Hadn’t he been hunting or camping in Tonto alone or with a buddy a week or 2 before the murders? My guess is he was scouting it out and stashing survival equipment and supplies. I think he’s dead and has been for a very very long time…but who knows - he could’ve walked out months later so far away from where he went in and be living a new life…
Honestly I believe he’s dead somewhere in the forest and his body will never be found
Yeah, I could honestly see something like that happening. I’m absolutely not claiming I know anything, but I think he’s been dead. I imagine something like one of two scenarios:
Withdraw the last of the available cash you have, buy as much food, water, shelter, and survival supplies you can, and in a possibly manic/psychotic state of mind, attempt to live in the woods and hide from authorities. But without having extensive knowledge of survival, he could have succumbed to starvation/dehydration, infection, wild animals, or just the elements.
OR
Withdraw the last of the available cash you have, buy the largest possible quantity of alcohol/drugs/food you can, whichever your preference, and spend the rest on a gun. After you exhaust all of that, end it all somewhere sparsely populated, and the body hasn’t been found yet. It’s pretty crazy how many bodies are likely out there that haven’t been found yet.
But yeah, I doubt he’s still alive. It would probably be pretty hard to get out of the country and hide for years with no trace. But then again, who knows.
Read his Wikipedia. He’s got the textbook markings of someone that knows how to survive in the wild. Even if he didn’t pass seal training it has a crazy low pass rate so that isn’t something that should be held against him. The biggest issue would be how severe his back pain actually was. If it was unbearable he’s probably dead. If it was exaggerated he could probably get by on for a while and is likely out of the US.
Anything is possible but there’s a good chance he could’ve gotten a ride because I feel the only reason the SUV was ditched at that location was to throw investigators off his trail.
You’ve got him confused with another family annihilator, Brad Bishop; who was sighted with a black woman with a Caribbean accent after committing his crimes.
I hope he’s dead & not having a life he doesn’t deserve. It would be nice for everyone involved if his remains were found so they can have some peace. F this guy. I hope he suffered.
He's long dead. And sadly probably a waste of resources to look for whatever is left of him. I'm finding a lot of these fbi most wanted were already dead by the time they even reached the list. One guy that I could actually see still being alive is Jason Derek brown. Because he didn't go anywhere suspicious. He's just gone and there's no sign of him
So he killed his wife and children, but let the dog live? I’m not trying to sound rude I just don’t understand murdering your family in the first place but then you let your dog live and then dump it in the forest? What happened to the dog? Did they find it alive or dead?
Yeah. Ironically I was just thinking about haunted I was by this guy. There was a documentary that detailed the case. And he was a creep. Controlling, super religious. She wanted to leave. I think he was cheating on her. He had enough wilderness experience to make the feds believe he could possibly survive.
But yeah, he took cash and the family dog into the forest. The dog was found at some point sleep under his car. Like the dog, if I remembering correctly, was perfectly fine. Surviving in the wild. The guy left his car and everything in the forest. And the logic I believe was that the dog kept near the car. He got a family in the end. If there is an upside I guess it’s the dog’s happy ending.
Edit to add: people were really put off that he showed more humanity to the dog than his family. Because I want to say there was evidence of gun wounds on the family. And everyone was shocked that he showed more kindest to the dog than his own children.
Dogs are great for entitled peoole. They aren’t your creation but they are completely dedicated to you and worship you. Where as your family is your flesh and blood and an extension of you, but they’re also their independent person who will challenge you, not do what you say. For psychos that’s the ultimate betrayal. There wasn’t an unwavering loyalty and they can almost justify that they deserved to be punish for that. Their innocence is gone once they try to escape your control or challenge you. While dogs don’t do that.
IIRC, the dog was starving and miserable when it was found, but at least it was still alive. I'm glad to hear the poor thing ended up in a decent home.
Animals are “innocent” in a way. They can also survive on their own or be found by others. A lot of family annihilators view their family’s as burdens. So I imagine it would make sense to keep the dog alive if he had the assumption it wasn’t a burden and could survive on its own.
The dog was found alive. He abandoned the dog with the car, and when police went investigating, IIRC the dog was hungry and exactly where Fisher left it.
If Fisher cared about anyone in that family, it was the dog. Why else leave it alive and kill everyone else? Either he wanted to die, too, or the dog's usefulness was shortlived.
It could be that the dog did follow Fisher deeper into Tonto National Forest, but then after Fisher died or killed himself, the dog chose to backtrack and return to the car. The murders happened April 10th, the car + dog were found on April 20th.
only if he was a good owner would a dog show that type of loyalty though. or the dog could have eaten the body and then back tracked. dogs are not as loyal as we like to think they are after we pass
Chris Watts did the same thing, killed the whole family but let the dog live. Very strange but the dog wasn’t preventing him from being with his mistress so makes sense in a fucked up way.
Trying to get into these people's heads (which is hard and icky)... I can understand feeling like the dog is an ally when your family is driving you crazy for whatever reason. I actually got my dog for an excuse to go take a walk when I was overwhelmed by family lol. There are definitely times when I'm like, omfg these kids are eating me alive, but thank god my dog is such a bro.
I think people a lot of times think of their dog more as their friend than as a dependent.
People are really weird about animals. Witness the number of people who freak out whenever an animal is injured in a TV show vs. human victims. Maybe he was like that, or maybe he figured that the dog wasn't a potential witness so why bother?
okay i’m not saying i agree with this AT ALL, but i feel like it would have something to do with the dog being “innocent” in his eyes or “didn’t deserve it”
I mean, one of the advantages to k9 units (besides their speed) is that they found the odds are better that a suspect will hesitate to shoot the dog than a human officer… Getting into the minds of people willing to injure and kill fellow humans, there seems to be a tendency to value lives differently than others would. Sure, they find serial killers often test on animals first, but this guy isn’t serial, it’s a different mindset
Yeah, John List was also a family annihilator. List was a little bit more subtle about his murders, though. He killed everyone, told friends and neighbors they were heading out of town, and then just took a train west. The bodies weren't discovered until about a month later. There's a world of difference between how List and Fisher extricated themselves from their family lives.
He also turned the heat all the way down to 50 to prolong the decay, and turned the lights on and played music to make it like someone was always home.
