"We have Robert" warns $750,000 ransom note

More than a week after Robert Wiles vanished, the ransom package remained untouched, Steve Lindsey was nowhere to be found and the FBI was in full-tilt investigation mode.

"We had dozens of individuals that were out here at National Flight conducting-- a search," Special Agent Jim Bucenell said, recalling the scene.

"So it's not inaccurate to say every inch of this building was checked out?" Peter Van Sant asked Special Agent Dan Kelly.

"Absolutely," he said.

"Everything outside was searched?"

"Absolutely, correct."

"And what'd you find?"

"Nothing," Kelly replied. "From a forensic evidentiary standpoint, Robert Wiles had vanished."

Desperate for any real leads, agents first get detailed call records of Robert's cell phone. By tracking the cell towers his calls hit, they figure they'll know the route the phone itself - and presumably Robert - was traveling.

"We were able to issue a - a subpoena on the Florida Turnpike Authority and obtain video of the various toll booths on the Polk Parkway," Kelly explained.

The hope: If Robert's phone was used while on that nearby road, perhaps Robert could be seen on the video? Agent Bucenell explains what happened next.

"Tom Wiles is taken to the Lakeland Police Department to view the videotape," he said.

"...and they said, 'Do you recognize any of those cars?' And I said, 'That's Toby Holt's car' or one just like it," said Tom Wiles.

Toby Holt - the 42-year-old operations manager at National Flight and the FBI's point man chosen by Tom Wiles himself.

"Toby Holt is passing through the toll plaza...his arms were in a fashion like this," Bucenell said, bending his right arm with his hand close to his ear.

"Which suggested what to you?" Van Sant asked.

"That he is talking on the phone - "

But curiously, when investigators got hold of Holt's cell phone records, they showed his phone was not in use as he went through the tolls. That was enough to pique the FBI interest.

"I requested that Holt come into our offices for further interview on April the 10th," said Bucenell.

He willingly came in -- without a lawyer - for what turned into hours of questioning. They wanted to know where he was the night Robert disappeared.

"He indicated that he left National Flight at approximately 6:30 p.m. that evening. He went to Hooters," Kelly said. "...and then he subsequently had dinner at Outback Steakhouse on South Florida Avenue."

But the FBI found no proof whatsoever. For more than four hours that night, Holt's exact whereabouts were unsubstantiated. The FBI asked to search his car; he agreed. They asked if he had a gun inside; he said no.

But when they looked...

"Under the hood of that vehicle, in a mechanic's bucket, they discovered a Sig Sauer, 40 caliber firearm, a hand[gun]," said Kelly.

"Are you thinking to yourself, 'This could be a murder weapon?'" Vant Sant asked.

"That's definitely one of the thoughts that crosses your mind in that circumstance, yes."

Holt said at first he was scared to admit he had a gun. He then claimed it was simply for protection in bad neighborhoods. But the gun was legal and there was certainly no evidence a gun was even involved in the case.

But now, Toby Holt was a prime suspect in the disappearance and likely murder of Robert Wiles.

"Is the FBI telling you about what they're learning in the investigation?" Van Sant asked Tom Wiles.

"The FBI made it very clear from the beginning...they gather information; they do not disperse it. So most of what was going on, I did not know," he replied.

But the FBI was getting to know a lot about Holt.

"We discovered that he had several - female liaisons - outside of his marriage," said Bucenell.

Asked how many, Bucenell said, "At least a dozen."

When his wife, Beverly found out Holt was cheating with other women, she divorced him. But she remains supportive to this day.

"Toby is a heartwarming, compassionate, funny person and a loyal friend," she said. "But the murder is just not in Toby's character at all to do it."

Video: Holt's ex-wife and sister reflect on Toby and the case against him

In fact, Holt continued to work at NFS for Tom Wiles, who had no idea his operations manager was now suspected of killing his son. Tom eventually did fire Holt in August 2008.

"He wasn't performing very well as the manager of that facility prior to - Robert's kidnapping," said Tom.

