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Almost twenty years have passed since ex-FBI agent Robert Levinson vanished in Iran, yet the FBI is intensifying its call for information as his loved ones and former colleagues persist in their quest for answers regarding one of the most prolonged hostage situations involving an American citizen.
To coincide with Hostage and Wrongful Detainees Day, FBI Director Kash Patel recently acknowledged the anniversary of Levinson’s disappearance, reaffirming the agency’s unwavering dedication to uncovering his fate.
“Even nearly two decades later, Bob remains at the forefront of our thoughts,” Patel declared in a statement shared on social media. The FBI continues to offer a reward of up to $5 million for any information that could lead to Levinson’s recovery, location, or return, supplementing an existing reward from the State Department.
Levinson, who once served as both an FBI agent and a Drug Enforcement Administration investigator, was last seen on March 9, 2007, during a trip to Kish Island in the Persian Gulf region of Iran. His family has spent more than a decade advocating for his return, holding the Iranian government accountable for his capture and ongoing detention.
In April 2011, the FBI released an image of Levinson, four years after he went missing, as part of their ongoing efforts to gather any leads.
In 2020, U.S. officials said they believed Levinson likely died in Iranian custody, though his remains have never been recovered.
For former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker, who worked alongside Levinson years earlier, the case remains personal.
“I met Bobby Levinson when I was transferred to Miami in 1987,” Swecker told Fox News Digital. “He was kind of the iconic agent on the squad because he was prolific in developing cooperating cartel members and informants.”
Swecker said Levinson had built a reputation within the bureau for his ability to cultivate sources inside criminal organizations.
“He was a craftsman, a journeyman-level agent who knew what he was doing and was good at what he was doing,” Swecker said.
Levinson worked for the DEA before joining the FBI. Colleagues remembered him as a seasoned field investigator who preferred working cases rather than moving into management roles.
Swecker described the 6-foot-3 agent as both serious about his work and deeply devoted to his family.
Levinson was 58 when he traveled to Kish Island, Iran, in 2007 working as a private investigator. He reportedly was taking part in an unauthorized CIA mission.
Upon his arrival, Levinson was said to have met with an American fugitive – Dawud Salahuddin – targeted by the CIA for recruitment, a source close to the Levinson case told Fox News in 2016.
Salahuddin was wanted by the CIA for allegedly murdering an Iranian diplomat in Maryland in 1980, and Levinson hoped the mission to deliver him to the agency would secure him full-time employment with the CIA, the source told Fox News at the time.
Shortly afterward, Levinson disappeared, but Iran repeatedly denied capturing him or knowing of his whereabouts.
“I eventually read that he had been hired on contract with the agency,” he said. “Just such a risk to go to the island of Kish with his background.”
Robert Levinson is shown in this undated photo provided by Christine Levinson. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Christine Levinson)
Iran has long denied responsibility for Levinson’s disappearance, though U.S. officials say evidence shows Iranian authorities detained him.
The U.S. Treasury Department in 2020 sanctioned two Iranian intelligence officials accused of involvement in Levinson’s disappearance and cover-up.
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