VA VA - Robert Hourihan, 33, Columbia, 8 April 2011

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JeannaT said:
Interesting - Lauren Spierer also has that. I'd never heard of it before.
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This still disturbs me. In all honesty, I think the guy was leading a double life. Why else tell your wifey that you're off to work (bye honey), then disappear? Oh, and he wasn't scheduled to work that day.

Hinky indeed!

He said a routine goodbye to his wife in the early morning hours of April 8 and then presumably left to go to his job in Richmond.

“He wasn’t scheduled to work the day he left, but I found out later that he wasn’t,” his wife Tara says. “He had had the day off.”

MOO

Mel
 
Melanie -

I can buy the "double life" idea... but gee... are most people savvy enough not to get caught by email, texts, phone calls, etc? Did he have the means (work phone, work email, etc) to not get caught by his family? I assume LE has looked at all this? Even so, if they have and found anything, I doubt we'd know it, right?
 
carterkatt said:
New article with more info on medical condition:

http://www.mydailyprogress.com/rura...ews/article/fluvanna_man_still_missing/40712/

"Robert was born with a rare heart condition called Long QT syndrome—a disorder of the heart’s electrical activity that may cause sudden, uncontrollable heart rhythm when one is stressed."
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Thanks for posting that carterkatt! Long QT syndrome is a fairly uncommon genetic condition where the bottom chambers of the heart recover more slowly from the electrical charge sent down from the upper chambers. Because of this, the next electrical charge (i.e. next heartbeat) can be sent from the upper heart before the lower is ready. This can result in a sudden fatal heart rhythm called ventricular fibrillation. Long story short--without his antiarrhythmic medication (still most likely the aforementioned beta blocker) he could suffer sudden death. Most people who have this disorder are aware of the consequences of missing their meds and "never leave home without them.". Interestingly though, missing the meds would not generally cause the symptoms the wife describes. As I said above, the result of non-treatment would be sudden death--no warning signs at all. Hope this helps...
 
Ladydoc said:
Thanks for posting that carterkatt! Long QT syndrome is a fairly uncommon genetic condition where the bottom chambers of the heart recover more slowly from the electrical charge sent down from the upper chambers. Because of this, the next electrical charge (i.e. next heartbeat) can be sent from the upper heart before the lower is ready. This can result in a sudden fatal heart rhythm called ventricular fibrillation. Long story short--without his antiarrhythmic medication (still most likely the aforementioned beta blocker) he could suffer sudden death. Most people who have this disorder are aware of the consequences of missing their meds and "never leave home without them.". Interestingly though, missing the meds would not generally cause the symptoms the wife describes. As I said above, the result of non-treatment would be sudden death--no warning signs at all. Hope this helps...
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If RH died of a heart attack, the chances of him being found should be much greater. If he was out in public, in a parking lot, at a restaurant, etc. Unless he was hiding in the woods, or a desolate location, the chances of finding him would be slim. I can't imagine his body is in an apartment somewhere. So, IMHO, he either was killed and disposed of straightaway, or died in front of someone who felt a need to dispose of the body. Even if he had a heart attack while with a lover, that person should have called 911.

Just MOO.

Mel
 
Melanie said:
If RH died of a heart attack, the chances of him being found should be much greater. If he was out in public, in a parking lot, at a restaurant, etc. Unless he was hiding in the woods, or a desolate location, the chances of finding him would be slim. I can't imagine his body is in an apartment somewhere. So, IMHO, he either was killed and disposed of straightaway, or died in front of someone who felt a need to dispose of the body. Even if he had a heart attack while with a lover, that person should have called 911.

Just MOO.

Mel
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I agree wholeheartedly with you. His car is found in a public parking lot and he is nowhere to be found. Regardless of the cause of death ( or manner of death for that matter), someone else must've been involved. This is assuming of course that he has passed away...
 
Bumping for Robert. His situation hits home for me because I had a loved one who disappeared and passed away from a medical condition before anyone could find him. Robert has been missing for so long now that I can't imagine he just walked away from his life. I would think if he did, there would have been some sign of him by now. I agree with carterkatt, the average person couldn't stage a disappearance without leaving some sort of a trace behind.
 
Bumping for Robert. I can't believe he hasn't been found or heard from yet.
 
I was thinking about him over the weekend... and I'm surprised there's been NOTHING new.... or at least nothing we know about.
 
Trule bizarre disappearance. I thought for sure the Target video would show who left the car in the lot.
 
Based on everything I have read, things I have heard, and now that the police are leaning toward foul play, I believe it was a drug deal gone very wrong.

MOO and all other disclaimers.
 
carterkatt said:
Hum.... story says "foul play is likely"? I thought "we" were leaning towards taking off by his own choice?

What are your thoughts, WSers?
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I think VA has a uniform method of conclusion regarding missing person cases.

I always thought foul play.
 
I believe that someone close to him knows exactly what happened, whether they were involved or not and it's a shame that they don't care enough to bring it to light.
 
Just checking back, hoping something has been reported about Robert's disappearance. I found no recent news articles. 6 months have passed.

Foul play or voluntary runner? I'm on the fence at this point.

We never did hear more about the Target surveillance video for the parking lot where his car was found, right? I find that odd if LE considers this foul play and they are looking for someone. No real clues released to the public.

Thinking of Robert...
 
Alcina said:
Bumping for Robert. Where are you?!
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That's what I want to know. I haven't heard anything from the family - any pleas? I said this up thread that I felt he took off on his own, but you would think he'd be in contact by now. How does a big guy like that just disappear?

MOO

Mel
 
Melanie said:
That's what I want to know. I haven't heard anything from the family - any pleas? I said this up thread that I felt he took off on his own, but you would think he'd be in contact by now. How does a big guy like that just disappear?

MOO

Mel
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I wonder the same thing, Mel... but remember Nicholas Francisco? He was gone/off the radar for a long time before being located, and he left by his own choice.
 
I dont think he took off on his own. I dont know what happen to him ,but I dont think he took off on his own.
 
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