Glen and George Decker Reunited After 36 Years

[Zoneboy]

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It happened nearly 36 years ago, but Glen Decker remembers it like it was yesterday.

It was a frigid November day in Waukea, Ill.

Mother Nature had just dumped 11 inches of snow in the region and Decker was helping his 7-year-old son, George, build a snow tunnel in the backyard.

Both of them were chilled to the bone, so Decker headed into the house to get a cup of hot chocolate for George and a cup of coffee for himself.

"I was gone maybe five minutes maximum, but when I came back out George was gone," he said.

And so began a three-decade search for his son -- a search that finally had a happy ending last month.

After months of posting fliers and talking to radio stations and year upon year of following leads that turned into dead ends, including a fruitless appearance on the television series Unsolved Mysteries, he followed a gut instinct one evening in early August and found George through an internet website.

Decker was reunited with his son just a few days later with the help of the Elgin, Ill. police department.



The beginning

Decker and his wife, Kathryn, had been married six years when George Edward was born in 1966, weighing just two pounds.

"He spent his first six months in the hospital," Decker said. "He developed slow physically and never developed fully mentally."

That didn’t matter to Decker and the two became inseparable -- George often tagged along and served as batboy for his dad’s softball and baseball teams.

Then his marriage started to go bad.

"I was working for Prudential Insurance at the time," Decker said, "when my marriage was on the rocks, big time and we got divorced."

Decker had only been remarried a short time when George came to visit that cold November day.

The Auroran said he figured it was safe to leave his 7-year-old son in the backyard while he went in the house because his wolf-dog Stormy was there to guard him.

"When I came back outside, Storm was just laying there in the snow. I figured it had to have been George’s mother or sister who took him, at least I presume that, because Stormy would have torn anyone else up or, at the very least, barked," he said.

Decker immediately called the police and told them what he suspected, but they told him to stay away from his former wife’s home just eight miles away in Winthrop Harbor.

"But I was frantic trying to find George so I went anyway and she called the police on me," he said.

So Decker turned to Prudential, a company he said "takes care of their own" and they paid for fliers to post around town and spots on local radio stations.

Decker hit one dead end after another, until he feared his ex-wife had changed their identities or moved far away.

That’s when he turned to the television series "Unsolved Mysteries" for help.

His story appeared on national television at a personal cost of $10,000 and an emotional cost far greater.

"I had a lot of hope after they told my story, but they didn’t help me at all, he said.

While Decker was discouraged and emotionally drained from his search, he never gave up.

"I was always praying and I was always going on the internet to try and find him," he said. "I tried lots of different states. I heard he was in California, I even heard he was dead, but I never gave up."

Just two months ago, he was still searching for George.

"One evening I was sitting at the computer and a chill came over me," he said. "Something told me to go to this website and I clicked where it said to find missing people, typed in his name and it came up and said age 42, living in Elgin, Ill."

Decker had what he wanted -- a name, the right age and a location. His boss, a retired police officer, advised him to call the Elgin Police Department and tell them his story.

He followed that advice and made contact with the police in Elgin. After four days waiting for a sergeant to return his call, Decker said he got a little irate and made a second call, asking to speak to someone "higher up."

He repeated his story to Lt. Rafferty on Aug. 7, and Rafferty told him there was a privacy act to consider but he would look into his story, not guaranteeing anything.

"He called me back a half hour later and asked me if I’d like to talk to my son," Decker recalled. I asked if he was kidding and he said no, ‘He’s standing right here.’"

Rafferty had no trouble locating George, he knew right where he was. He frequented JB’s restaurant and bar and was familiar with one of the employees -- a young guy who cooked named George.

Decker talked to him briefly on the phone, then met him face-to-face for the first time the following Wednesday in Elgin.

"We packed up and got right out of here," he said. "We couldn’t wait to see him."

They walked into JB’s while George was working. His boss talked George into coming out of the kitchen to meet his dad, but Decker said George’s eyes would get moist, he’d get nervous and go back to the kitchen and someone else would have to bring him back out.

It was during that first meeting that memories started resurfacing for George. His dad started showing him pictures, telling him stories of when they were together and asking him questions.

"He finally said, ‘You must be my dad because only you would know those things about me,’" Decker said.

The Deckers have been back to Illinois to visit George a couple more times since that initial visit, and they’ve talked several times on the phone.

George has indicated he wants to come to Aurora for Christmas, but Decker said it will only be a visit. "Those people back there he works for have adopted him. I wouldn’t take him away from them for anything."

Decker said finding George has been a fairy tale come true and the answer to his prayers, all rolled into one..

"When your child is ripped out of your life it’s hard to cope. I couldn’t quit thinking about it and I didn’t know if he was alive or dead," Decker said.

Now that his prayers have been answered and Decker said it feels so good to reconnect with his son. "The Lord is so good. He brought him back to me," he said. "He does everything in His own time. When He’s ready, He’ll answer your prayer."

[crochetbuff]

Thank you for posting that!

[TracyLynnS]

What good news! It's a shame that it took so long, but I'm so happy that they were finally reunited.

I have a question. Lt. Rafferty told the searching father that "there was a privacy act to consider" but he would look into his story, not guaranteeing anything.

What kind of privacy act would that be? Wasn't his young son illegally abducted years ago by a parent who was supposed to provide visitations between the father and son? Why would a privacy act interfere with reuniting a father and his child, who was a victim of a parental kidnapping?

[Judyhymesisalive]

Awww i remember they episode, i'm so glad they got reunited!!

[LGraves65]

Soooo, who took him? Mom? And if so, how was he adopted by other people?

[Judyhymesisalive]

i dont know there isnt much info online