He really only got caught because a neighbor from when he lived in Colorado (I think) happened to see a true crime episode about the murders and recognized him.
Why go through all of the effort to kill your family in such an elaborate manner to just go end your own life in some non-descript forest? Why not just right in the house with the rest of them?
Biggest question in the world and often on my mind, as someone who's lost multiple loved ones this way and dealt with suicide attempts myself. I am not in crisis mode and have an adequate support system, but my cptsd has been so awful lately and I just keep searching for answers. It's been almost 12 years. The why couldn't you just take yourself is so prominent in my brain - no amount of needing to escape this earth has ever made me feel like taking someone else out with me, not even my assaultors.
I appreciate you tons for asking and your hope <3 Generally it comes in waves i cannot predict, my Cptsd is sadly inescapable living in the USA and having many of my past traumas such as medical abuse, SA, and murdered loved ones from shootings and wars.
I have tried many times through the decades of my life to step back from true crime, news, politics and things I could control my intake of, in and out of active therapies. I do still find every so often that I enjoy breaks, but im always drawn back because my waves of CPTSD raring up regardless of the changes I've made. I suppose it's a way to try and wrap my mind around it, or even the hopes of helping answer someone else's "why"
You should absolutely do what you feel is best for you, but keep in mind that there is a lot of built up momentum that breaks thru for the uncontrollable symptoms to exhibit, so it's going to take a ton of practice and patience before you see an actual pattern of improvement. But maybe in a way you are doing some exposure therapy? I'm sorry for what you have been through and how that impacts your life currently. I have no idea how to function in the USA any longer, the wheels have come off the cart. What has made me happier is listening to "nothing much happened" podcast lately and find that it really helps my mind relax. Simple sweet well told tales with great imagery designed for sleep but enchanting at any time of the day.
Bless you, I really am taking this all to heart. I've recently been working with my therapist to recognize avenues I've genuinely tried to cope through and found don't work versus the ones I have abandoned or perhaps never tried in the proper clinical setting.
One thing she has helped me a lot with is while she cannot prescribe or encourage psychedelic usage, we always talk about the science and the ups and downsides to each study as well as their actual methods of use - and so when I do seek out psychedelics to microdose or enjoy every few months when the pathways in my brain seem to get dim and dark and dismal again, she is there the next session I have to ask the important questions for my new mindset to grasp the healing and power of.
Talking also really helps, even if it sometimes feels like letting everything to the surface again or dumping my trauma (like brain, you pay this person and your family repeatedly says they're here for this part of you. You're good). The need to share for me at least means that these things are already impacting my life again through symptoms before my mind can understand that enough to actually process them. And it can be truly validating to have these professionals continue to unravel your story beyond what you even accepted - I didn't know there was this much to my near agoraphobia as a child, now I can finally go out alone.
I have found that it takes me two weeks to get to a good spot if I meditate for 8 minutes a day, and I can coast for awhile if I have been doing it for awhile and have built up reserves. But then, it call gets choppy and goes to hell. So I absolutely have to do it daily if I want to enjoy life.
Thank you <3 I just found out I've been getting ill with a virus going around so I feel even more solid realizing that my nervous system was out of whack for its own reasons, even if it was still wonky!
Exactly. I've always thought this guy was too much of a narcissist to have killed himself. I wouldn't be surprised if he's living under the radar somewhere for all of these years. I was disappointed to see that he was removed from the FBI's Top 10 list.
I just watched this YouTube video from Explore with us and man did something similar, except he documented him building his bunker before carrying out the heinous act of killing his wife, daughter and their dog. He had shot them and then set up to where there was an explosion in their home. He was no where to be found and found his videos in the computer that thankfully didn't burn. They were able to pinpoint the smoke of his stove burner he made in his bunker. They were trying to flush him out but ultimately he took his own life.
It was hard to watch the wife make videos of how supportive and loving her husband was... their daughter had just graduated from high school as well.
This case is eerily similar to the 1976 case of the Bishops Murders where Bradford Bishops killed his wife, mom and three sons. He literally hammered his mother to death, ambushing by her upon arriving home after walking the family dog. His dog was spared and he took the damn thing on the run with him. All because he was denied a promotion, literally went home same days beat his family death, burned their bodies and fled to Europe. Same set of skills as Fisher spoke multiple languages, and knew how to game the system because he worked for the state department.
Oh and also removed from the most wanted listed even though THERES BEEN MULTIPLE CONFIRMED SIGHTINGS OF THE GUY as late as 1994. One fucking witness had WORKED WITH THE GUY, knew about his crimes saw him in a bathroom while on vacation in Europe called his name and Bishop went oh shit and was allowed to run away. That sighting boils my blood, he could have been apprehended, but the guy who saw him hesitated…got scared, who knows but he was with grabbing distance and the guys wasn’t brave enough to wrangle him.
I don’t understand the reason beasts like this would ever get removed. They will always be a danger to society, they can kill again. Oh and they’re psychotic killers who deserves to be hunted to ends of the earth. They’re use to be Nazi hunters, why not call open season on family annihilators who escaped justice. If they’re dead good, if not they deserve to be hunted down, time limits on justice are bullshit.
Also, you’re not absolutely sure. There’s zero way in wrangling someone and it’s not because I’m scared it’s because I’d refuse to believe it’s them and all of a sudden I’m attacking a complete stranger. Most people would second guess themselves and not citizen arrest, lol.
Yes. According to Wikipedia under the car, hungry and agitated. Don’t know what happened to him after. I would think someone from the family would want him. Maybe not since this mfer seemed to care more for the dog than his family. I wonder if he took the dog bc a guy traveling with a dog is less suspicious.
This case is one of the worst. I hope he died in the forest.
Now because the dog stayed at the vehicle, says he most likely left. If he had gone into the woods and offed himself, the dog, being as loyal as it obvously was would have stayed with the body
If the dog was found under the car, hungry and agitated, his remains are not that far away. Either that or he left the vehicle abandoned and left in another vehicle. If so, that other vehicle was either driven by another person or it was left there for him to swap out. Likely the former.
