Not the Way it Was Supposed to Go, written by Stephanie Curry, One of Robert (Bob) Levinson’s Daughters

2,371 Days.
56,904 Hours.
3,414,240 minutes held hostage.
In 83 days, Robert Levinson will become the longest held hostage in United States history.
I can’t even fathom that it has been six and a half years since my father, Robert (Bob) Levinson, was kidnapped as he was leaving Kish Island, Iran, after a business meeting. I remember the day that I found out he was gone. I received a call from my brother David, who was home from college on Spring Break. It was Dad’s 59th birthday, Saturday, March 10th, 2007.
David had called to find out if I had spoken to Mom that day. It was one of those rare days that I had not yet spoken to her on the phone. I could tell that something was wrong from his voice. I told him no and I asked him why he wanted to know. He said that Mom was really quiet – unusually so – and seemed to be acting a bit different. He then told me that she had gone to a family friend’s home and she was unsure when she might be home. She never did this without an explanation. I then had Dave put my sister Sue on the phone. She said the same thing and that she was worried but she was trying to keep it together for our younger sister and brother, Samantha and Doug. I told Sue and Dave that they were doing the right thing and that to keep calm for them. None of us knew what was going on, but we knew it had to do with Dad. I told them to call me if they found out anything.
I immediately hung up the phone and called my husband, Randy. Randy had just left to meet up with friends for dinner. I remember my heart racing, I was physically shaking, and I said to him, in between sobs, “Please come home. Something has happened to Dad.” Without hesitation, he said, “I am on my way.”

This was not the way it was supposed to go. All seven of us Levinson children were preparing to meet our parents in Orlando, Florida, to visit Disney World in honor of Dad’s 59th birthday. I had made Dad a gift. I had painted him a picture frame at a local pottery place to commemorate the trip. It was red in color with little Mickey Mouse Ears all over it. It said, “It’s my 59th Birthday and I am going to Disney World!”
I still have that empty frame, waiting to put a picture in it to give to my father.
The last time that I spoke to my dad was on February 28, 2007. My son was then just four months old and I called my mom’s cell phone; I was completely run down and exhausted from lack of sleep due to the baby. My mom was actually driving Dad home from the hospital as he had just had a colonoscopy. I was upset on the phone and, after I spoke to Mom, she handed the phone to Dad, who always seems to have a way of calming his kids down. He said, “Stephanie, listen to your mother. She knows what she is talking about. She has had seven kids.” So even though he had just had a medical procedure done, my father wanted to talk to me and reassure me that everything was going to be okay. I won’t ever forget that conversation.
Today, six and a half years later, so much has changed.
I now have two children, an almost seven year old son, Ryan, and a four and a half year old daughter, Grace. My father has met and held Ryan, but he does not know that Ryan is severely affected by autism. Our family struggles greatly because of this due to Ryan’s difficulty in communicating and his many medical issues. Ryan is the center of my world and every day I fight for him to get medical attention, services, and therapies. My dad will be so proud of the way Ryan has overcome more obstacles than I can count, and how he continues to do so every day.
Grace knows of her Grandpa Bob from pictures and she has seen his hostage video. She makes sure to pray for him every night by saying, “Please God, take care of Grandpa Bob and help him get out of the desert.” She asks me questions about him: “What if Grandpa Bob doesn’t know who I am? How will he know me?” I once made reference to the fact that “bad guys were keeping Grandpa Bob from coming home.” She then asked me, with some trepidation in her voice, “Are there bad guys in real life?”
Unfortunately, there are bad guys in real life and they are holding my father. The thing is, I don’t know why they continue to hold him, but not ask for anything in exchange for him. Our father is not dangerous, he has not committed any crimes, and he has a heart of gold. They people holding him must know that by now.
Most days, I feel guilty. I feel guilty that I wake up in my own comfortable bed. I feel guilty that I get to get up, have a cup of coffee and choose what I want for breakfast. My children wake up and I have the freedom to hug and smother them with kisses. I get to kiss my husband good bye before he leaves for work. I am free to watch television, go to the gym and grocery store, and connect with friends and family on Facebook.
My father, Bob Levinson, has none of these freedoms. He is sitting in a cell somewhere with no outside contact. He cannot communicate with his family, not even with a telephone call. He cannot choose his breakfast – in fact, I don’t even know if he receives breakfast. He has no basic human rights.
I know that my father is still staying strong, but how long can someone last under these conditions? I worry about him every day.
Since I was a little girl, I have always idolized my father. He is really the most amazing man. I have always felt as though he was meant for great things; that he would change the world. I trust that this whole situation is part of God’s plan and that it will all work out, but to be honest, I am getting very impatient with God.
Bob Levinson will become the longest American hostage on November 26, 2013, surpassing Terry Anderson with this milestone. We do not want this to happen. Every day that Bob Levinson is held captive is another day that he misses out on so many family milestones. He has two grandchildren on the way, who need to know their Grandpa Bob.
If this were your father, grandfather, husband or friend, you would be screaming from the roof tops to anyone who would listen. I feel like our family’s screams have gone unheard these past six and a half years. It is time to pull out the mega phones. It is long past time. We must tell the world that we won’t stand for one of our own to be held hostage.
It is a time for outrage: Bob Levinson must be allowed to return to his family.
Dad, if you are able to read this, know that we love you, we miss you, and we will never give up looking for you so that we can bring you home.

