do to find him and bring him home.”

She concluded, “And we’ll celebrate his 60th birthday when he gets home.”

For more information, visit www.helpboblevinson.com.