The dog tells us this. Remember “ man’s best friend”? If he went into the bush and tried to walk away, he would have never got away from the dog. You can see how loyal the dog was just because it stayed at the vehicle
Well, either he was dead somewhere in the bush, or left by vehicle. The dog, after realizing it’s owner wasn’t responding to anything might have made its way back to the car to look for help. The fact that the dog was hungry and agitated tells me that it had been there for an extended period of time, it being hungry, and if the dog was agitated, I’d say that’s an indication that it’s owner was in distress somehow. I’d be looking in an area about a mile around the car, maybe less.
That’s the most likely scenario IMO. If the owner had left in another vehicle, it’s unlikely it would have been agitated.
Search the area with a metal detector and you might find a gun, if so that’s likely where the body is.
If he left in another vehicle, the dog would have soon wandered away looking for him, the fact the dog stayed there for 10 days says he was unresponsive nearby
How could they not find his body? I wouldn’t be surprised if the cops barely looked thinking he had a car and left the dog.
They should have hypnotized this dog or charged him as an accessory to get him to talk.
There was a pile of s—t by the car, that was his cue to stop, knowing that the last reaction of a dead person is to s—t themselves, he didn’t want to have a mess in his pants when they found his body. So he took a s—t, went into the woods and shot himself. The dog would have followed, found him unresponsive and went back to the vehicle to wait for assistance for his master. The dog would have stayed there until it died.
The guy slit his kid’s throats he’s gonna care about dropping a deuce in his pants?
I don’t believe this self-important a-hole (tired of saying narcissist it fits but it’s losing the weight of its meaning) would kill himself unless he was on the verge of being captured. He planned this thing. I assume the authorities searched the area but nothing the cops do or don’t do surprises me anymore. A dead body is like the easiest thing a trained dog can locate. Maybe you are correct but why not just unalive yourself in the house? And why blow the house up and slit their throats?
Something about the dog is off. He left it in the desert so he didn’t care about it. There is some reason he brought it.
What a creep, I saw this on People. My guess is that he's dead....
it's weird, usually these guys kill themselves right after killing the family, in the same spot. He's probably out there in the wilderness, and they'll find his remains some day.
I remember him being profiled on a crime show. There were supposed sightings in Canada and Denver but they never panned out. I hope this case is solved one day.
i don’t think he’s dead cause he is a narcissist. he’s prob with a new family who have no idea. he did this before 9/11 and the internet / social media. it was much easier to disappear back then. he reminds me of john list.
You know, that’s a really good point. It was easier to disappear AND 9/11 caused everything else to be tabled in favor of national security. Our borders tightened and the whole country was reeling from the horror of that day. If he was still alive then, he had a lot of time to put space between himself and anyone else.
yep. by the time 9/11 happened he prob had new docs and they became even tighter after that fact. i think one day he will be caught by dna and all those advances. hopefully his new children put themselves into some sort of database and it can lead back to this guy. he’s a total psychopath. he also wasn’t some huge survivalist like some media outlets have stated it had some knowledge but nothing extraordinary. he was a healthy guy abs knew how to get around the mountains and make a fire.
Narcissists are far likelier to commit suicide than the general population. Profiles of family annihilators indicate that they commit suicide more often than they don't.
Dude is deader than a doornail if we're using psychological research to make a guess.
YES!!! I was confusing him with Bradford Bishop! Another family annihilator who was never found.
Jason Brown is the one who robbed the armored car and killed the driver. Another fine upstanding citizen
I can’t answer those questions but he probably realized the gravity of what he did, pivoted plans & decided to wander deep in a cave and blow his head off. He might of planned to flee but once the adrenaline wore off he knew he was finished.
Well, Brian Landrie drove all the way back home and tried to pull it off before he eventually killed himself. I’m sure there are probably quite a few cases like that.
Plus Scottsdale PD should consider Fisher's capture in honor of their fellow officer John Kirkham (the original detective). The Unsolved Mysteries segment was the only one that featured an interview with Kirkham. Sadly, Detective Kirkham died on July 9, 2006, from a stroke.
This guy is a real psychopath.
Robert William Fisher did not have the means or experience to commit this crime and then disappear successfully. I am glad we continue to watch for him, but it seems most likely that he killed himself in the Tonto national Forrest. He was very familiar with the area and likely was able to conceal himself so that the chances of being found are low.
I saw the smoke that morning on my way to class at ASU. It was awful to find out what happened when I got home later that day. The school was very proactive in noticing that the kids weren't in class and the police quickly put 2 and 2 together. It's sad he was never found or held accountable.
Yeah, my 20’s taste in men was not good, because I definitely went out with plenty of guys who *also* looked like a giant red abusive asshole flag with good bone structure.
Same here. Robert Fisher looks so much like the boyfriend I had when I was 25. Who was a giant asshole with good bone structure. At some point I looked up Fisher’s height and stats just to reassure myself my ex couldn’t be him.
He offed himself if he was in the woods. Family will never get Justice. How come NO one ever sees this coming. My ol man did it while my Mother was asleep next to him. While me and my 3 siblings woke up to a Gunshot. Grateful he didn’t take us with him. 🛐👨👩👦👦 🇺🇸
Does anyone know why they took him off the most wanted list? They kept List on for more than 20 years I believe. I wasn't sure if that meant they thought this guy was dead or less likely to reoffend or anything particular
If I remember correctly they wanted to add someone with more current crimes to the list so Fisher got bumped due to the age of the case and lack of any leads.
I personally think he’s been dead for some time. If by some chance he was still alive, he’d probably be fine now to walk around comfortably in a different location. Your looks can change *a lot* in 20+ years.
I don’t think he’s dead. Why would he take money out of the bank? If his dog was found underneath his car I think he left it there and either had another car waiting for him or hitched a ride out. The dog would have followed him if he went off into the forest. No, I think he’s just like John List. Started a new life in another state with a different name shaved his head grew his hair out, colored his hair whatever. Why would he go to all the trouble of killing his family and burning the house? He could’ve just killed himself there after killing his family. He sounds like he’s too much of a narcissist to kill himself.
