In the 1980s, Linda and Richard Hoagland met, became instant friends, and quickly fell in love. The pair got married and had two sons, Matthew and Douglas.
They seemed like your completely average couple who were happy and in love until a seemingly normal Wednesday afternoon in February 1993, when Linda’s life turned completely upside down.
She was at the office when she received a phone call late in the afternoon from Richard. He told his wife that he wasn’t feeling well and he thought he should go to the emergency room. Linda asked him to hang on for a little while until she got home so that she could go with him, but he told her that he didn’t have time to wait.
Linda left work and picked up her son from day care on the way home and came to find that her elder son, Matthew, had been left at home all alone. Linda began to panic and called local hospitals in search of her husband. She didn’t have any luck. Her husband had disappeared from their family home without a trace as to where he went.
“[His toothbrush was] still there. He didn’t pack any clothes. It was cold. It was in February. He didn’t take a coat,” Linda Iseler, who later remarried, recalled to 20/20.
Richard had always appeared to be financially secure and had taken Linda on many exotic vacations over the years. He didn’t even take his passport with him that day, so you wouldn’t think that he could even leave the country.
To find out why the authorities badgered Linda with accusations about her husband’s disappearance and to learn how he was found alive 23 years later, watch the full video shared by Wonderbot.
