Albert Seaburg took on the role of a father figure for Robert Hansen and his four siblings after their father passed away. The Democrat was informed by Hansen that “He took us to Disneyland and other trips to Colorado to take our minds off what happened.” He served as a father figure for us. The first nuclear reactor in Illinois was designed by Seaburg, a World War I veteran and “big-shot” engineer who spent most of his life in West Chicago raising his sister’s fatherless children.
Seaburg never married and never had children of his own. Uncle Al would always be making jokes, Hansen remarked. And despite being a big shot, he was incredibly down to earth. Seaburg traveled from Chicago to Tallahassee by car on September 4, 1997, to settle his aunt’s estate. He made a reservation for a night at the Best Inn motel on North Monroe Street around nine o’clock. Within hours, the 71-year-old was discovered dead from two gunshot wounds in what the police described as a botched robbery.
Tallahassee Democrat archives state that two suspects were observed “casing” the motel all day. Witnesses described these suspects as blond twenty-somethings with shoulder-length hair. They left in a white Honda Accord from the mid-1980s with Mississippi license plates. they created Composite sketches of the suspects shortly after the shooting based on witness accounts.
But the investigation has become unproductive in the 25 years since Seaburg’s murder. There have been no arrests, and there are no fresh leads. A part-time detective assigned to investigations like this has been hired by LCSO. This is a first step in pursuing justice for Mr. Seaburg’s murder and other families affected by these unsolved crimes, according to LCSO spokesperson Angela Green, even though there are currently no updates to report regarding his case.
“We have faith that someone is out there who can provide information about what transpired that day. We anticipate that new information will surface with the community’s help and aid our investigation. She also mentioned that anyone with information about the cold case, which calls 850-606-3300 and remains anonymous, might be eligible for cash rewards ranging from $500 to $5,000.
Hansen founded Unsolvedmurder.com in 1999 to draw attention to the case and possibly jolt something loose, but nothing has come of it. Hansen, 62, said through tears on Thursday, “We go on with our daily lives, and we don’t get emotional about it until we talk about it like I am. Sadly, before solving the case, his only sibling, my mother Ruth Hansen, passed away in 2009.
When his 36-year-old uncle passed away, Hansen was working at the post office when he received a call from an Elmhurst police officer, who informed him of what he had just learned from an LCSO deputy. Hansen said, “The postmaster came and picked me up. “he told Me, and I pretty much fell to the ground and screamed because it was so hard to believe,” the speaker recalls.
In addition to reaching out to politicians who said they would work to raise awareness of the situation, Hansen mailed at least 2,000 wanted posters to convenience stores and police stations. He claimed that he occasionally emails the LCSO, hoping to stumble upon a confession or learn something through DNA testing. After so many years, he said it’s just waiting and hoping. “I still have hope,”
