Indianapolis man tracks down, meets father after 50 years
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — After a search on Facebook, an Indianapolis man has finally found his father, who was only two hours away by plane.
Joseph Carlos, who is now 51, says he never got to meet his dad, Ruben Carlos. Now their lives will change forever.
Joseph said he feels happy and overwhelmed after being separated from him for more than 50 years.
“That was my sentence for the whole week, was, ‘This is my dad.’ I’ve never been able to say that — that this is my dad,” Joseph said.
Joseph lives in Indianapolis. He says he had never met his father, Ruben Carlos, until after he made a search on Facebook using the names he found on an envelope.
“This was my only thing I had that connected me to my father. It was his brother’s name and it was addressed and sent here to my father,” Joseph said.
The search continued with a Facebook message from someone with a list of several Carlos families in Atolinga, Mexico, where Joseph’s dad grew up.
“He listed the four families, and one of them was Carlos Carlos and I remember by my mom always said my father’s name was Ruben Carlos Carlos,” Joseph said.
Within 24 hours of finding that, Joseph saw his father through a video call on his phone. He also met his half-sister, Maria.
“Maria said, ‘Would you like to talk to dad?’ I only ever wished that I could have seen a picture of him. Only ever wished that I could know what he looked like,” Joseph said.
Joseph says his parents got separated after an argument. Now his father lives in Texas. His mother passed away only a few years ago.
“I was overcome with an emotion that — at my age I’ve experienced most emotions — but it was one of being overwhelmed with something so great happening,” Joseph said.
For now, Joseph and Ruben can only meet online. On Friday, News 8 spoke with Ruben, who only speaks Spanish.
“Una grande bendicion del senor!” Ruben said — “It’s a big blessing from God.”
“I agree; I’m so thankful that God has given me my family and to be able to see you after all these years of having you in my heart, now I can have you in my mind as well,” Joseph told his father on Friday.
“I gained a piece of my heart that I didn’t even realize was missing, but once I made that connection, and once everything became real then I realized, OK the last piece of the puzzle has been placed there, and it was finding my father,” Joseph said.
Joseph said he’s planning to meet with his dad, his dad’s wife and his half-sister in Texas very soon. He believes it’ll be love at first sight, and he’s grateful to God that he’s found him.