An unsolved mystery on Long Island surrounding the disappearance of a man in 2011 may finally have answers, after a car pulled from the water was found to have human remains inside — potentially bringing a long-standing missing person investigation to a close.
Suffolk County police said the remains were pulled from a PT Cruiser that was submerged under about 17 feet of water near a Cedar Beach boat ramp. Divers with two independent underwater investigative organizations — Exploring with a Mission, and Adventures with Purpose — went into the water Monday evening after using sonar devices to detect a vehicle was in the water.
One of the divers said he made a shocking find when he located the car.
“I reached in and grabbed a handful of bones, and brought one up to the surface,” said the man known as ‘Diver Dan.’
The team he was with then called 911, bringing county police divers to the scene. The search was halted overnight, then resumed Tuesday, when police divers found more remains. Police brought in a crane to get the vehicle out of the water.
“Diver Dan” and the rest of the team had come to Mt. Sinai on a hunch, hoping to solve the case of Robert Long, a 62-year-old Miller Place man who went missing in 2011. Long was last seen in his car just three miles from the boat ramp.
“He’s sitting right there. How could nobody find it? You’d think with people fishing there and everything, something would have, it’s amazing,” Gerard Matlock said.
Matlock and his wife, Christine, joined other onlookers in praising the team who breathed life into the missing persons case. The goal of Exploring with a Mission is to resolve cases that have mostly been forgotten, similar to Long’s.
“What we want to do is bring answers and give hope, to show that someone still cares,” said Bill McIntosh, who was operating the sonar that first picked up the shape of the submerged car.
The description of the car matched police records, and there were some items found inside that were also a match, according to Suffolk County Det. Lt. Kevin Beyrer.
The medical examiner must still confirm the remains are those of Long. The missing man’s family spoke to police on Tuesday, but did not wish to comment. While it wasn’t clear how exactly the vehicle ended up in the water, police said it did not appear to be a criminal case.
