Father Found 23 Years After Disappearing (Photos)

More than two decades after a man disappeared, his family made a shocking discovery.

Richard Hoagland was last seen in Indianapolis on Feb. 10, 1993, leaving behind his wife and children, who were devastated by his disappearance.

“He was very spontaneous. He was a shaker and a roller … he was always doing — making deals and doing things. He was very successful,” Hoagland’s wife at the time, Linda Iseler, told ABC News. “He was a lot of fun to be with.”

On that February day, Iseler got what would be her last call from her husband, after 11 years of marriage.

“He called me at work and told me that he was ill … and that he needed to go to the emergency room,” she recalled. “And I said, ‘Well, why don’t you just wait, and I’ll go with you?’ He said, ‘No, I don’t have time to wait.'”

Iseler called all of the hospitals in the area to find out where her husband was, but there was no trace of him checking in anywhere.

She says Hoagland left of all of his things behind, including his toothbrush, clothing and passport. 

At the time, the couple’s two children, Matthew and Doug, were 9 and 6 years old, respectively.

“Initially you think, ‘OK, this won’t last long. He’ll be back,'” Matthew told “20/20.”

Eventually, Hoagland’s car was found abandoned at the Indianapolis International Airport. But there were no records of any flights taken in his name around the time he went missing.

Later that year, each of his two sons received a card from their father containing $50.

Doug’s card read in part, “Maybe sometime soon we will get to see each other. I bet I won’t even know you. It has been so long.”

That was the last time the boys ever heard from their father.

Then, 23 years later, Hoagland was finally tracked down. According to Newsiosity, Hoagland ran away because he was being investigated for theft. In a rented apartment, he found the death certificate for a man named Terry Symansky. He used that as his opportunity to assume the dead man’s identity and moved to Florida.

Symansky’s nephew was on Ancestry.com, when he read that his uncle had gotten married and got his pilot’s license. Knowing that his uncle had died long ago, he called the police and turned in Hoagland for stealing his uncle’s identity.

Hoagland was tracked down and arrested. He is currently being held in jail on $25,000 bail, awaiting a trial for charges including identity fraud.

Now, Iseler is suing her ex-husband for $2 million for unpaid child support for the last 23 years. She said that she feels bad for his current wife and son, saying she and her sons “know what they are going through.”

“We do express our sympathy and empathy to them,” Linda said. “I’m sorry.”

Sources: ABC News, Newsiosity / Photo credit: Hoagland Family via ABC News