Wife Finds Husband 9 Years After He Disappeared - Married to Another Woman

When Karen Marx's husband disappeared in 2005, she thought she might never see him again.

Adam L. Marx left no note, never called and gave no explanation – he just vanished, reports USA Today .

For years, Karen searched for her husband. And then one day, nearly a decade later, she found him – married to another woman.

"I just thought, 'How could he get married again?' " Karen said. "Am I dead? What did he do with my identity?"

She shouldn't have been surprised, though: It wasn't the first time Adam had left a woman while still married. It wasn't even the first time he'd left Karen.

Karen met Adam when he was still married to another woman.

"I figured, 'He's going to get divorced, and this means he really wants to be with me and the kids,' " she said. "We'll be one big, happy family."

Adam did eventually divorce his first wife. He married Karen a year later – on Valentine's Day.

But shortly after, he disappeared. That time, he left a note.

"The first time he left me, it was like somebody reached into my chest and ripped my heart out of me," Karen said. "He basically told me it was all my fault and he couldn't handle my kids."

Adam came home a few months later, in time for Karen's Christmas bonus.

"My ultimatum was, 'If you ever do this to me again, I won't take you back,' " she said. "I did it once. I won't do it twice."

But things soured once again, and Karen stayed true to her promise. Adam packed his things and left, leaving his wife to deal with the debt he'd racked up.

"I was trying to start a cleaning business, and after he left me, that totally ruined everything," she said.

She didn't hear from him for nine years, other than seeing him once in a Kmart parking lot, where she asked him for a divorce. He said he'd call her, but never did.

Needless to say, it was a bit of a shock to find out he was married.

"He told people it was his first marriage," she said. "I think people need to start doing their job and doing it thoroughly, especially when it comes to something like this."

Adam now faces charges of bigamy, fraud and making a false statement on a marriage license, according to USA Today .

For her part, Karen plans to file for divorce. And unlike her husband, she won't date (or marry) anyone until it's final.

"I consider myself married," she said. "I thought when you married someone, you married him for life, through sickness and health."