U.S. Citizens Detained or Missing in Iran, Press Statement, Secretary of State

http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2013/08/213592.htm
U.S. Citizens Detained or Missing in Iran

Press Statement
John Kerry Secretary of State
Washington, DC
August 28, 2013

The United States respectfully asks the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to work cooperatively with us in our efforts to help U.S. citizens Robert Levinson, Amir Hekmati, and Saeed Abedini to return to their families after lengthy detentions.

Mr. Levinson went missing from Kish Island, Iran, in March 2007. Mr. Levinson is not only a husband, but a caring father to seven children. His family has endured with courage and quiet dignity the pain of spending so many important family milestones without him there. They shouldn’t have to endure additional worry about his whereabouts and well being. We call again on the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to uphold its offer to help find Mr. Levinson and return him safely to his family.

The United States is also deeply concerned about the fate of dual U.S. citizens Amir Hekmati and Saeed Abedini. Tomorrow marks the two-year anniversary
of Mr. Hekmati’s detention in Iran on false espionage charges. On September 26, Mr. Abedini will have spent a year in detention in Iran. He was sentenced to eight years in prison on charges related to his religious beliefs.

President Rouhani has shared in his speeches and interviews over the past few months his hope and vision to improve the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s relationship with the world.

We urge the Iranian Government to release Mr. Hekmati and Mr. Abedini and to help us locate Mr. Levinson so that they may be reunited with their families as safely and as soon as possible.

These men belong at home with those who love them and miss them.

PRN: 2013/2041

Robert Levinson Photos Show Iran Holding Former FBI Agent Hostage Since 2007, U.S. Officials Say

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two years after a hostage video and photographs of retired FBI agent Robert Levinson raised the possibility that the missing American was being held by terrorists, U.S. officials now see the government of Iran behind the images, intelligence officials told The Associated Press.

Levinson, a private investigator, disappeared in 2007 on the Iranian island of Kish. The Iranian government has repeatedly denied knowing anything about his disappearance, and the disturbing video and photos that Levinson’s family received in late 2010 and early 2011 seemed to give credence to the idea.

The extraordinary photos — showing Levinson’s hair wild and gray, his beard long and unkempt — are being seen for the first time publicly after the family provided copies to the AP. The video has been previously released.

In response to Iran’s repeated denials, and amid secret conversations with Iran’s government, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement in March 2011 that Levinson was being held somewhere in South Asia. The implication was that Levinson might be in the hands of terrorist group or criminal organization somewhere in Pakistan or Afghanistan.

The statement was a goodwill gesture to Iran, one that the U.S. hoped would prod Tehran to help bring him home.

But nothing happened.

Two years later, with the investigation stalled, the consensus now among some U.S. officials involved in the case is that despite years of denials, Iran’s intelligence service was almost certainly behind the 54-second video and five photographs of Levinson that were emailed anonymously to his family. The tradecraft used to send those items was too good, indicating professional spies were behind them, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk publicly. While everything dealing with Iran is murky, their conclusion is based on the U.S. government’s best intelligence analysis.

