The body of a Michigan father who went missing while attending a family gathering over the holidays has reportedly been found.
On Saturday, Jan. 4 at approximately 2 p.m. local time, 52-year-old Robert Loren Bacon’s body was discovered by dive teams searching the Cass River near Heritage Park in Frankenmuth, local outlets MLive.com and WNEM reported, citing the Frankenmuth Police Department.
Bacon, of Byron, Michigan, had last been seen at a family gathering at the Bavarian Inn Lodge in Frankenmuth on Friday, Dec. 27, before he was reported missing on Monday, Dec. 30, per MLive.com.
The outlet stated the preliminary cause of death as drowning, citing police, adding that a final determination would be made by the Saginaw County Medical Examiner’s Office.
“The Frankenmuth Police Department, the Frankenmuth community, first responders and the Bavarian Inn Lodge extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Robert Bacon during this difficult time,” police said, according to the publication.
An investigation is ongoing.
Police appeal for Robert Loren Bacon.
Missing People in America
The Frankenmuth Police Department, the Bavarian Inn Lodge and the Saginaw County Medical Examiner’s Office didn’t immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE.
Bacon’s ex-wife, Melissa McLenna, said in a Facebook post on Sunday, Jan. 5, “I have no words to describe how we feel we are so sad I just want to say thank you to everyone that helped look for Robert thank you to all that prayed for us and that are continuing to pray for us.”
She previously opened up to WNEM about how the search had impacted their two daughters, ages 15 and 13. “My poor kids, our kids, I don’t know what to tell. They ask, ‘Mom, have they found him yet?’ and I just say, ‘No, we’re still looking,’ ” she told the outlet.
McLenna added that Bacon, who is a Navy veteran, also went by his middle name, Loren, and had arrived at the Dec. 27. gathering “about 6:40 p.m. (local time).”
He then “went to the hotel room to change out of his shoes and slides, was going to meet our daughter down at the pool area,” she added, per WNEM.
Robert Loren Bacon.
Missing People in America
“(He) Said he had to move his car because he was on the further entrance from where their room was. From there, they have video showing him going to the fun center after leaving the hotel room, never coming back to his car. They don’t have any video showing he exited the building. However, there are exits without cameras,” McLenna continued, per the outlet.
“Our youngest daughter said, ‘Mom, he was in a great mood. You could hear it in his voice how happy he was,’ ” she told WNEM.
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McLenna told the publication that police hadn’t found anything suspicious inside Bacon’s car, adding that his phone had been off since the evening he went missing.
“He does like nature. He likes to walk around and check things out, especially at riverbanks. That’s just his personality. I wouldn’t put it past him to come outside to smoke a cigarette and walk along that river,” McLenna told WNEM.
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