The FBI continued to investigate other suspects, including Steve Lindsey, the alcoholic mechanic once fired by Tom Wiles. He finally surfaced, claiming he was wasted on alcohol and drugs during the time of Robert's disappearance. But he remained a suspect.

Months passed and there was still no DNA, no blood, no forensics at all to prove what had happened to Robert... whether he was really dead or maybe still alive?

"Essentially, after some months, this case had gone cold," Van Sant noted to Bucenell.

"It had gone stale. That's correct," he said.

So in March 2009, nearly a year after Robert vanished, the FBI called in reinforcements.

"We just systematically went through each and every thing," said Special Agent Tommy Ray of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Agent Ray dove right in as part of the new "Wiles Task Force" with Lakeland police and Polk Country Sheriffs detectives.

"We were there to kinda put the pieces together, and see if we could make a circumstantial case, because there was no smoking gun on this particular disappearance," he said.

The task force zeroed in on the cell tower call records of Robert Wiles and Toby Holt and made an amazing discovery.

"You know, these two phones are together, traveling, you know, the same location," Ray explained.

"We're talking about Toby Holt's phone and Robert Wiles' phones seemingly synchronized?" Van Sant asked.

"That's correct. Robert Wiles phone was being utilized. Toby Holt's phone was off."

Tommy Ray is convinced that in the tollbooth photograph, Toby Holt was using Robert Wiles' cell phone.

"And so for us, that was a eureka moment," Ray said. "He's usin' Robert Wiles' telephone."

The task force concluded Toby Holt was Group X. He had used Robert's cell phone to make that ransom demand. And he had killed him.

"When you put them together - the pieces of the puzzle - it's - it's a very strong circumstantial case," said Bucenell.

And on Dec. 18, 2009, agents descended on Orlando International Airport. Their focus: A flight from Bogota, Colombia. Their target: Passenger Toby Holt.

"...he walks outta the jetway. They tell him that, 'We'll get your luggage, don't worry about it," Ray said. "I advised him that he's under arrest for first-degree murder and he's read his rights."More than a week after Robert Wiles vanished, the ransom package remained untouched, Steve Lindsey was nowhere to be found and the FBI was in full-tilt investigation mode.

"We had dozens of individuals that were out here at National Flight conducting-- a search," Special Agent Jim Bucenell said, recalling the scene.

"So it's not inaccurate to say every inch of this building was checked out?" Peter Van Sant asked Special Agent Dan Kelly.

"Absolutely," he said.

"Everything outside was searched?"

"Absolutely, correct."

"And what'd you find?"

"Nothing," Kelly replied. "From a forensic evidentiary standpoint, Robert Wiles had vanished."

Desperate for any real leads, agents first get detailed call records of Robert's cell phone. By tracking the cell towers his calls hit, they figure they'll know the route the phone itself - and presumably Robert - was traveling.

"We were able to issue a - a subpoena on the Florida Turnpike Authority and obtain video of the various toll booths on the Polk Parkway," Kelly explained.

The hope: If Robert's phone was used while on that nearby road, perhaps Robert could be seen on the video? Agent Bucenell explains what happened next.

"Tom Wiles is taken to the Lakeland Police Department to view the videotape," he said.

"...and they said, 'Do you recognize any of those cars?' And I said, 'That's Toby Holt's car' or one just like it," said Tom Wiles.

Toby Holt - the 42-year-old operations manager at National Flight and the FBI's point man chosen by Tom Wiles himself.

"Toby Holt is passing through the toll plaza...his arms were in a fashion like this," Bucenell said, bending his right arm with his hand close to his ear.

"Which suggested what to you?" Van Sant asked.

"That he is talking on the phone - "

But curiously, when investigators got hold of Holt's cell phone records, they showed his phone was not in use as he went through the tolls. That was enough to pique the FBI interest.

"I requested that Holt come into our offices for further interview on April the 10th," said Bucenell.

He willingly came in -- without a lawyer - for what turned into hours of questioning. They wanted to know where he was the night Robert disappeared.

"He indicated that he left National Flight at approximately 6:30 p.m. that evening. He went to Hooters," Kelly said. "...and then he subsequently had dinner at Outback Steakhouse on South Florida Avenue."

