Remains found in submerged car in Mount Sinai identified as man missing since 2010

Human remains found in a submerged vehicle off the Cedar Beach boat ramp in Mount Sinai on Long Island have been identified as Robert Long, a Miller Place man who vanished in 2010, Suffolk County police said.

Long, 62, was last seen leaving his home on Dec. 21 of that year. He never returned.

His disappearance was entered into NamUs, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, which serves as a central clearinghouse for long-term missing person cases and unidentified remains across the country. Volunteers using sonar discovered his 2007 PT Cruiser underwater on June 30, authorities said. Divers recovered skeletal remains later confirmed to be Long’s.

The Suffolk County Police Department said the car was found by members of two volunteer groups, Explorers with a Mission and Adventures with Purpose, who were scanning the water with side-scan sonar near the Cedar Beach boat ramp.

They said they found the vehicle around 5 p.m. and called 911 after spotting what looked like a bone inside.

Marine Bureau divers suspended their initial search that night due to water conditions but resumed the next day and recovered additional remains. A crane later pulled the vehicle from the water, and the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Long’s identity.

Authorities have not released Long's cause of death.

According to NamUs, as many as 600,000 people go missing in the U.S. each year, and tens of thousands of human remains remain unidentified. The federally funded program provides tools and free forensic services to help investigators match the missing with the unknown.

Long’s case had remained open for nearly 15 years. He was last seen wearing a dark shirt and light blue sweatpants, driving a PT Cruiser with a yellow “Support the Troops” ribbon on the back.

Anyone with additional information was asked to contact Suffolk County Police’s Homicide Squad at 631-852-6392.