Michigan father who left family to get something from his car never returned as cops make grim discovery

A beloved Michigan father was found dead after he went to grab something from his car during a family trip and never returned. 

The body of 52-year-old Robert Loren Bacon was recovered from the Cass River in Frankenmuth around 2pm Saturday. He was last seen at a resort pool on the evening of December 27. 

His ex-wife, Melissa McLenna said the father-of-two met his daughters, 15 and 13, and his mother at the Bavarian Inn around 6.40pm that day. 

'[He] was going to his car to get something and was coming back to the pool area to join his family,' she told McClatchy News. 'He never returned to his family at the pool.'  

Although Bacon said he was going to his vehicle, surveillance footage showed a different story. 

'[Investigators] have video showing him going to the fun center after leaving the hotel room, never coming back to his car,' McLenna told WNEM, noting that there are some exits that don't have cameras. 'They don’t have any video showing he exited the building.'

Bacon was officially reported missing on December 30, as McLenna and other worried family members took to social media to spread the word about his disappearance. 

Tragically, the Frankenmuth Police Department announced Saturday that his body was found by dive teams in the river near Heritage Park.

His preliminary cause of death 'appears to be a drowning,' the department said, adding that a final determination will be made by the Saginaw County Medical Examiner's Office.

After days of looking for her ex-husband, McLenna took to Facebook Sunday mourning his death. 

'I have no words to describe how we feel. We are so sad. I just want to say thank you to everyone that helped look for Robert. Thank you to all that prayed for us and that are continuing to pray for us,' she wrote. 

In a subsequent post, McLenna said: 'Today I am turning off my phone. We need to have time together without the phone,' as she thanked the community again for their help. 

After Bacon didn't come back from his car, McLenna said that his vehicle was found in the parking lot and his phone kept going 'straight to voicemail.'

His car, a silver sedan, was pictured inside the resort's lot on January 1. Nothing suspicious was found inside the vehicle, police said. 

The department also determined that his personal belongings, including keys, his wallet and phone were on him, but his phone had been turned off since he was last seen.  

'I was told he was wearing a jacket that has a hoodie that’s like a plaid gray, black, white jacket, with the white fur on the inside, a blue ball cap - dark blue - blue jeans, and he was wearing his Nike slides,' McLenna told the outlet. 

Prior to the discovery of her ex-husband, McLenna expressed concern for him and their children amidst his disappearance.

'My poor kids, our kids, I don’t know what to tell. They ask, "Mom, have they found him yet?" and I just say, "No, we’re still looking",' she recalled. 

DailyMail.com contacted the Saginaw County Medical Examiner's Office and the Frankenmuth Police Department for comment.