Man vanishes on New Year’s Eve — then family receives disturbing texts, Ohio cops say

UPDATE: The search for Michael Robinson is over after police say he returned home safe.

The original story continues below.

Days after an Ohio man went missing, his family began receiving disturbing messages from his cellphone, according to police.

Michael Robinson, 53, left his Euclid home on Dec. 31 to go to a New Year’s Eve party, but he hasn’t been seen since, Euclid Police Department said in a Jan. 3 news release.

Investigators dialed Robinson’s phone and the call was answered, but the voice on the other end wasn’t his, police said. An “unidentified” man spoke to police, telling them he found the blood-splattered phone in the parking lot of a gas station in neighboring East Cleveland, investigators said.

A short time later, Robinson’s family started receiving texts from his phone number saying he had been kidnapped and is being held captive somewhere in the Terrace Tower Apartments, police said.

Robinson left home in his 2003 black Ford Ranger pickup truck, license plate number KCH9474, which was last seen in East Cleveland, police said.

He is described as 6’1” tall and weighing about 215 pounds, police said, adding that he was wearing a black hoodie and dark blue jeans and boots when he disappeared.

McClatchy News reached out to the Euclid Police Department for more details.

This story was originally published January 3, 2024 at 9:30 AM with the headline "Man vanishes on New Year’s Eve — then family receives disturbing texts, Ohio cops say."