The photos, for example, portray Levinson in an orange jumpsuit like those worn by detainees at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay. The family received them via email in April 2011. In each photo, he held a sign bearing a different message.

“I am here in Guantanamo,” one said. “Do you know where it is?”

Another read: “This is the result of 30 years serving for USA.”

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has personally and repeatedly criticized the U.S. over its detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.

U.S. operatives in Afghanistan managed to trace the cellphone used to send the photographs, officials said. But the owner had nothing to do with the photos, and the trail went cold.

It was that way, too, with the hostage video the family received. It was sent from a cyber cafe in Pakistan in November 2010. The video depicted a haggard Levinson, who said he was being held by a “group.” In the background, Pashtun wedding music can be heard. The Pashtun people live primarily in Pakistan and Afghanistan, just across Iran’s eastern border.

Yet the sender left no clues to his identity and never used that email address again.

Whoever was behind the photos and video was no amateur, U.S. authorities concluded. They made no mistakes, leading investigators to conclude it had to be a professional intelligence service like Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security.

Levinson’s wife, Christine, provided the photos to The Associated Press because she felt her husband’s disappearance was not getting the attention it deserves from the government.

“There isn’t any pressure on Iran to resolve this,” she said. “It’s been much too long.”

Though U.S. diplomats and the FBI have tried behind the scenes to find Levinson, of Coral Springs, Fla., and bring him home, both presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama have said little about his case and have applied little public pressure on Iran for more information about Levinson’s whereabouts.

Christine Levinson has watched more public pressure result in Iran’s release of a trio of hikers, a journalist named Roxana Saberi and a team of British sailors captured by the Iranian Navy. Everyone has come home except her husband.

Washington’s quiet diplomacy, meanwhile, has yielded scant results beyond the Iranian president’s promise to help find Levinson.

“We assumed there would be some kind of follow-up and we didn’t get any,” Christine Levinson said. “After those pictures came, we received nothing.”

In one meeting between the two countries, the Iranians told the U.S. that they were looking for Levinson and were conducting raids in Baluchistan, a mountainous region that includes parts of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan, U.S. officials said. But the U.S. ultimately concluded that the Iranians made up the story. There were no raids, and officials determined that the episode was a ruse by Iranian counterintelligence to learn how U.S. intelligence agencies work.

An expert on Russian organized crime, Levinson retired from the FBI in 1998 and became a private investigator. He was investigating cigarette smuggling in early 2007, and his family has said that took him to the Iranian island of Kish, where he was last seen. Kish is a popular resort area and a hotbed of smuggling and organized crime. It is also a free trade zone, meaning U.S. citizens do not need visas to travel there.

FBI spokeswoman Jacqueline Maguire said: “As we near the sixth anniversary of his disappearance, the FBI remains committed to bringing Bob home safely to his family.”

In an interview, Levinson’s wife said that because her husband disappeared in Iran, she believes her husband is still being held there. She doesn’t think the U.S. government has put enough pressure on Iran to release her husband.

“It needs to come front and center again,” Levinson said. “There needs to be a lot more public outcry.”

She said she has met with Obama and John Brennan, Obama’s counterterrorism czar and nominee to run the CIA. She said that both men pledged to do everything they could to free her husband. Now, nearly six years after his disappearance, she thinks Iran is being let off the hook.

“He’s a good man,” she said. “He just doesn’t deserve this.”

Meanwhile, Robert Levinson will miss another family milestone when his oldest daughter Susan gets married in February.

“He’s missed so many,” his wife said. “It’s very upsetting.”

White House Petition

Please sign the petition via the link below and share it with anyone that you know. We need 25,000 signatures. Thank you for your support.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/make-rescuing-us-citizen-robert-levinson-being-held-hostage-middle-east-2007-top-priority/GyK0KhgS

Sincerely,
The Levinson Family

We Petition the Obama Administration to:
Make rescuing US Citizen Robert Levinson being held hostage in the Middle East since 2007 a top priority.

US citizen Robert Levinson was kidnapped from Kish Island, Iran in March of 2007. Since then he has been held hostage against his will for over 2,100 days. In December 2011, the family released a proof of life video received from his captors. In the video his deteriorating health was evident. He had lost much weight and was in need of diabetes medicine. Since then he has not been heard from but it is believed he is still alive and being held in the Middle East.

