A Seemingly Normal Life
The convoluted story of Linda Iseler and her family is stranger than fiction. In 1993, Her husband Richard seemingly disappeared from the face of the earth. Richard left his family, and his wife Linda and their two young sons were left with hardly anything and no money to help them throughout the years. The police initially held Linda with suspicion, then soon the police moved on to suspect more of the family. Twenty-three years later something happened that would never have been expected, and the mystery was finally solved after all these years.
Check out our gallery to find out what happened in this truly unforgettable story.
A Seemingly Normal Life
The story of Linda and Richard Hoagland is quite the strange tale but starts out like any normal family dynamic. The two had a happy marriage and Linda gave birth to their two sons. They settled in Indianapolis, Indiana where everything seemed to be going well for the happy family.But when their sons, Matthew and Douglas, turned nine and six years old, the happy family life turned upside down. Something was wrong in the household, and only one person knew about secret trouble.
His Hidden Secret
As it turned out that Richard Hoagland was hiding a terrible secret, which his kids had no idea. As the days went on, he increasingly withdrew more from his family. His wife noticed his behavior but made up excuses to put ease to her worries.
The happy-go-lucky family façade soon began to fade. Thier two sons remained unaware that anything in their life was wrong. Apparently, this was an issue that Richard felt could not be fixed or even discussed with the people closest to him.
The Phone Call
In February of 1993, it seemed like a normal day for Linda. She worked at a medical office, and on February 10th around 4:45 pm, Richard called Linda at work. He told her that he had to go to the emergency room because he wasn’t feeling well.
Linda offered to come meet Richard at the hospital, he said that he “couldn’t wait.” Linda, yet shocked, had no idea that everything was about to change. She went about her day and picked up younger son Douglas from daycare after work. When she got home around 5:25 pm, she was stunned when she discovered that her son Matthew had been left home alone.
A Life Left Behind
Linda called every nearby hospital but none had any record of Richard ever being checked in. Richard left no note or sign that he was leaving. His toothbrush remained in the bathroom, his clothes in the closet and his passport remained untouched, which all seemed odd. Linda told reporters, “It was cold. It was in February.
He didn’t take a coat.” Out of what seemed like nowhere, their successful life together was torn apart. Richard had a previous divorce, but he claimed to be in love when he met Linda. Also, he was successful in business and took his family on luxurious vacations. It didn't seem to add up.
A Different Life
Less than one hour later the family was officially changed with one simple phone call. The phone rang and Richard was at the other end. With Linda anxiously listening on the other end, all Richard said was, “I can’t live this way anymore. I feel you would be better off without me.” He quickly hung up, not giving a chance for Linda to respond.
And as if it couldn't get any more strange, a few hours later, he called back with one more message saying, “I don’t want to go to jail. I’m never coming back.” Within just 24-hours, Richard had successfully dismantled his family and turned his own life upside down. He disappeared on that day, not to be found for years to come.
He Flees
A few days after his last call, Richard Hoagland’s car was discovered abandoned nearby. Various airlines and their flight records were searched, but his name was never found booked on any flights, which had them believe he was flying under a different name. Richard called twice more and he always called collect.
After Linda checked the phone records, it showed that his calls came from Venezuela and Aruba. As Linda and her two sons tried to cope with the loss of their husband and father, police began to investigate Richard’s mysterious disappearance as a missing person.
Peculiar Birthday Card
The following Spring, Richard contacted his son Matthew for his 10th birthday when he sent a card that included fifty dollars. A few months later, he did the same for his son Douglas on his seventh birthday. Apparently, before he skipped town, Richard was struggling financially, without the knowledge of the family.
He nearly maxed out all of their credit cards, and he even forged his wife's signature on a bank loan. Linda filed for divorce, and in the decree, the judge ordered Richard to pay unpaid taxes, various loans and debts, and 26 credit cards. After the peculiar birthday cards, the kids would never hear from their father again.
A Family Still In Confusion
In one of the cards he sent to his son, Richard wrote, “I love you and miss seeing you. Let your mom help spend this money, you might want to put some away. Maybe sometime soon we will get to see each other. I bet I won’t even know you it has been so long. Mind your mother. Bye, Dad.” Yet, little did they know, those would be the last words the boys would ever see from their father.
“Initially, you think: ‘OK, this won’t last long. He’ll be back,'” Matthew Hoagland told ABC News. Matthew’s mother, Linda, added, “He devastated us. He left us with nothing, absolutely nothing. I was very broken.”
More Financial Stress
Because of the financial stress already laid out on the family, Linda wasn't able to pay their mortgage or car loans, and it seemed as though the walls were quickly closing in on the family. It was then at this already stressful time that the police began to question Linda on Richard’s disappearance. They assumed that Linda knew where he had gone and questioned her about her knowledge of Richard's disappearance.
Linda continued to tell police she had no idea of the whereabouts of her husband. Police continued to suspect her and subjected her to numerous police interrogations, but Linda stuck to the little that she knew.
Linda Under Suspicion
Eventually one of the detectives on the case claimed that Linda knew where her husband had disappeared, which surprised everyone, including Linda. He claimed that it was just a big hoax and that Linda was planning to take her kids to eventually meet up with Richard. While being repeatedly questioned by police, Linda still had to deal with her financial struggles.
