GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Flint man missing in Grand Rapids since Wednesday has been found dead in the backseat of his vehicle. 78-year-old Robert Farthing’s car was discovered by family members behind a hotel on East Beltline on Friday night.
FOX 17 was at the scene and spoke with Farthing’s family who discovered his vehicle.
Farthing’s grandson Philip Kosman spent the night searching around town looking for his missing grandfather. Kosman said that he had an instinct to check the parking lot of the Country Inn & Suites.
“I don’t know, we turned the corner and I looked at the sign and I said we gotta go back there. I bet he’s back there,” said Kosman.
“We went to the end of the parking lot and immediately there’s the car and as soon as I had looked, it was the license plate, it was handicapped and that was our key,” said family friend Rob Gilcher.
Kosman said that he could see his grandfather laying in the backseat of the car. He said that he knocked on the doors and windows, shouting for his grandfather to open the door, but Farthing showed no signs of life.
“I knew because I was kicking the car and punching the window and screaming and he didn’t move. I knew he was gone you know,” said Kosman.
Kosman said that Farthing was already dead when he discovered him.
Farthing had been missing since Wednesday after what was suppose to be a quick stop at a nearby restaurant, but he never returned. The family said that Farthing had been suffering from depression, and had recently stopped taking his medication. His family said that withdrawal caused him memory loss.
“I was very close to my grandfather and I was with him that morning, and I had a bad feeling as soon as I woke up that morning,” said Kosman.
Farthing was visiting family in Grand Rapids from Flint, and the family was hopeful after receiving tips of possible sightings in the Flint area.
The family said on Saturday that they are very thankful for all of the community members who stepped up to help in the search from Grand Rapids, all the way to Flint.
