‘Every morning, I can’t believe he’s not here’

Robert “Bob” Gordon’s wife Judy speaks out, desperate for information about what happened to him after he went missing July 10 in Fredericton region

Judy Gordon said over almost five decades together, her husband Bob has been the wise-cracker in the relationship, as she finds she’s often rolling her eyes over some silly comment he happens to offer.

Today, she’d give anything to hear another one of his corny jokes, but she hasn’t heard one in more than two months. And she has no idea why.

Robert “Bob” Gordon, 71, of Fredericton, has been missing since early July, and police have no leads on what became of him.

Robert “Bob” Gordon has been missing since July 10, with no clues as to his whereabouts. (Photo: Submitted)

He was last seen at the Mactaquac Convenience store July 10 at 2:48 p.m., and he left that location headed toward Mactaquac Provincial Park in his 2017 Nissan Frontier truck.

“We really don’t know what’s going on,” Judy Gordon told the Fredericton Independent during an interview Friday.

She said she and Bob met 48 years ago in Fredericton. While she grew up in the capital, Bob hailed from Peterborough, Ont. She was 19, and he was 24.

They met working at K-Mart. Bob was a store trainee, and she was in the fabric department.

“It was love at first sight,” Judy said. “He was cute and he had these big blue eyes.”

They married in Fredericton in 1980, she said, and they’ve been inseparable ever since.

She said her husband is the goofy one in their relationship.

“Bob’s the smart alec,” Judy said. “He was 71 going on 10.”

Bob is retired now after a long career in the retail sector, she said.

“He was great with people,” Judy said, noting they have a large circle of friends thanks in part to his warm nature.

Bob used to be an avid golfer, Judy said, but the development of arthritis in recent years saw that pastime fade. Lately, she said, he’s enjoyed gardening, and like a lot of men, Bob takes great pride in maintaining his lawn.

The couple never had children, she said, but they’ve formed strong bonds with many.

“We have an unofficial adopted son in Waterloo,” Judy said, noting Bob’s relationship with him was as something of a big brother at first, but he evolved into a father figure for him.

That “unofficial” son recently had a son of his own, and the Gordons have come to see the little baby boy as a grandchild. She said they got the chance to visit with the new family and to hold the baby.

Bob was smitten with the baby, Judy said.

“He was in love with him,” she said.

Judy’s been in contact with their “unofficial” son, she said, and Bob’s disappearance has thrown him for a loop, just as it has everyone close to him.

“He’s devastated,” she said.

Bob Gordon is a retired retail manager whose smart-alec remarks never failed to elicit an eyeroll from his wife Judy. (Photo: Submitted)

Nothing like this has ever happened with Bob before, Judy said, and she’s at a loss to explain it.

Bob had no major health issues aside from a touch of arthritis, she said.

The day he went missing, Judy said, they were working on their home on the north side of Fredericton.

“Actually, we were working on our bathrooms,” she said.

Bob ran out to get some supplies for that job, Judy said, and then it appears he went for a short drive.

What happened after he left the convenience store in Mactaquac is an utter mystery.

The Fredericton Police Force has issued two advisories in the weeks since Gordon went missing, but those public pleas haven’t yielded any concrete leads.

“There hasn’t been any information so far,” Judy Gordon said.

Throughout the conversation, Judy kept using the past tense when referring to her husband. She clarified that doesn’t mean she’s given up hope; it’s just a habit into which she’s fallen gradually over the past couple of months.

Her hope is that she gets the chance to be livid with him for disappearing before embracing the biggest constant in her life for almost 50 years.

When asked what she would want to say to Bob if he reads this piece, Judy said, “That we love him and want him to come home.”

As the ordeal has dragged on, she said, the fear, sadness and uncertainty has been ever constant.

“No, it doesn’t fade. Every morning, I can’t believe he’s not here,” Judy said.

While the thought of something befalling her husband is upsetting, she said, not knowing is worse.

Bob Gordon was driving a 2017 Nissan Frontier pickup, like the one pictured here, when he went missing. (Photo: Submitted)

Judy Gordon said she decided to do the emotional interview because she wants to keep Bob at the forefront of people’s minds, to be on the watch for some sign, for his truck, for anything.

With the fall approaching, she said, she wants hunters or people out four-wheeling in the woods to report anything they stumble upon, for example, to remember that her husband is missing and that any small clue could shed some light on the mystery.

Anyone with information about Gordon’s whereabouts or that could lead to him being found is urged to contact the Fredericton Police Force by calling 506-460-2300 or emailing brad.bourque@fredericton.ca.

Those wishing to provide tips anonymously can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

The police force is also looking for Gordon’s black 2017 Nissan Frontier truck, with plate number CTO872.

Those providing information should cite police file #23-16709.

Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.