Robert departed from his family's residence near Coopersburg, Pennsylvania on June 30, 1979. He was last seen walking down Coopersburg Road towards the town of Coopersburg, at 1:00 p.m. that day. Robert planned to visit his girlfriend's house, which was located approximately two miles from his home. He never arrived as expected and has not been heard from again. He did not have a history as a runaway and nothing was amiss in his life at the time to lead investigators to suspect he left on his own accord. Robert told his mother before he left their home that he expected to find a ride with someone later in the day. His family members told authorities that Robert often received car rides from friends or walked to his destinations. Authorities checked with many of the people who lived along the route he would have taken to his girlfriend's home, but all of them said they hadn't seen him that day.