from his father , who told him police might have found Edwin locked in a dank Philadelphia basement with three other people . The pitch-black , 15-by-6-foot space discovered by the owner of the apartment building houses what police described as an abandoned boiler room , where the overwhelming stench of urine and feces still hung in the chamber two days after the discovery . Hours after his father 's phone call , Robert made the nine-hour drive north to see if his long-lost brother was among the four victims . `` It made me nauseous . I was anxious . It was eating me up . I was crying on the way up there . If that gut feeling was n't there , I would n't have gone , '' he said . `` We still did n't know if it was him , but there was only one way to find out . '' Media reports identified Edwin Sanabria and Tamara Breeden as two of the victims . `` When I saw their names together , I knew it was my brother and his girlfriend . I could n't believe it , '' Robert said . When Edwin
Philadelphia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Robert Sanabria thought he would never see his big brother again . Robert was 15 when his brother , Edwin , left home at age 18 . Born prematurely with only one functioning lung , Edwin spent his school years in special education classes , Robert said . He remembered his brother as soft-spoken , humble and kindhearted . `` When he left , he just took off , '' Robert told CNN by phone last Saturday . `` He was in love and ran away . '' He last saw his brother in 1999 . Neighbors and friends would tell Robert they thought they spotted Edwin around the city . `` It was like a bigfoot sighting , '' he said . `` Every time they said they saw him it went nowhere . The information led to a dead end . '' Robert , 29 , is a sergeant in the U.S. Army who lives with his wife outside Fort Bragg , North Carolina . All his years of military training and combat experience could n't prepare him for what happened a few weeks ago . In mid-October , Robert received a call