All of the financial damage that Richard had left her with was starting to add up, the family was now in some serious debt. No longer able to pay her bills, Linda had to declare bankruptcy. This was a nightmare scenario for a woman with two children to feed.
Suspicious Followers
Instead of staying with his family and dealing with the financial issues that he himself created, Richard decided to disappear and literally run away from his problems. Richard left his family’s lives in complete and total ruin in every aspect. Linda ended up depending on her parents to get by during this stressful time.
After a few months of her husband's disappearance, Linda began to notice a variety of strange things that made it seem as if she were being watched. She would notice strange people that were following her, unrecognizable cars parked outside, her mail was opened and re-sealed, and items in her house seemed to be moved without her knowledge.
Into Hiding They Go
One February morning, Linda's father found a recording device attached to her phone line. Linda was convinced that Richard had been involved with some sketchy people and that’s why he left town. She said, “When you’re in that situation, you become very paranoid.” Eventually, the bank came and foreclosed on the family’s home and even repossessed her car.The following October, Linda and her family decided to go into hiding in the town of McCordsville, Indiana.
She desperately wanted to keep her children and herself safe, especially if Richard had been involved in something dangerous. Linda ensured all of the bills were in her parents’ names, so nothing could be tracked to her. She also had her boys catch the school bus from the home of a friend's house.
Nerves Continue
Linda and her family stayed in hiding for nearly six months, but their paranoia never left them. The troubles, sadly, didn’t stop there because Linda was still being watched by the police department. It seemed like Linda and her family were destined to live in a constant state of suffering after the mysterious absence of her husband.
Thankfully, Linda still had her parents to help her at the time, both emotionally and financially. In an interview with ABC, Linda’s mother recounted how painful the entire situation had been for everybody involved.
Richard finally Resurfaces
In 2016, 23 years after he initially disappeared, the truth was finally uncovered. A detective named Anthony Cardillo of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Department in Florida called Linda. He asked, “Do you know who Richard Hoagland is?” Linda was utterly shocked hearing those words after all of these years. Apparently, throughout all of her family’s struggles, Richard had settled down again, not in Venezuela or Aruba, but in West Palm Beach, Florida.
He was alive and well and happily remarried. He also had a son with his new wife. Detective Cardillo told Linda that they had Richard in custody. He was arrested for using the false identity of a dead man.
Stolen Identity
After Richard left his family in Indiana, he rented a home in Florida and found a birth certificate in that house. The certificate belonged to a man named Terry Symansky who had died in 1991. At this point, Richard decided to make the fateful decision to cut all ties to his family and take on another person’s identity, without regard for the law or the sanity of his own family. From that point on, Richard Hoagland decided to become Terry Symansky.
The new Terry embarked on a new life, getting a new job, a new home, and he even found love again. It seemed he loved his new life in West Palm Beach. None of his new loved ones in his new life were aware of anything in his past that included a shattered and confused family.
Taking Advantage
The man that Hoagland rented a home from was Edward Symansky, who was still grieving the death of his son Terry. Hoagland was renting an apartment that was in Symansky’s home of Port St. Lucie, Florida. Due to the close proximity, Hoagland was often there and listened to Symansky reminisce about his son's life.
However, little did Symansky know, Hoagland would take advantage of the information presented, especially after he found Terry’s birth certificate. After Hoagland was arrested, Terry's Sister, Cynthia, told People Magazine, "My dad was grieving and pouring his heart out. My dad was the victim. Even after 23 years, the truth will come out.
The Final Arrest
It seemed as if everything began to come into light when Terry Symansky’s real nephew was doing some research on ancestry.com. The nephew found something in his research that didn't quite seem right. His uncle, who had been dead for many years, had somehow been listed as getting remarried and even getting his pilot’s license.
Soon after seeing this peculiarity, the nephew contacted authorities. In July of 2016, the police went to Terry Symansky’s house and arrested Richard Hoagland. He was put in jail at the Pasco County jail on a $25,000 bond.
Held Accountable For His Actions
After all of these years, Richard was finally being held accountable for all of the things he has done wrong, both legally and morally. Unfortunately, prosecutors were unable to file charges for theft against Richard from back in Indiana. The authorities couldn’t find affidavit that contained the original allegations of that accusation.
These accusations included the forged loan document where he had signed Linda’s name and stolen credit cards. The state of Indiana maintains a statute of limitations on a theft that is five years. So while he couldn’t be held accountable for the crimes of his past he could still be charged with stealing a dead man’s identity in the state of Florida.
Both Families Ruined
While living as Terry Symansky, Richard had remarried and had another son with his new wife. Although Richard’s two families have never met, Linda told reporters, “My heart goes out to them. We know what they are going through. We do express our sympathy and empathy to them.
I’m sorry.” Richard had then torn apart two families that he claimed to love. In the meantime, Linda’s attorney, Tom Markle, is attempting to get some kind of reparations by demanding that Richard pays nearly $2 million dollars in unpaid child support. Richard will also most likely have to pay restitution for making a living as Terry Symansky. Ironically, trying to get away from financial struggle, Richard made it worse for him in the end.