In 1968 her husband went hunting and disappeared

50 years later, his wife and children discover the shocking truth. The story I am about to tell you today took place 63 years ago when a loving family man and husband and father and successful businessman, Douglas Grinstead left his home and disappeared without a trace.

It’s hard to imagine that his family mourned his death for many years and only learned the shocking truth decades later. Now the faithful wife and daughters must take the blame for the sins of the head of the family and live with them for the rest of their lives.

And it all started in 1968

When Douglas, owner of a lucrative ritual agency, kissed his wife. Barbara hugged his daughters and went hunting in the woods for a couple of weeks. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell to get inspired by these real-life stories every day.

Now back to the story. It was worth noting that his wife and daughters let him go with peace of mind, as Douglas was an experienced hunter and often spent days hunting in the woods.

But as more than a week passed

Barbara got nervous because Douglas was never late. It was worth waiting a few more days. But that’s how it went for two and even three weeks. The father of the family never came home. The distraught woman realized she could not wait any longer and contacted the police.

The townspeople knew that Douglas was a respectable family man and knew his way around the wilderness, so it was clear he was in trouble. It wasn’t long before the whole town was on the lookout for the missing man. Several hundred volunteers searched for Douglas. For a month, the woods were combed by all of the family’s neighbors, police with dogs, EMTs, the FBI and the National Guard. Even some prisoners were sent out to search.

There were photos of Douglas all over town

reprinted in local newspapers and media, and soon the first traces were discovered with the help of a helicopter. In the third week of the search, rescuers managed to locate the man’s camp, as well as a tent, some hunting licenses, a sleeping bag and even his car. The whole problem was that Douglas himself seemed to have evaporated. There was no sign of him, nor any sign of his death. Such a strange disappearance of a seasoned hunter said only one thing.

The forest does not forgive mistakes

It was decided to end the search. It is worth noting that even when the authorities inconsolably gave up, Barbara did not give up attempts to find her beloved husband. She hired private investigators and shuddered at every doorbell for years, each time hoping her beloved Douglas had miraculously survived and made it home. Every time someone walked by our house, Lynn and I ran to the window to see if it was dead.

But each time it was someone else, reporters told. Half a century later, Beth, who was only 13 at the time of her father’s disappearance, and her younger sister, Lynn, were 11 without her husband returning home.

Months later, Barbara was forced to sell the business and move across the state with her children, closer to her parents, she soon found a job as an accountant, bought a small house in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and started a new life while she never forgets her Douglas. Years passed and after seven years, authorities officially pronounced Douglas dead.

Social Security began paying the family survivor’s pension

It is worth noting that the woman received generous compensation from the government. Barbara received $87,000 over several years and her daughters received $22,000. That was enough to pay for college and other needs. As for Barbara, she never remarried. She kept waiting for the man she loved, hoping for a miracle.

for years

She and the girls wondered what could have happened to Douglas. They couldn’t accept his death and consoled themselves with the thought that he had amnesia and that’s why he hadn’t returned. Perhaps that would have been the end of the case, and it would still be gathering dust as unsolved. But as you may have noticed, the story soon took a turn. About a year after the disappearance, a man came to the Social Security office and said he had lost his ID.

This stranger introduced himself as Richard Morley and soon received new documents. If it weren’t for Richard Morley’s own wife, the Tribune family would probably never have found out the real truth.

The fact is that when she retired, the wife complained about non-payment to the social welfare office, to which she received a very absurd answer, namely that her husband not only lived, but continued to earn money for years, and even paid his taxes in full? Can you imagine that according to the documents, Morley’s wife didn’t find out that her husband was allegedly alive until May 2015?

In fact, however, he died in 1968 in the very city where Douglas lived with his wife and daughters

Of course, an FBI investigator took an interest in the case. He managed to put a courageous end to the confused case. As it turned out, the fake Morley had died of pneumonia seven months earlier, for real this time. As you have already noticed, it was the same Douglas who disappeared into the California woods.

The man was 87 at the time and had never contacted his wife, daughters, old acquaintances or even his parents in all those years. His parents died without learning the truth about their son. But what really happened there and why did Douglas disappear? Looking ahead, it turned out to be trivial. Shortly before his death, the man wrote a handwritten letter with his signature to Social Security.

My current name is Richard Morley

But I stole his identity. I was named Douglas Grinstead at birth, and I don’t have a birth certificate from Richard Morley. The FBI found that Richard Morley was one of Douglas’ funeral home clients, but Douglas did not process his death papers to steal the deceased’s identity.

In 1969, Douglas got a new Social Security number and soon got a mistress after leaving his family. Imagine it wasn’t until 2016 that Barbara and the daughters heard from their Douglas again, an investigator came to her front door and told a woman that her missing husband and father was alive and well the whole time.

In addition, he worked like a normal family man, earned money and even led an active life in his new place. In fact, he hadn’t died hunting, but eloped with his mistress, a close family friend who lived nearby. In addition, when Douglas disappeared, she went to comfort Barbara and the girls and also actively participated in the search for him. Then, three weeks later, they, too, disappeared from town, leaving only a note in their spouse’s divorce papers years ago.

No one would have thought these events could be related, but that’s exactly what happened

When Douglas heard the shocking news, her heart, which had remained true to her, was broken. She could never understand why he did such a thing. After 15 years of seemingly happy marriage. But a heavy blow awaited the women ahead. Shortly thereafter, Barbara and her daughters received a notice from Social Security demanding a refund of all money paid.

Approximately $109,000. It was a lot of money for them, but the sisters breathed a sigh of relief when a judge ruled their mother could pay Barbara $10 each month until her death and the remaining debt would be forgiven. But two years later, in September 2018, the 89-year-old woman died and the judge overturned the verdict.

The sisters believed that news of their father’s double life, as well as sudden debts, had brought their relatively healthy mother to an early grave. On October 24, a court ruled that the debt could be settled by selling their property and apartment.

However, 63-year-old Beth continues to live in the home

If the building is given away for the debt, she just has nowhere to go. The women have appealed and face a new court decision that could drag on for several years. As it turned out. In the end, all of Douglas’ family and the real Morley were affected by the story, all except Douglas himself, although he can no longer be asked about it.

Life can be very confusing and even the person you have spent your whole life with may not be who you thought were friends. What do you think of this story and what were your guesses before you found out the truth? Write about it in the comments. That is all for today.