Homeless Man Reunited With Family After Being Missing For More Than 20 Years

Coleman Hartley’s family has been looking for him for more than 20 years.

When Sylvia Garcia found him homeless on the streets of Oklahoma City, she took to him, and wanted to help him.  

Garcia is a homeless advocate. She takes blankets and supplies to the homeless, and just tries to give them comfort. 

After multiple attempts to help Hartley, he finally agreed to new clothes. That’s when Garcia realized his condition was worse than she thought. 

“So when I pulled off his shirt, he had three shirts and an over shirt, I pulled that off and I noticed that his whole entire body was infected with bug bites," Garcia said.

At that point, Garcia called paramedics, and at Hartley’s consent, he was transported to the hospital.

After being told that Hartley’s health was not repairable, Garcia took to Facebook to find his family. Within seven hours, Garcia was contacted by a private investigator. 

“She said 'I found his only remaining sister,' and she put me on the phone with her, and she says, 'I live in Texas.' She says, 'I’ve been looking for my brother for over two decades,'” Garcia said. 

So, Hartley’s sister, Vickie Hartley, made her way from Texas to Oklahoma City to be reunited with her long-lost brother. 

Vickie Hartley said she has been looking or her brother, but it has been very difficult to find him.

“He’s not using his social security card, he’s not paying utilities, he’s not paying rent, hasn’t used a credit card, so it was a little hard to find him,” Vickie Hartley said. 

Coleman Hartley is excited to be reunited with family, and Vickie Hartley said she has no intention on losing her brother again.