Missing Dad Returns

[User123456]

Sometimes discussions here are closer to reality than we imagine, as in Mr. Eric Myers. http://abcnews.go.com/US/family-reels-married-dad-vanishes-16-years-reappears/story?id=19712227

Not breaking the link. It's abc news.

[Conuly]

Jackass. You don't do that to your young kids. You at least try.

Edit: Found another article, one which corroborates my snap judgment:

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... myers.html

[CallmeChaCha]

Wow. I think this is a good example of how extreme religious movements hurt people. Not only did he suffer, but his family suffered as well. I don't want to defend this guy, but I really don't know how he felt knowing he was gay and turning into a fundie to fight his "homosexual demons". I can't know the feeling of possibly hating oneself that much. On the other hand, the last part in the AZ Central article where he says he's not giving anyone a dime for the death benefits that were paid out... What the fuck did he think was going to happen! That's fucking selfish. Not only did he abandon his family, which was already selfish*, but he's saying the insurance company should've never paid the life insurance benefit to his family. Um, ok asshole.

* Again, I don't know how he felt, but i can't help feel that was a really selfish move on his part to just up and leave.

[Miranda]

What an utterly selfish person to put his entire family through such havoc not once but twice. Everybody would have been so much better off if he had stayed "dead." I really hope that there is a way to make him take responsibility for the financial fallout of his disappearing act. He can't make up for running out, but he at least owes that much to his family.

[lizziesmom]

I wonder if this family is going to have to pay back any social security the kids collected after his 'death'.

[CallmeChaCha]

I wonder if this family is going to have to pay back any social security the kids collected after his 'death'.

I asked my SSA-employed acquaintance about this and they said that someone will need to pay the death benefits back and will likely just be taken out of the man's retirement benefits once he files for retirement benefits. I would hope SSA won't make the family pay, but who knows.

[Lainey]

Ahhhh, his poor family. Notice how it's all about him, from his perspective. What a creep. I fail to see how anyone could do that to their family, especially their children.

[rward]

I wonder if this family is going to have to pay back any social security the kids collected after his 'death'.

Oh, hell yeah they will. If SSI or SSA overpays you, you are responsible for it and they will get it back one way or another. My husband's father died when he was 7 and his sister was 4. They got survivor's benefits for years. After the first time his mother had to pay back an accidental overpayment (which was small enough she assumed it was simply a COLA), any time the amount was different, she would put that difference aside, because eventually they would come back and demand it from her.

[infooverload]

My husband and I watched part of the 20/20 airing of this last weekend, the guy was so freaking irritating we couldn't watch the whole thing. The daughter talking about how she felt and everything was so sad. As far as the SS question goes it would not surprise me if they make the family pay the money back. My husband before I met him had a kidney transplant. If you have a transplant you are eligible for SSI benefits for 1 year. Well they continued to send him benefits for another year. He called and said I think this is an error they assured him it was not. Then about a year later came back and said yes it was an error and you have to pay the money back. So as of today he owes the Social Security Administration a little over 12k and is on a pymt plan.

[Lainey]

Oooh, this was on 20/20? I'm sorry I missed it. Why did you find him irritating? Was he a total self-involved twat, like I think?

[infooverload]

Oooh, this was on 20/20? I'm sorry I missed it. Why did you find him irritating? Was he a total self-involved twat, like I think?

He was all oh I can't remember and crap like that when the reporter was asking questions about him leaving places and what not. Plus the fact he had no damn remorse and it was all about him and his struggles. I kept thinking yes you are a homosexual, but that doesn't allow you to be a selfish asshole."

[Kira]

This post has a clip from the 20/20 segment http://gawker.com/religious-family-man- ... -924445507

Everything about this story is awful.