The family of a missing ex-FBI agent from Coral Springs released five photographs of him on Tuesday, showing him with a chain apparently wrapped around his hands, wearing an orange jumpsuit and holding up various signs.
Bob Levinson disappeared from the Iranian island of Kish in 2007. He traveled there on March 8, 2007 and hasn't been seen since. His wife has said she believes he never left.
His son Dan Levinson said the photos were emailed to them in April 2011, but they decided to release them now "to make sure we're doing everything possible and keeping everything out there that we can to keep the public eye and the media spotlight on the case, and create more of an urgency to getting my dad home."
In one of the photos, Levinson holds up a sign that reads "Help Me." And in another a sign reads "I Am Here In Guantanamo Do you Know Where It Is?" He stands in front of a black background and has a long, white beard.
Click here to see all five photos of Bob Levinson.
"Well, he doesn't look well, he looks obviously miserable and that he's been in a living hell right now," Dan Levinson told NBC 6 South Florida. "He's frustrated and he's obviously doing what needs to be done to get home."
The photos are also a way that Bob Levinson is letting them know that he's alive, his son said.
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"So for my brothers and sisters and my mom and I, it's very depressing to see him that way and it's disheartening, and it's very upsetting to see him in such a state," he said.
The New York Times reported that the photos appear to have been taken around two years ago, around the same time when the ex-FBI agent's proof-of-life video was sent.
His wife, Christine Levinson, told Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty that she believes the photos were taken before the video was made.
"I feel that at this moment in time it’s important for people to see what has happened, that we have tried to get back in touch with these people to find out what needs to be done. And so far, we have still not received any information," she was quoted as saying.
The case has increasingly frustrated investigators, who have relied unsuccessfully on evolving strategies of diplomacy and the public release of the video in hopes of finding Levinson.
In 2011 the family released the video, which had been received in November 2010 in an email from someone with an unknown address, showing a haggard Levinson pleading for help.
Christine Levinson has said she tried to contact them by email, which was all she had.
Levinson's family said he was there investigating cigarette smuggling for a corporate client.
The FBI has announced a $1 million reward has been offered for information leading to his safe recovery and return. Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI at https://tips.fbi.gov.
Click here for the Levinson family website.
