An Australian politician under investigation for reportedly joining the civil war in Syria claims to have had 10 years' experience in the army and left behind a wife and three sons when he disappeared several weeks ago.
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Matthew Gardiner, 43, switched off his phone and "defriended" most of his friends on Facebook after disappearing from his Northern Territory home.
He has reportedly joined Kurdish forces fighting against Islamic State in northern Syria.
The Australian Federal Police confirmed they were investigating Mr Gardiner's movements.
Mr Gardiner was stood down as the president of the Northern Territory branch of the Labor Party and had his membership suspended on Sunday following the shock allegations.
His last post on social media on December 16 was a plea following the Sydney siege: "Don't give in to hate #illridewithyou."
However, of his thousands of other social media posts, there was not a single mention of overseas conflicts or Islamic State.
Mr Gardiner was more concerned with championing the rights of public service workers in the Northern Territory, heckling the state's Liberal MP Natasha Griggs and posting happy snaps of his three sons, aged between three and 11.
He posted recently about teaching his son to ride a bike and making breakfast in bed for his wife.
He often made reference to his background as a soldier, saying he had 10 years' experience in the military, including service in combat areas.
"I served as a soldier for many years to uphold this country's ideals and these racist rants aren't those ideals," he posted in 2011 following calls from shock jocks for defence members to fire warning shots at unruly detainees at a Darwin immigration detention centre.
His wife, real-estate agent and slow-food campaigner Andrea Gardiner, has been left behind with their sons.
Friends have been left dumbfounded as to why the dedicated father and vocal unionist would suddenly leave to join the deadly conflict.
He faces a lengthy prison term if he ever returns to Australia because it is illegal to fight on either side of the Syrian conflict.
On Monday, federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said Mr Gardiner had made a "mistake".
"Whatever the guy's motivations, you're not going to solve things by going there," Mr Shorten told Fairfax Radio.
"He obviously feels very strongly about fighting ISIL but I don't think it's the right way to go about it, just to up sticks.
"I think he's made a mistake."
Mr Gardiner was also the treasurer of the peak body Unions NT and the secretary of hospitality, childcare and emergency services union United Voice in the Northern Territory.
He resigned as the secretary of the United Voice union just before he disappeared.
Mr Gardiner was born in Sydney and appeared to be an avid supporter of Parramatta and the NSW Blues in rugby league
