Doctor’s Year-Old Disappearance Remains a Mystery

Since last year’s strange disappearance of Dr. Robert Axelrod, there have been several reported sightings of his missing 30-foot powerboat, Aimee. But there has been no sign of Axelrod.

On the day he vanished, Jan. 25, 1992, the 43-year-old plastic surgeon left a note for his wife that he was headed from their Newhall home to Newport Beach to check out his boat.

A boater recalled helping Axelrod charge the Aimee’s batteries that day. Axelrod told the boater he was going to take the Aimee out for a quick, one-hour cruise.

He never returned.

For three days, the Coast Guard scoured nearly 5,000 square miles of ocean. Searchers found only an inflatable craft from the Aimee, which only stirred more questions about Axelrod’s fate.

Although ocean currents head south, the inflatable craft was found floating upside down Jan. 26, 1992, near Santa Catalina Island, where investigators said the current would not have taken it.

Since then, Newport Beach police have received numerous tips and reports of possible sightings. But none has led to anything concrete, said Newport Beach Police Sgt. Andy Gonis.

However, a news article on the anniversary of Axelrod’s disappearance in a local newspaper prompted a Long Beach couple to call police, Gonis said. The couple said they were walking at Shoreline Village in Long Beach Harbor when they thought they saw the Aimee cruising in the harbor, Gonis said.

“The Long Beach couple said they were attracted to the boat because the spelling was unique--Aimee,” he said.

Newport Beach police contacted the Long Beach Harbor Patrol and notified them of the couple’s sighting reported on Jan. 3. Gonis said a couple of deputies said they believe they also saw the boat.

“But unfortunately, there was no hard and fast facts here. It was just a feeling they got,” Gonis said.

Marc Jacoby, Axelrod’s business associate, said that Axelrod’s wife, Julie, spoke with Newport Beach police on Tuesday and was told about the Long Beach couple. But he downplayed the latest reported sightings because all the other tips proved fruitless.

David Pincus, a friend who grew up with Axelrod, said that although a private investigator was hired by the family, “virtually nothing” of substance has ever been found.

“The only real hard piece of evidence was the dinghy. This happened on a sunny, bright day on the ocean. If the boat exploded, someone would have seen it,” Pincus said.

“As for the supposed sightings last year, they never really materialized into anything.”

Pincus said that what happened to the boat, at least in his mind, “appears to be one of the biggest mysteries.”

Since the January disappearance, Axelrod’s father has died. Pincus said the situation has been very difficult for Axelrod’s wife, his sisters and friends.

“Unless there’s some resolution to all of this, we all will continue to have a nagging feeling about Bob’s disappearance,” Pincus said.

Jacoby said he believes that Axelrod’s wife has come to grips with her husband’s disappearance.

“It’s tough, the unknown is,” Jacoby said. “Do I think he’s alive? I’d like to. At least, that’s what keeps me optimistic.”