It was a frantic, chilling call that came at about 5:30 a.m: Kevin Von Behren could be heard running, breathing hard, cursing and blurting out, "No, no, don't!"
It was late January and Bonnie Tannenbaum, his common-law wife of nearly 25 years, kept listening to the call while darting out of her Hollywood apartment to Von Behren's nearby home. The couple had separated but was reconciling.
"I was coming here to help him," said Tannenbaum from Von Behren's home where she and their children have since moved. "His van was here; I ran in the house. I didn't even think about being in danger."
It was the last time she would ever hear Von Behren's voice.
At his residence, she found a back door swung wide open and no one home. Tannenbaum ran out of the house toward Taft Street and screamed his name.
Hollywood police on Thursday identified a body found last month in a canal near the Florida Turnpike and Taft Street as that of Von Behren's.
Although police have not ruled his death a homicide, Tannenbaum believes Von Behren was slain. She said the phone call proved he was in trouble.
"Why would they kill him?" Tannenbaum said. "I want them to find who did it."
Relatives acknowledge that Von Behren had delved into drugs. Even so, the couple were looking forward to merging lives again, including their two teenage children.
"He was so happy we were coming back home," Tannenbaum said.
On May 29, their daughter, Sarah Von Behren, 18, said she heard about the body in the nearby canal and walked over to investigators. She told them her father had been missing for months.
"The next morning, they told me it was my dad," she said. "I really thought it was my dad because it was so close [to home]. He was fully decomposed.
"It's been five months," Sarah Von Behren said. "I was kind of prepared, but we're all lost without him."
Kevin Von Behren, an air conditioning repairman, also left behind a 13-year-old son who bears his name. The father of two was 52-years-old when he went missing. A Cajun from Louisiana who moved to Florida as a teenager, Von Behren loved living life on the edge, Tannenbaum said.
He was a diver, enjoyed the ocean and spearfishing and played guitar for his church.
For now, Von Behren's body will remain with authorities until the manner and cause of death are determined.
Tannenbaum said the family won't hold a memorial service until they are reunited with Von Behren's remains.
"I want him with us however he has to come," she said.
Authorities urge anyone with information about Von Behren's disappearance and death to call Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.
Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/crime/fl-hollywood-man-mystery-death-20140606,0,5248667.story
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LostNMissing Inc., is an all-volunteer national tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (the "code") and qualifies as a public supported organization under Sections, or Categories: P99 (Human Services - Multipurpose and Other N.E.C.); M99 (Other Public Safety, Disaster Preparedness, and Relief N.E.C.); I01 (Alliance/Advocacy Organizations). LostNMissing is organized and incorporated under the laws of the State of New Hampshire. We never charge a fee for our services.
LostNMissing Inc.
www.lostnmissing.com
LostNMissing Inc., is an all-volunteer national tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (the "code") and qualifies as a public supported organization under Sections, or Categories: P99 (Human Services - Multipurpose and Other N.E.C.); M99 (Other Public Safety, Disaster Preparedness, and Relief N.E.C.); I01 (Alliance/Advocacy Organizations). LostNMissing is organized and incorporated under the laws of the State of New Hampshire. We never charge a fee for our services.
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