Sometimes, real life can be stranger than fiction, as one Indianapolis woman’s story shows. Linda Iseler and Richard Hoagland seemed to have an ideal life.
Richard, previously divorced, felt he’d found love again with Linda. Together, they enjoyed a beautiful home, steady income, and exciting vacations. Everything was perfect until one unusual event in 1993 changed everything.
Linda recalled how, one day, Richard called her from work, saying he felt unwell and was heading to the ER. When she offered to join him, he declined, saying he couldn’t wait.
But he never arrived at any hospital. Instead, he vanished, leaving behind all his belongings—including his passport—on February 10, 1993.
Richard’s two sons, nine-year-old Matthew and six-year-old Doug, were left without answers. Richard’s car was found at Indianapolis International Airport, but no records showed him boarding any flight.
Months later, birthday cards arrived with $50 for each son, but it was the last anyone heard from him.
In 2016, Linda received a call from Detective Cardillo in Florida: Richard had been found, living under the identity of a man who’d died in 1991.
He had started a new life, married again, and even had another child. Richard was arrested for identity theft, leaving Linda and their sons with unresolved questions and a difficult legacy.
