Case Details
- Photo URLs:
-
- Missing Since:
- Missing Since 04/01/2008
- Missing From:
- Missing From Lakeland, Florida
- Classification:
- Classification Endangered Missing
- Gender:
- Male
- Race:
- Race White
- Date of Birth:
- Date of Birth 09/23/1981 (43)
- Age:
- Age 26 years old
- Height and Weight:
- Height and Weight 5’9 – 5’10, 165 – 175 pounds
- Clothing/Jewelry Description:
- Distinguishing Characteristics:
- Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Wiles’s nickname is Rob. He has a hernia scar on his abdomen and acne scars below his ears, around his jawline and on both sides of his face.
- Details of Disappearance:
- On April 1, 2008, Robert Wiles vanished. He was last seen at his job at Lakeland-Linder Regional Airport in Florida. Two days later, his parents received an email demanding $750,000 ransom – the exact amount his father had in kidnapping insurance for his company. They left the money as instructed, but Wiles wasn’t returned, and the kidnappers never contacted them again.
Wiles’s apartment was messy, unlike his usual neat habits, suggesting something was wrong. Adult kidnappings for ransom are extremely rare, leading police to investigate several possibilities. While they considered if he faked his own disappearance, there was no proof.
Wiles worked for his family’s aircraft maintenance company, traveling extensively for work. A co-worker, Toby Holt, was the last person to see him. Holt was arrested, initially for murder and kidnapping, but later convicted of manslaughter, extortion, and making threats. He claimed innocence and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Police found Holt’s alibi to be false and discovered he’d bought plastic sheeting and duct tape the night of Wiles’s disappearance. Despite the conviction, Wiles’s case remains unsolved, and foul play is suspected.
- Agency:
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Source Links:
This person was missing Missing Since 04/01/2008