JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A family is searching for answers after a local rapper disappeared.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, 35-year-old Robert McLaughlin was last seen a week ago at his Northside home.
McLaughlin also goes by the stage name of “Francis Royal.”
Loved ones said the rapper would never turn away from his family or his music, and now they're doing everything they can to find him. They're hoping someone will recognize him in the posters with his photo that they’re putting up around town.
McLaughlin's mother, Angela Brantley, told News4Jax on Tuesday she knew something was wrong when she got a call saying her son never showed up at his car appointment on Sept. 25. She said she began calling and texting him, but her son never answered.
“I was trying to get ahold of him. I couldn’t, so I tried to get ahold of some of his friends to see if they had heard from him. They said they would check to see if they could get ahold of him," Brantley said. "The Tuesday after that, they asked me if I had heard from him, because they were still not able to get ahold of him.”
Brantley said police searched his home, and the only items missing were his apartment key and phone.
According to the police report, McLaughlin’s phone service was cut off because of late payments.
“We had the phone service turned back on to see if it was dead, try to turn it back on to see if he’ll turn it back on to make a call, but none of that has happened," Brantley said.
The mother also said her son has a show coming up in Savannah. She said he would never miss it and she hopes she can still see him perform.
“I don’t think I would say anything. I would just want to hold him, and let him know everything is going to be OK," Brantley said.
Brantley said her fear is that someone took him against his will. But for now, she's praying he'll be back home soon.
The family plans to pass out more flyers downtown Wednesday night.
Police are still investigating, and they haven’t’ ruled anything out. Although his friends told police he had signs of depression, they don’t believe he has had suicidal thoughts.