A man killed in Long Beach earlier this year has been identified six months after his death, meanwhile the search for his killer continues.
Robert Lang’s body was found by Long Beach police on Feb. 14 on the LA Riverbed under the Pacific Coast Highway Bridge. The LA County Medical Examiner determined that he died from multiple stab wounds.
In August, the Medical Examiner was able to track down Lang’s family using his fingerprints.
His sister, Angela Alvarez, described Lang as “the sweetest, most thoughtful person ever. Even when he was younger, he’d ride his bike to the store to buy gifts for people, and on your birthday he would just make sure that you got a box with all your favorite things. And he was just so genuine and loving with not a bad bone in his body.”
In his late teens, Lang began to struggle with drug addiction. After leaving rehab in Portland, Oregon, Lang moved around the country for a while while keeping sporadic contact with his family. His last contact with his family was a FaceTime call with Alvarez three years ago.
“I think [drugs] just made him feel on top of the world to some degree, I don’t think he thought it would take the hold on him that it did, because he was the hardest working kid, he had two jobs,” Alvarez said. “It’s just craziness to even think about him being in that place and being all alone.”
Alvarez said that she and her sister plan to travel to Long Beach from Northern California in the following weeks to collect Lang’s ashes and hang up posters asking for information about Lang. His family has hope that Lang made friends during his time in Long Beach who can come forward and tell them what his final months were like.
“He was so funny and carefree and loving,” Alvarez said. “He wasn’t just somebody quiet that would have just simply been there.”
LBPD said the investigation into his death is ongoing.
Anyone who may have information about Lang’s death are urged to call Homicide Detectives Michael Hubbard or Donald Collier at (562) 570-7244. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.