The search for a missing Alexandria man ended tragically last week when the Fairfax County Police Department found the body of Robert Fike, 34, in the 4100 block of Fairfax Parkway — near the intersection of Braddock Road and Old Columbia Pike. He had been missing since Aug. 2, and his family told police officials that he had been depressed for the last year. Police officials said his body was discovered at 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 9.
"There was no evidence of foul play," said Officer Camille Neville, a public information officer with the Fairfax Police Department. "This appears to be self-inflicted."
Fike earned two master’s degrees from George Mason University and had held positions with Americans for Tax Reform, the Adam Smith Institute and Sen. Jim Webb’s 2006 campaign for the United States Senate. He advocated free trade and opposed farm subsidies, building a name for himself in libertarian circles.
"He was indeed an excellent person, committed, idealistic, amusing, funny and personable," wrote Eamonn Butler, director of the London-based Adam Smith Institute, on his organization’s Web site. "His is a sad loss to the libertarian and free-market movement, certainly; but it is also a loss to humanity in general."
As news of his death spread, many of his former associates posted remembrances on the Internet. Alex Singleton, president of the Brussels-based Globalisation Institute, posted a personal reminiscence of a 2001 collaboration in which the two advocated for liberalization of the postal service. Praising the young man’s vibrant personality, Singleton described Fike as lively and charismatic — a lover of British culture, Hard Times chili and Guinness lager.
"Although at (Americans for Tax Reform) he worked closely with Republican congressmen, his libertarian political philosophy made him more socially liberal than many U.S. conservatives," wrote Alex Singleton, president of the Brussels-based Globalisation Institute, on his organization’s Web site. "Fike’s sense of humour and ability to tell a witty story were legendary."