An Indiana father has been reunited with his long lost son after he was abducted 18 years ago at the age of five. Last week, at the age of 23, Nathan Slinkard finally made it home.

According to reports, Nathan disappeared from Greenville, Indiana without a trace in 1995 after his mother, Trena, lost custody of her three children in a divorce from Nathan’s dad, Steven. Investigators suspected the mother had taken off with the children, but they were unable to track down any leads or determine where to look for them.

After almost two decades, authorities now know that Steven Slinkard’s ex-wife fled to Mexico with her three children, where she and Nathan’s siblings continue to live. That’s where Nathan walked into U.S. Consulate’s office earlier this year and asked to come home.

Lieutenant Ted Munden with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department confirms that last week, Nathan arrived back in Indianapolis and was reunited with his father.

"I've been involved in law enforcement for 17 years, and this is by far the most unusual and most rewarding thing I've been involved with," said Munden. "Unfortunately there are a lot less happy endings than there are good endings. Sometimes the kids are never heard of again. Or when they do, so much time has passed, they don't want any relationship, especially if they were young enough that they didn't have memories of their parent."

Munden says Trena Slinkard could still face felony charges for violating a custody order, but Nathan did offer authorities any information on her whereabouts. "His mother and brother and sister were touchy subjects, and we didn't talk a lot about them," said Munden. "I think if he tells too much information, it's going to affect their lives. They're happy, healthy and alive. He told his siblings they're free to come back if they choose to do so."

Nathan told authorities that he wants to attend college to pursue a career in medicine.

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