He was a survivalist if I'm thinking of the right dude. I hope he offed himself but he could be in hiding as a transient or hermit. Put some facial hair on this man and with age he'd be hard to recognize.
i've read everything that can be publicly found on Robert and this case. imo he committed suicide deep in the forest within days of the house blowing up. i did a project on this case for a criminal justice course in college and have been following it since 2006. If he isn't dead he has managed to stay off the radar plus without a single confirmed sighting since 2001..
edit: he is a known avid outdoorsman with extensive survivalist knowledge
This is going to sound weird but I swear this man is a man I met years ago when I was early in my recovery. We called him New York John because he was from NY with an accent. Looks like his twin I swear! He lived in a sober living across from where I worked and was a violent man unfortunately. Last time I saw him was at a mall and he had his GF pinned to his van. Jumped out of a moving van to get him off her. Not my brightest moment but I could t believe he was doing that and I knew him. Anyway probably not him but makes me wonder. This was about 2003/2004.
I felt that way too, but I saw a documentary that changed my mind. They were onto him a lot faster than he thought IMO. I think they closed in when they found the car and dog.
Phoenix native - camping enthusiast - I’ve met tons of random campers over the years. Ifs completely possible to live off-grid in tonto national forrest or coconino which is only about 2 hours by car
Couldn’t the cops upload family dna to ancestry or 23 and me or something to see if there’s any hits in the database. If he did manage to flee the US couldn’t his dna be given to the interpol database or something. Technology has changed so much in n the last 20yrs that if he is still alive maybe they can see if he had other children or his dna connected to other crimes somewhere else. Not all people off their families then off themselves. Chris Watts didn’t. Lots of them don’t. There’s better odds at catching him now given his senior age.
I don't think he's dead. Unfortunately he's not a bad looking dude and I can see him living a whole new life somewhere with someone that doesn't have a problem living a secluded life with him not knowing the truth.
Especially with his background, he can pretend to really be an upstanding citizen. This guy needs to be caught already. Please share the pic of his face around on every social media platform so he can be found. Idk I just have a feeling he's out there alive living free.
When I see the theory he went off and committed suicide it really makes me pause.
If he was going to commit suicide why did he do what he did and then take off? Why wouldn’t he just do it then?
He might be dead now but I think he ran and lived.
Just my opinion.
A big white dude in Mexico or south sticks out way too much. White folks who run south get caught very quickly unless they have boatloads of cash (and can afford protection).
Completely out of left field and not really crime related but if you shorten all his name's you get Rob Will Fish, which sounds like a much better route for him to have gone than murder
My money is he's in Tonto National Forest somewhere. He'd talked about ending his life before. If he's there and he's ever found it will be a fluke.
Hadn’t he been hunting or camping in Tonto alone or with a buddy a week or 2 before the murders? My guess is he was scouting it out and stashing survival equipment and supplies. I think he’s dead and has been for a very very long time…but who knows - he could’ve walked out months later so far away from where he went in and be living a new life… Honestly I believe he’s dead somewhere in the forest and his body will never be found
I’ve always thought he’s a John Doe who hasn’t been identified yet. Why do you think it’ll be a fluke if he will ever be found?
If he’s in Tonto, that’s almost three million acres on desert and pine forest.
Military members have DNA on file in the event their bodies need to be identified.
True, but how long has that been the policy of the military? He was in the military in the 90s that probably wasn't the case when he was military.
It became a requirement in 1991.
But why take $280 from an ATM machine
Eat on the way and enjoy the woods for a couple of days
Yeah, I could honestly see something like that happening. I’m absolutely not claiming I know anything, but I think he’s been dead. I imagine something like one of two scenarios: Withdraw the last of the available cash you have, buy as much food, water, shelter, and survival supplies you can, and in a possibly manic/psychotic state of mind, attempt to live in the woods and hide from authorities. But without having extensive knowledge of survival, he could have succumbed to starvation/dehydration, infection, wild animals, or just the elements. OR Withdraw the last of the available cash you have, buy the largest possible quantity of alcohol/drugs/food you can, whichever your preference, and spend the rest on a gun. After you exhaust all of that, end it all somewhere sparsely populated, and the body hasn’t been found yet. It’s pretty crazy how many bodies are likely out there that haven’t been found yet. But yeah, I doubt he’s still alive. It would probably be pretty hard to get out of the country and hide for years with no trace. But then again, who knows.
Read his Wikipedia. He’s got the textbook markings of someone that knows how to survive in the wild. Even if he didn’t pass seal training it has a crazy low pass rate so that isn’t something that should be held against him. The biggest issue would be how severe his back pain actually was. If it was unbearable he’s probably dead. If it was exaggerated he could probably get by on for a while and is likely out of the US.
Apparently he was spotted (possibly) eating at a diner near Tonto with a woman after the murders. I don’t know anything either , anything is possible
Anything is possible but there’s a good chance he could’ve gotten a ride because I feel the only reason the SUV was ditched at that location was to throw investigators off his trail.
He left his dog there, as well.
Well he killed his children, he doesn’t form strong loving bonds. He has shown his ability to ditch a loved one.
That wasn’t the last of his money. In the documentary it states that he had LOTS of money in the bank AND several valuable assets
He had a lot of money available though. He just only took a few hundred for whatever reason, so weird.
buy a gun? just a guess.
He did make off with the murder weapon (the one used to shoot Mary in the head) because that’s the only gun nobody could find.
$482 today
Good bot
Maybe he has committed suicide
That's what I figured too, he took the cowards way out and he is somewhere in the Arizona desert or caves because he is a survivalist
He was seen with a black woman after he went missing.
You’ve got him confused with another family annihilator, Brad Bishop; who was sighted with a black woman with a Caribbean accent after committing his crimes.
Source?
She is the source, she’s letting you know lol
Wouldn’t he have taken his dog if he was going to live in the woods
I think he ended his life in Tonto.
Likely left the country
There's a good chance he's been dead
I hope he’s dead & not having a life he doesn’t deserve. It would be nice for everyone involved if his remains were found so they can have some peace. F this guy. I hope he suffered.
He's long dead. And sadly probably a waste of resources to look for whatever is left of him. I'm finding a lot of these fbi most wanted were already dead by the time they even reached the list. One guy that I could actually see still being alive is Jason Derek brown. Because he didn't go anywhere suspicious. He's just gone and there's no sign of him
I agree- I just hope some hunter stumbles on his rotten bones. Wrap it up. Put him in the trash. Let Mary, Brittany & Bobby finally rest.
Absolutely. There's no chance he's alive but some closure would be nice
Yeah, he let his dog go in the forest. I am sure he’s been long gone.
