Missing Dad of 7 Found Dead in Illinois River More Than 1 Week After He Disappeared, Police Say

Robert Long was last seen on Thursday, April 11, and reported missing on Saturday, April 13, according to police

• Robert Long, a father of seven, was found dead in the Des Plaines River in Illinois on Saturday, April 19, according to police

• The 35-year-old man was last seen on Thursday, April 11, and reported missing on Saturday, April 13, according to Joliet Police Sergeant Dwayne English

• Jewell Robinson, Long’s mother, described her son as “a man of consistency"

A missing father of seven has been found dead in an Illinois river more than a week after disappearing, authorities said.

Robert Long, 35, was reported missing on Saturday, April 13, Sergeant Dwayne English of the Joliet Police Department said at a news conference on Friday, April 19.

Long was last seen on Thursday, April 11, in the 300 block of North Bluff Street, where he lived.

Around 10:47 a.m. local time on Friday, April 19, the Joliet Fire Department found Long’s body in the Des Plaines River. His cause and manner of death have not been publicly released.

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Jewell Robinson, Long’s mother, said her son was “very loved” and described him as “a man of consistency,” according to CBS affiliate WBBM-TV.

"This is hard, man. This is hard. That's my only boy," said Robinson.

Long had left his cellphone at his apartment before he went missing, English said at Friday's news conference.

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Family told ABC affiliate WLS-TV that Long worked as an Uber driver and typically operated on a tight schedule.

It is unclear how Long entered the water, but there is currently no evidence of foul play, English said.

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Surveillance footage from the day Long disappeared seemed to show the father of seven at some point during the daytime, but authorities were unable to provide an official timestamp.

Long’s mother said three of the late father’s children are about to graduate eighth grade, according to WGN-TV and WLS-TV.

“I don’t wish this pain on no mother,” Robinson said, per NBC affiliate WMAQ-TV.

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An investigation into Long’s death is ongoing, English said.

“I wish to send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Robert Long,” the sergeant told reporters at Friday’s news conference. “It is very difficult to fathom the amount of loss that they continue to deal with and this pain has been reopened.”

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