But the FBI found no proof whatsoever. For more than four hours that night, Holt's exact whereabouts were unsubstantiated. The FBI asked to search his car; he agreed. They asked if he had a gun inside; he said no.

But when they looked...

"Under the hood of that vehicle, in a mechanic's bucket, they discovered a Sig Sauer, 40 caliber firearm, a hand[gun]," said Kelly.

"Are you thinking to yourself, 'This could be a murder weapon?'" Vant Sant asked.

"That's definitely one of the thoughts that crosses your mind in that circumstance, yes."

Holt said at first he was scared to admit he had a gun. He then claimed it was simply for protection in bad neighborhoods. But the gun was legal and there was certainly no evidence a gun was even involved in the case.

But now, Toby Holt was a prime suspect in the disappearance and likely murder of Robert Wiles.

"Is the FBI telling you about what they're learning in the investigation?" Van Sant asked Tom Wiles.

"The FBI made it very clear from the beginning...they gather information; they do not disperse it. So most of what was going on, I did not know," he replied.

But the FBI was getting to know a lot about Holt.

"We discovered that he had several - female liaisons - outside of his marriage," said Bucenell.

Asked how many, Bucenell said, "At least a dozen."

When his wife, Beverly found out Holt was cheating with other women, she divorced him. But she remains supportive to this day.

"Toby is a heartwarming, compassionate, funny person and a loyal friend," she said. "But the murder is just not in Toby's character at all to do it."

Video: Holt's ex-wife and sister reflect on Toby and the case against him

In fact, Holt continued to work at NFS for Tom Wiles, who had no idea his operations manager was now suspected of killing his son. Tom eventually did fire Holt in August 2008.

"He wasn't performing very well as the manager of that facility prior to - Robert's kidnapping," said Tom.

The FBI continued to investigate other suspects, including Steve Lindsey, the alcoholic mechanic once fired by Tom Wiles. He finally surfaced, claiming he was wasted on alcohol and drugs during the time of Robert's disappearance. But he remained a suspect.

Months passed and there was still no DNA, no blood, no forensics at all to prove what had happened to Robert... whether he was really dead or maybe still alive?

"Essentially, after some months, this case had gone cold," Van Sant noted to Bucenell.

"It had gone stale. That's correct," he said.

So in March 2009, nearly a year after Robert vanished, the FBI called in reinforcements.

"We just systematically went through each and every thing," said Special Agent Tommy Ray of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Agent Ray dove right in as part of the new "Wiles Task Force" with Lakeland police and Polk Country Sheriffs detectives.

"We were there to kinda put the pieces together, and see if we could make a circumstantial case, because there was no smoking gun on this particular disappearance," he said.

The task force zeroed in on the cell tower call records of Robert Wiles and Toby Holt and made an amazing discovery.

"You know, these two phones are together, traveling, you know, the same location," Ray explained.

"We're talking about Toby Holt's phone and Robert Wiles' phones seemingly synchronized?" Van Sant asked.

"That's correct. Robert Wiles phone was being utilized. Toby Holt's phone was off."

Tommy Ray is convinced that in the tollbooth photograph, Toby Holt was using Robert Wiles' cell phone.

"And so for us, that was a eureka moment," Ray said. "He's usin' Robert Wiles' telephone."

The task force concluded Toby Holt was Group X. He had used Robert's cell phone to make that ransom demand. And he had killed him.

"When you put them together - the pieces of the puzzle - it's - it's a very strong circumstantial case," said Bucenell.

And on Dec. 18, 2009, agents descended on Orlando International Airport. Their focus: A flight from Bogota, Colombia. Their target: Passenger Toby Holt.

"...he walks outta the jetway. They tell him that, 'We'll get your luggage, don't worry about it," Ray said. "I advised him that he's under arrest for first-degree murder and he's read his rights."

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[brorip]

ERROR ALERT:

I think the following paragraph should change the word "clued" to "glued."

From that point on, an FBI agent was CLUED to Tom's side and the family's personal life was being examined closely.

Otherwise, good article.