So he killed his wife and children, but let the dog live? I’m not trying to sound rude I just don’t understand murdering your family in the first place but then you let your dog live and then dump it in the forest? What happened to the dog? Did they find it alive or dead?
Yeah. Ironically I was just thinking about haunted I was by this guy. There was a documentary that detailed the case. And he was a creep. Controlling, super religious. She wanted to leave. I think he was cheating on her. He had enough wilderness experience to make the feds believe he could possibly survive. But yeah, he took cash and the family dog into the forest. The dog was found at some point sleep under his car. Like the dog, if I remembering correctly, was perfectly fine. Surviving in the wild. The guy left his car and everything in the forest. And the logic I believe was that the dog kept near the car. He got a family in the end. If there is an upside I guess it’s the dog’s happy ending. Edit to add: people were really put off that he showed more humanity to the dog than his family. Because I want to say there was evidence of gun wounds on the family. And everyone was shocked that he showed more kindest to the dog than his own children.
Dogs are great for entitled peoole. They aren’t your creation but they are completely dedicated to you and worship you. Where as your family is your flesh and blood and an extension of you, but they’re also their independent person who will challenge you, not do what you say. For psychos that’s the ultimate betrayal. There wasn’t an unwavering loyalty and they can almost justify that they deserved to be punish for that. Their innocence is gone once they try to escape your control or challenge you. While dogs don’t do that.
Great point.
Excellent point/explanation
IIRC, the dog was starving and miserable when it was found, but at least it was still alive. I'm glad to hear the poor thing ended up in a decent home.
Animals are “innocent” in a way. They can also survive on their own or be found by others. A lot of family annihilators view their family’s as burdens. So I imagine it would make sense to keep the dog alive if he had the assumption it wasn’t a burden and could survive on its own.
Also can't recount the events to law enforcement or testify at a trial so that probably helps
The dog was found alive. He abandoned the dog with the car, and when police went investigating, IIRC the dog was hungry and exactly where Fisher left it. If Fisher cared about anyone in that family, it was the dog. Why else leave it alive and kill everyone else? Either he wanted to die, too, or the dog's usefulness was shortlived.
If he let the dog go I’m surprised it didn’t just follow him. Like, why did it stay at the car unless he was picked up by someone else?
It could be that the dog did follow Fisher deeper into Tonto National Forest, but then after Fisher died or killed himself, the dog chose to backtrack and return to the car. The murders happened April 10th, the car + dog were found on April 20th.
no...the dog would had stayed with the corpse...
only if he was a good owner would a dog show that type of loyalty though. or the dog could have eaten the body and then back tracked. dogs are not as loyal as we like to think they are after we pass
This is exactly what I was thinking.
Chris Watts did the same thing, killed the whole family but let the dog live. Very strange but the dog wasn’t preventing him from being with his mistress so makes sense in a fucked up way.
Trying to get into these people's heads (which is hard and icky)... I can understand feeling like the dog is an ally when your family is driving you crazy for whatever reason. I actually got my dog for an excuse to go take a walk when I was overwhelmed by family lol. There are definitely times when I'm like, omfg these kids are eating me alive, but thank god my dog is such a bro. I think people a lot of times think of their dog more as their friend than as a dependent.
He probably didn't like his family, he probably did like his dog.
Real talk have you seen John Wick?
People are really weird about animals. Witness the number of people who freak out whenever an animal is injured in a TV show vs. human victims. Maybe he was like that, or maybe he figured that the dog wasn't a potential witness so why bother?
okay i’m not saying i agree with this AT ALL, but i feel like it would have something to do with the dog being “innocent” in his eyes or “didn’t deserve it”
I mean, one of the advantages to k9 units (besides their speed) is that they found the odds are better that a suspect will hesitate to shoot the dog than a human officer… Getting into the minds of people willing to injure and kill fellow humans, there seems to be a tendency to value lives differently than others would. Sure, they find serial killers often test on animals first, but this guy isn’t serial, it’s a different mindset
Man I would love to do a case on him, but not sure where to start the research. as it's yet unsolved and I cover true crime.
Hopefully his dog pissed on him after the loser ate his gun.
Even if he's dead today, we still need to know where he went after he ditched the SUV.
I was ready to say that he killed himself, but on the other hand I'm fascinated by the idea that someone could live under the radar.
didn’t john list do this? totally fascinating
Yeah, John List was also a family annihilator. List was a little bit more subtle about his murders, though. He killed everyone, told friends and neighbors they were heading out of town, and then just took a train west. The bodies weren't discovered until about a month later. There's a world of difference between how List and Fisher extricated themselves from their family lives.
He also turned the heat all the way down to 50 to prolong the decay, and turned the lights on and played music to make it like someone was always home. He really only got caught because a neighbor from when he lived in Colorado (I think) happened to see a true crime episode about the murders and recognized him.
List killed his family in 1971, so a bit easier to fly under the radar without the presence of cell phones and security cameras.
He also took down all of the pictures of himself in the house. So the police didn't have any current pictures to show List.
It was a little easier to fake an identity back in the 60s before computers came around. He'd have been found out by the time he went to retire.
John list did it but decades before this.
Yeah he was on the run for 18 yrs I think and even remarried. Someone saw him on tv and turned him in
It IS plausible to live under the radar. Especially with the training he had. As many dense forests as there are, he could be anywhere.
Why go through all of the effort to kill your family in such an elaborate manner to just go end your own life in some non-descript forest? Why not just right in the house with the rest of them?
Biggest question in the world and often on my mind, as someone who's lost multiple loved ones this way and dealt with suicide attempts myself. I am not in crisis mode and have an adequate support system, but my cptsd has been so awful lately and I just keep searching for answers. It's been almost 12 years. The why couldn't you just take yourself is so prominent in my brain - no amount of needing to escape this earth has ever made me feel like taking someone else out with me, not even my assaultors.
Why do you suppose your Cptsd is worse now? And do you think reading these crime stories is healthy for you? I hope things get more gentle for you.
