Prominent Twin Cities doctor found dead on I-94

Updated 4:41 p.m. | Posted 11:53 a.m.

A man found dead on Interstate 94 on Saturday in downtown Minneapolis was a noted Twin Cities doctor.

Dr. Christopher Robert, 50, was the head of anesthesiology at Hennepin County Medical Center. His wife, Kerry Ace, a doctor who works at Children's Hospital in St. Paul, confirmed that it was his body found beside the freeway.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.

She said she doesn't know yet what happened or why he was found on the interstate. His death is under investigation.

Ace said that the last she knew, her husband was at a holiday party at an Uptown restaurant and may have decided to walk home. She said they live in Faribault, Minn., and have another home in Minneapolis closer to their work.

The couple has two children, an 18-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter, and would have celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary next year, Ace said.

"He was a wonderful man," she said. "He gave up everything for his job and his patients and his family. And he will be completely missed. It was a tragic accident, and we miss him and love him."

Robert joined HCMC in 2003 and was appointed chief of anesthesiology in 2011.

The hospital in a statement said it was "profoundly saddened" by Robert's loss.