NEW YORK – A two month search by the friends and family of 25 year-old Andreas Robbins has ended in tragedy. Robbins’ remains were found in the East River the morning of February 11 and his body was taken to Pier 16 for further investigation. There were no signs of trauma.
Andreas, who is known as Andy, disappeared from his Stuyvesant Town apartment December 1. He left behind a note stating he was going to jump off the George Washington Bridge.”
Andy is the son of Dr. Elsa Stamatopoulu and Columbia University Professor Bruce Robbins. The latter was told by police when Andy disappeared “that they were too busy with the Eric Garner protests to search for his suicidal son,” the New York Post reported.
“I was kind of speechless,” Robbins told The Post at the time. “A detective basically said, ‘There’s no one out to take your case because everyone is out there dealing with the consequences of the Eric Garner case.’”
The NYPD “issued a missing person report, dispatched harbor and aviation units, and canvassed the neighborhood,” according to the Post
According to what his father told the Post, Andy “requested that his savings be given to an organization that fights depression and suicide and that he wants his ashes thrown in the Mediterranean,” and the NYPD said that Andy texted his girlfriend “goodbye” before he took his life.
“Dr. Stamatopoulu was too overcome with grief to talk about her son’s death Wednesday afternoon,” the Daily News reported.
On a Facebook page, “friends described Robbins as a kind man who always thought of others first.’ He’s helped me through all kinds of times in my life and always believed in me and supported me categorically,’ said friend Melissa Patel. ‘His sincere love for every person he ever encountered and his refreshingly selfless attitude inspired me to be a human rights advocate. Without him, I would be no one,’” she told the Daily News.