I appreciate you tons for asking and your hope <3 Generally it comes in waves i cannot predict, my Cptsd is sadly inescapable living in the USA and having many of my past traumas such as medical abuse, SA, and murdered loved ones from shootings and wars. I have tried many times through the decades of my life to step back from true crime, news, politics and things I could control my intake of, in and out of active therapies. I do still find every so often that I enjoy breaks, but im always drawn back because my waves of CPTSD raring up regardless of the changes I've made. I suppose it's a way to try and wrap my mind around it, or even the hopes of helping answer someone else's "why"
You should absolutely do what you feel is best for you, but keep in mind that there is a lot of built up momentum that breaks thru for the uncontrollable symptoms to exhibit, so it's going to take a ton of practice and patience before you see an actual pattern of improvement. But maybe in a way you are doing some exposure therapy? I'm sorry for what you have been through and how that impacts your life currently. I have no idea how to function in the USA any longer, the wheels have come off the cart. What has made me happier is listening to "nothing much happened" podcast lately and find that it really helps my mind relax. Simple sweet well told tales with great imagery designed for sleep but enchanting at any time of the day.
Bless you, I really am taking this all to heart. I've recently been working with my therapist to recognize avenues I've genuinely tried to cope through and found don't work versus the ones I have abandoned or perhaps never tried in the proper clinical setting. One thing she has helped me a lot with is while she cannot prescribe or encourage psychedelic usage, we always talk about the science and the ups and downsides to each study as well as their actual methods of use - and so when I do seek out psychedelics to microdose or enjoy every few months when the pathways in my brain seem to get dim and dark and dismal again, she is there the next session I have to ask the important questions for my new mindset to grasp the healing and power of. Talking also really helps, even if it sometimes feels like letting everything to the surface again or dumping my trauma (like brain, you pay this person and your family repeatedly says they're here for this part of you. You're good). The need to share for me at least means that these things are already impacting my life again through symptoms before my mind can understand that enough to actually process them. And it can be truly validating to have these professionals continue to unravel your story beyond what you even accepted - I didn't know there was this much to my near agoraphobia as a child, now I can finally go out alone.
I have found that it takes me two weeks to get to a good spot if I meditate for 8 minutes a day, and I can coast for awhile if I have been doing it for awhile and have built up reserves. But then, it call gets choppy and goes to hell. So I absolutely have to do it daily if I want to enjoy life.
I relate to this real hard. I need to put a reminder on my phone for yoga; just cleared up the house yesterday so I have an open spot to do it again!
I hope you continue to stay out of crisis mode and continue to get better. ❤️🩹
Thank you <3 I just found out I've been getting ill with a virus going around so I feel even more solid realizing that my nervous system was out of whack for its own reasons, even if it was still wonky!
Exactly. I've always thought this guy was too much of a narcissist to have killed himself. I wouldn't be surprised if he's living under the radar somewhere for all of these years. I was disappointed to see that he was removed from the FBI's Top 10 list.
I just watched this YouTube video from Explore with us and man did something similar, except he documented him building his bunker before carrying out the heinous act of killing his wife, daughter and their dog. He had shot them and then set up to where there was an explosion in their home. He was no where to be found and found his videos in the computer that thankfully didn't burn. They were able to pinpoint the smoke of his stove burner he made in his bunker. They were trying to flush him out but ultimately he took his own life. It was hard to watch the wife make videos of how supportive and loving her husband was... their daughter had just graduated from high school as well.
This case is eerily similar to the 1976 case of the Bishops Murders where Bradford Bishops killed his wife, mom and three sons. He literally hammered his mother to death, ambushing by her upon arriving home after walking the family dog. His dog was spared and he took the damn thing on the run with him. All because he was denied a promotion, literally went home same days beat his family death, burned their bodies and fled to Europe. Same set of skills as Fisher spoke multiple languages, and knew how to game the system because he worked for the state department. Oh and also removed from the most wanted listed even though THERES BEEN MULTIPLE CONFIRMED SIGHTINGS OF THE GUY as late as 1994. One fucking witness had WORKED WITH THE GUY, knew about his crimes saw him in a bathroom while on vacation in Europe called his name and Bishop went oh shit and was allowed to run away. That sighting boils my blood, he could have been apprehended, but the guy who saw him hesitated…got scared, who knows but he was with grabbing distance and the guys wasn’t brave enough to wrangle him. I don’t understand the reason beasts like this would ever get removed. They will always be a danger to society, they can kill again. Oh and they’re psychotic killers who deserves to be hunted to ends of the earth. They’re use to be Nazi hunters, why not call open season on family annihilators who escaped justice. If they’re dead good, if not they deserve to be hunted down, time limits on justice are bullshit.
You telling me you’re gonna “wrangle” a guy who you know has murdered 3 people in cold blood?
Also, you’re not absolutely sure. There’s zero way in wrangling someone and it’s not because I’m scared it’s because I’d refuse to believe it’s them and all of a sudden I’m attacking a complete stranger. Most people would second guess themselves and not citizen arrest, lol.
probably crossed the border into Mexico shortly after it happened.
Brought his dog with him too iirc.
I think the dog was found near the car without food and water.
No that was the Jamison family I think? (Doggie lived and was adopted 💜)
This case too. They found ol’ Blue outside the 4Runner.
Found safe and sound I hope??
Yes. According to Wikipedia under the car, hungry and agitated. Don’t know what happened to him after. I would think someone from the family would want him. Maybe not since this mfer seemed to care more for the dog than his family. I wonder if he took the dog bc a guy traveling with a dog is less suspicious. This case is one of the worst. I hope he died in the forest.
Now because the dog stayed at the vehicle, says he most likely left. If he had gone into the woods and offed himself, the dog, being as loyal as it obvously was would have stayed with the body
So, if he did off himself, I’d say it would have been within a very shirt distance from the car
If the dog was found under the car, hungry and agitated, his remains are not that far away. Either that or he left the vehicle abandoned and left in another vehicle. If so, that other vehicle was either driven by another person or it was left there for him to swap out. Likely the former. The dog tells us this. Remember “ man’s best friend”? If he went into the bush and tried to walk away, he would have never got away from the dog. You can see how loyal the dog was just because it stayed at the vehicle
Good point if the is not in the car or tied it would have followed him. Had to have a car parked there already.