It is the government’s job to protect the lives of all US citizens; rescuing Levinson should be top priority right now for our country. He is greatly missed by his family and friends. Iran has been uncooperative and blocked investigations. We the people of the US wish to bring this man home no matter what it takes.

Created: Dec 21, 2012

Statement from the Family of Robert Levinson, Held Hostage for 2000 Days

Statement from the Family of Robert Levinson, Held Hostage for 2000 Days

Tomorrow, August 29, 2012, will mark 2,000 days that Robert “Bob” Levinson – 64 years of age, husband of 38 years, father of seven children and grandfather of two – has been held hostage after disappearing while visiting Kish Island, Iran, in March 2007. Two thousand days since Bob has heard the voices of his children and his wife, and since we have heard his. Two thousand days since he has worn the clothes in his closet – which we are sure no longer fit him – and 2,000 days since he has slept on his side of the bed. We ask ourselves how is it possible that someone – especially someone 6’4″ and (then) 225 pounds – disappears without a trace.

It is time for Bob to be released.

Bob is now the second-longest-held hostage in American history. Only Terry Anderson who was held as part of the Lebanon Hostage Crisis was in captivity longer.

Bob has been held four and a half times longer than the Americans held during in the Iranian Hostage Crisis, a group of people caught up in the middle of political turmoil, and more than a month longer than the Americans kidnapped by FARC guerillas and released in 2008. This is not a milestone any human being would want to achieve. We love and miss Bob more than words can say, and we desperately worry about his health with each day that passes.

Bob was last seen leaving his hotel on Kish Island on March 9, 2007. Our family received a proof of life video (Bob Levinson Proof of Life Video)almost two years ago, but we have heard nothing from Bob’s captors even after making repeated pleas for his release, which have been met with silence, including this past December and again in March. We don’t know where Bob is or how he is. Once again, we beg Bob’s captors to tell us what we need to do to get Bob home. We are beyond ourselves with worry. It is time for him to be released.

Bob is getting older with each day that passes and his health is failing. He suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure and gout, along with countless other unknown health issues a person would suffer from while being held in captivity for five and a half years. We need to bring him home now so that he can spend whatever time he has left surrounded by the people who love him, not in captivity.

We will not be silent. It is time for Bob Levinson to be released so that his suffering and ours can end.

For more information about the case of Robert Levinson, please refer to the family’s Facebook page Help Bob Levinson or the website helpboblevinson.com. The FBI has offered a $1 million rewardto bring Bob home.

Statement From the Levinson Family

It is unbelievable to us that five years have passed since our last contact with Bob.

Bob was 59 years old when he was abducted: He will be 64 tomorrow, his birthday. Bob is getting older, as are we. We are deeply concerned about his health. He suffers from hypertension, diabetes and gout – all of which get worse with age.

Life is passing, yet, wherever Bob is, we know he has no life. For us, his family, all we focus on is getting through each day and doing everything we can to find him. Not knowing where he is, whether he is ok and how to get him home is complete agony. Here in this country, most of us would be filled with concern if someone we love were to drop out of sight for just 24 hours. For us, it has been 1827 days – or 43,848 hours. And we have been counting every one of them.

On December 9, 2011, the family released a video (Link Here) showing Bob to be alive when it was recorded and we publicly pled with his captors to tell us what we need to do to get Bob home. We have heard nothing. We are at a loss for what to do.

To the people holding Bob: We ask once again that you please – please – let us know what you want from us. Perhaps you are parents, or grandparents, as Bob is. Perhaps you are the head of a large family of sons and daughters, as Bob is. We beg you to show him the mercy you would want shown to you if you were in his place, and allow him to return home to his family. We are all just human beings.

— March 9, 2012

Christine Levinson and the Levinson children: Susan Levinson, Stephanie (Levinson) Curry, Sarah (Levinson) Moriarty, Daniel Levinson, David Levinson, Samantha Levinson and Douglas Levinson

Billboard Announcement of $1 Million Dollar Reward

A publicity campaign is being launched this week in southwest Asia to heighten awareness of Levinson’s abduction, announce the $1,000,000 reward, and solicit information. Billboards, radio messages, and flyers will be used to publicize the reward and the investigation. A telephone tip line will be provided to listeners and viewers in that region so that they can confidentially provide information.