The family of Robert Levinson, an ex-FBI agent and Coral Springs resident who had been held captive in Iran for 13 years, says he has died in Iranian custody.

Levinson’s family posted their statement on Twitter, adding that they recently received information from U.S. officials that has led them and the family to believe he passed away before the coronavirus pandemic.

“It is impossible to describe our pain,” the statement reads. “Our family will spend the rest of our lives without the most amazing manwe have ever known, a new reality that is inconceivable to us. His grandchildren will never meet him. They will only know him through the stories we tell them.”

Levinson was the longest held U.S. hostage in history.

He was reportedly captured in the Iranian island of Kish in 2007.

The family later admitted that he had been working for the CIA.

Statement from the Levinson Family pic.twitter.com/0t3YLvGJIc

— Help Bob Levinson (@HelpBobLevinson) March 25, 2020

Meanwhile, Iran’s government has never acknowledged arresting Levinson, who worked as a private investigator at the time of his disappearance.

In 2016, four American hostages were freed from Iranian captivity in connection with money the Obama Administration sent to Iran as a weapons payment reimbursement.

However, Levinson was not on that plane.

Last November, Iranian officials sent a message to the United Nations, referring to Levinson’s case as “ongoing.”

That occurred shortly after the U.S. government raised the reward for information leading to Levinson’s safe return to $25 million.

Renewed Hope for Broward Family of FBI Agent Bob Levinson Held in Iran