Closure in Long Island Missing Person Case
The long-standing mystery surrounding a Long Island man who vanished 15 years ago has finally been resolved. Authorities confirmed that Robert Long’s body was discovered in a submerged vehicle at Cedar Beach.
On Tuesday, police reported that the Chrysler PT Cruiser found last month by diver Dan Pritchard belonged to Long.
Pritchard and his diving partner, Bill McIntosh, have been on a mission to locate missing individuals globally. They actually started a nonprofit recently, and in June, they focused on Long’s case.
The divers utilized a kayak outfitted with a specialized side-scan sonar device to search underwater. McIntosh noted that there were four potential sites to investigate, with Cedar Beach being one of them.
After hours of searching on their first day, the divers found what turned out to be human remains inside the vehicle. Authorities later confirmed the identity of the body and recovered the car using a crane.
“I reached over, grabbed a handful of bones, and lifted it to the surface,” Pritchard recounted.
When Long went missing, his wife Joan shared that he had visited a nearby wine shop on Route 25A and hadn’t returned. A report from 2010 indicated that employees hadn’t noticed anything unusual about his behavior that day.
Joan had mentioned that Long had talked about struggles he faced in the past. “This is completely uncharacteristic for him,” she expressed at the time. “He typically bought a bottle and returned home… he was in his slippers, had no money, and was only dressed casually.”
After the remains were found, Pritchard and McIntosh offered their condolences to Joan.
“Identifying the vehicle is certainly a huge relief,” Pritchard told a local radio station. “It’s satisfying to provide the family with the answers they’ve been seeking.”
McIntosh echoed his sentiment, stating, “Finding someone allows us to bring them home and helps close chapters for their families. We can offer them hope.”
The team of divers plans to spend the upcoming months scouring waterways along the East Coast, looking for submerged vehicles. They believe their efforts could potentially lead to the recovery of bodies belonging to up to 50 missing individuals.