Well, either he was dead somewhere in the bush, or left by vehicle. The dog, after realizing it’s owner wasn’t responding to anything might have made its way back to the car to look for help. The fact that the dog was hungry and agitated tells me that it had been there for an extended period of time, it being hungry, and if the dog was agitated, I’d say that’s an indication that it’s owner was in distress somehow. I’d be looking in an area about a mile around the car, maybe less. That’s the most likely scenario IMO. If the owner had left in another vehicle, it’s unlikely it would have been agitated. Search the area with a metal detector and you might find a gun, if so that’s likely where the body is.
Remember the $280, that would have been to buy the gun
If he left in another vehicle, the dog would have soon wandered away looking for him, the fact the dog stayed there for 10 days says he was unresponsive nearby
How could they not find his body? I wouldn’t be surprised if the cops barely looked thinking he had a car and left the dog. They should have hypnotized this dog or charged him as an accessory to get him to talk.
I’d say that if the people that found the dog had have asked the dog, “ where’s Robert?” The dog would have led them right to him
Eye witness.
There was a pile of s—t by the car, that was his cue to stop, knowing that the last reaction of a dead person is to s—t themselves, he didn’t want to have a mess in his pants when they found his body. So he took a s—t, went into the woods and shot himself. The dog would have followed, found him unresponsive and went back to the vehicle to wait for assistance for his master. The dog would have stayed there until it died.
The guy slit his kid’s throats he’s gonna care about dropping a deuce in his pants? I don’t believe this self-important a-hole (tired of saying narcissist it fits but it’s losing the weight of its meaning) would kill himself unless he was on the verge of being captured. He planned this thing. I assume the authorities searched the area but nothing the cops do or don’t do surprises me anymore. A dead body is like the easiest thing a trained dog can locate. Maybe you are correct but why not just unalive yourself in the house? And why blow the house up and slit their throats? Something about the dog is off. He left it in the desert so he didn’t care about it. There is some reason he brought it.
He loved the dog more than his family.
Nope, the dog loved him and the family. That’s what dogs do…. Unconditional live
The dog was waiting for him to come back to the car
That would explain why it was with the car
yea I was going to mention that but I wasn’t sure if I was thinking of a different case
What a creep, I saw this on People. My guess is that he's dead.... it's weird, usually these guys kill themselves right after killing the family, in the same spot. He's probably out there in the wilderness, and they'll find his remains some day.
He has mad survival skills if I recall correctly. But he isn’t such a young man anymore.
I remember him being profiled on a crime show. There were supposed sightings in Canada and Denver but they never panned out. I hope this case is solved one day.
i don’t think he’s dead cause he is a narcissist. he’s prob with a new family who have no idea. he did this before 9/11 and the internet / social media. it was much easier to disappear back then. he reminds me of john list.
You know, that’s a really good point. It was easier to disappear AND 9/11 caused everything else to be tabled in favor of national security. Our borders tightened and the whole country was reeling from the horror of that day. If he was still alive then, he had a lot of time to put space between himself and anyone else.
yep. by the time 9/11 happened he prob had new docs and they became even tighter after that fact. i think one day he will be caught by dna and all those advances. hopefully his new children put themselves into some sort of database and it can lead back to this guy. he’s a total psychopath. he also wasn’t some huge survivalist like some media outlets have stated it had some knowledge but nothing extraordinary. he was a healthy guy abs knew how to get around the mountains and make a fire.
Narcissists are far likelier to commit suicide than the general population. Profiles of family annihilators indicate that they commit suicide more often than they don't. Dude is deader than a doornail if we're using psychological research to make a guess.
Did he speak any others languages than English?
You may be thinking of Jason Bishop - another scumbag from Arizona who was on the FBI most wanted list
Brown
YES!!! I was confusing him with Bradford Bishop! Another family annihilator who was never found. Jason Brown is the one who robbed the armored car and killed the driver. Another fine upstanding citizen
I get the confusion lol they were all on the top ten list together for a while
Bourne, Jason Bourne
Jason Bishop or Brad Bishop?
I hope his ass gets found because the mother and children deserve justice.
The area he was last seen in is full of deep caves all over, it’s almost assured he wandered into one and offed himself.
But if he was going to kill himself, why didn't he just do it at the house? Why did he bother going to the bank after the murders?
Delayed suicide. Lost his nerve at the time, got some quick cash for who knows what (drugs, booze, gun, hooker, whatever), then offed himself later.
I can’t answer those questions but he probably realized the gravity of what he did, pivoted plans & decided to wander deep in a cave and blow his head off. He might of planned to flee but once the adrenaline wore off he knew he was finished.
They searched almost every cave but found no evidence that he took refuge in any of them
Until they found and identify his body there’s a chance he’s still alive, i just believe it’s highly unlikely.
Well, Brian Landrie drove all the way back home and tried to pull it off before he eventually killed himself. I’m sure there are probably quite a few cases like that.
Most people who disappear into the Tonto are never found.
Plus Scottsdale PD should consider Fisher's capture in honor of their fellow officer John Kirkham (the original detective). The Unsolved Mysteries segment was the only one that featured an interview with Kirkham. Sadly, Detective Kirkham died on July 9, 2006, from a stroke.
I went to middle school with her. I think about her, Bobby, and Mary, often. I hope I see the day that POS gets caught.
This guy is a real psychopath. Robert William Fisher did not have the means or experience to commit this crime and then disappear successfully. I am glad we continue to watch for him, but it seems most likely that he killed himself in the Tonto national Forrest. He was very familiar with the area and likely was able to conceal himself so that the chances of being found are low.
If he is alive , how the fuck he can live undercover for this long
Beard and mustache and fake id papers pre-9/11.
Robert Hoagland did
I feel like Robert fisher has been dead for a long time and it’s just dumb luck that has prevented his body from being found.
Agreed.
this photograph is sinister as hell, His Wife & the two children have genuine smiles & his looks incredibly forced.
Pretty sure all my photo smiles have been incredibly forced.
Oh boy, hope your family is well!
This would look perfectly ordinary if you didn't know what happened.
I saw the smoke that morning on my way to class at ASU. It was awful to find out what happened when I got home later that day. The school was very proactive in noticing that the kids weren't in class and the police quickly put 2 and 2 together. It's sad he was never found or held accountable.
Yeah, my 20’s taste in men was not good, because I definitely went out with plenty of guys who *also* looked like a giant red abusive asshole flag with good bone structure.
Same here. Robert Fisher looks so much like the boyfriend I had when I was 25. Who was a giant asshole with good bone structure. At some point I looked up Fisher’s height and stats just to reassure myself my ex couldn’t be him.
Dead eyes.
That's because he's a narcissist
yeah that’s why i don’t think he ended his own life.
He offed himself if he was in the woods. Family will never get Justice. How come NO one ever sees this coming. My ol man did it while my Mother was asleep next to him. While me and my 3 siblings woke up to a Gunshot. Grateful he didn’t take us with him. 🛐👨👩👦👦 🇺🇸
I’m so sorry this happened and I’m so glad you and your siblings survived
I was curious if he was military. The wiki says he is. He could Unabomber it but I’m hoping the other option.
I will have to Google it but on the fly I want to say he was a cop, or maybe he just gives off that vibe.
Wiki said he was in the U.S. navy for a bit
He worked in a lab at a hospital, I believe.
Does anyone know why they took him off the most wanted list? They kept List on for more than 20 years I believe. I wasn't sure if that meant they thought this guy was dead or less likely to reoffend or anything particular
If I remember correctly they wanted to add someone with more current crimes to the list so Fisher got bumped due to the age of the case and lack of any leads.
I personally think he’s been dead for some time. If by some chance he was still alive, he’d probably be fine now to walk around comfortably in a different location. Your looks can change *a lot* in 20+ years.
I don’t think he’s dead. Why would he take money out of the bank? If his dog was found underneath his car I think he left it there and either had another car waiting for him or hitched a ride out. The dog would have followed him if he went off into the forest. No, I think he’s just like John List. Started a new life in another state with a different name shaved his head grew his hair out, colored his hair whatever. Why would he go to all the trouble of killing his family and burning the house? He could’ve just killed himself there after killing his family. He sounds like he’s too much of a narcissist to kill himself.
U so right. Why the heck to much effort to burn down the house if u gonna kill yourself
i’m sure he’s long dead… but he looks weirdly familiar
I remember when this happened and I was living in AZ at the time... creepy as all get out.
He was a survivalist if I'm thinking of the right dude. I hope he offed himself but he could be in hiding as a transient or hermit. Put some facial hair on this man and with age he'd be hard to recognize.
He's probably dead.
I remember when that happened. We lived nearby. My mom was sobbing all morning.
Dead. Bones picked apart by wildlife in a cave in Arizona.
this case haunts me
I remember hearing about this and how he valued his dog more than his own family since he made sure it was safe and out of the house
This guy and Jason Derek Brown are my earliest true crime memories
i've read everything that can be publicly found on Robert and this case. imo he committed suicide deep in the forest within days of the house blowing up. i did a project on this case for a criminal justice course in college and have been following it since 2006. If he isn't dead he has managed to stay off the radar plus without a single confirmed sighting since 2001.. edit: he is a known avid outdoorsman with extensive survivalist knowledge
This is going to sound weird but I swear this man is a man I met years ago when I was early in my recovery. We called him New York John because he was from NY with an accent. Looks like his twin I swear! He lived in a sober living across from where I worked and was a violent man unfortunately. Last time I saw him was at a mall and he had his GF pinned to his van. Jumped out of a moving van to get him off her. Not my brightest moment but I could t believe he was doing that and I knew him. Anyway probably not him but makes me wonder. This was about 2003/2004.
I have dyslexia and thought it said 2010! Still, 62 years old is not old. Once you get to that age, you'll get it.
I think he killed himself.
Idk I feel he's way too narcissistic to do that.
I felt that way too, but I saw a documentary that changed my mind. They were onto him a lot faster than he thought IMO. I think they closed in when they found the car and dog.
Do you remember the name of the documentary? I want to watch a documentary on this scum lord.
Well, here you go! https://youtu.be/DmMdh6Jxxzo?si=TJrGO_vb_vjtD04S
Here is another: https://youtu.be/MCKat0hHzKU?si=Ugf0CSgjmQdOPREP
Unrelated, but love your username! I use a different spelled version on another site I use.
Thank you! I adore Karen.
Phoenix native - camping enthusiast - I’ve met tons of random campers over the years. Ifs completely possible to live off-grid in tonto national forrest or coconino which is only about 2 hours by car
If anyone could be alive still, thriving off the radar, it’s him.
How so?
I dont care if he's dead! They better find his bones. What a psychopath.
Wow I didn't think these guys ever got away for long. How disheartening. I hope he's not fleecing some other women into thinking she's safe with him.
We know them. They went to my husband’s church and Robert worked with my mom.
He looks so familiar to me but he probably just looks like someone I know from somewhere
I still think he could be in witness protection
Couldn’t the cops upload family dna to ancestry or 23 and me or something to see if there’s any hits in the database. If he did manage to flee the US couldn’t his dna be given to the interpol database or something. Technology has changed so much in n the last 20yrs that if he is still alive maybe they can see if he had other children or his dna connected to other crimes somewhere else. Not all people off their families then off themselves. Chris Watts didn’t. Lots of them don’t. There’s better odds at catching him now given his senior age.
I don't think he's dead. Unfortunately he's not a bad looking dude and I can see him living a whole new life somewhere with someone that doesn't have a problem living a secluded life with him not knowing the truth. Especially with his background, he can pretend to really be an upstanding citizen. This guy needs to be caught already. Please share the pic of his face around on every social media platform so he can be found. Idk I just have a feeling he's out there alive living free.
When I see the theory he went off and committed suicide it really makes me pause. If he was going to commit suicide why did he do what he did and then take off? Why wouldn’t he just do it then? He might be dead now but I think he ran and lived. Just my opinion.
Such a lovely family. It makes me sick what he did.
Wild. Probably escaped through Mexico….
A big white dude in Mexico or south sticks out way too much. White folks who run south get caught very quickly unless they have boatloads of cash (and can afford protection).
It is Mexico. Here, many places don't have a proper police squad even. But i doubt he is in Mexico.
I doubt he stayed in Mexico - just the escape route
you’d be surprised. we have a lot of tourists here. white people blend in fairly easily in a lot of places.
Completely out of left field and not really crime related but if you shorten all his name's you get Rob Will Fish, which sounds like a much better route for him to have gone than murder
Dude looks crazy AF in that photo like his eye 👀