GENESEE TOWNSHIP, Mich. - An e-mail led Joe Baumgart to the son he never knew he had. And he lives only seven miles away.

The discovery began Feb. 26 when Baumgart, 48, got an e-mail asking if the name "Habbershaw" meant anything to him.

Baumgart had lived with a woman with that last name about 20 years ago but said she moved out one day without telling him why she was leaving.

Curious, Baumgart clicked on the sender's profile and was amazed by the pictures he saw.

"It was like looking at a mirror image of myself," said Baumgart of Genesee Township.

The profile belonged to Justin Habbershaw, a Richfield Township Eagle Scout who had just turned 18. The teen said he had wondered for years about the father he had never known. But Habbershaw said his mother had refused to reveal the name, saying she would tell him when he reached 18.

"I figured that was her personal business," said Habbershaw.

Once Habbershaw got the name Feb. 8, he typed it into Google and began his search. The first few links led Habbershaw to doctors, but then he found a Joe Baumgart on wayn.com - a MySpace-type community site. Baumgart said he had created a profile to meet new friends.

Instead, he said, he found a son.

At first, the pair were leery. Baumgart didn't want to scare off Habbershaw with a rushed meeting, so the pair continued to exchange e-mails until finally setting up a meeting at restaurant a couple of weeks ago.

"We hugged and cried for a little bit," said Baumgart.

Since then, Baumgart has been introducing Habbershaw to family members and trying to build a relationship.

Habbershaw said the discovery still makes him emotional.

"Tears come to my eyes. I'm so happy," he said.

In the nearly two decades since he last saw Habbershaw's mother, Baumgart said she never contacted him and he never knew she was pregnant.

"I don't know what happened," he said. "I came home one day and she was gone."

She could not be reached for comment.

Baumgart said he since has had contact with her and has no doubt that Justin is his son.

"I knew just by looking at the pictures," said Baumgart, who also has a 14-year-old son.

The pair are trying to make up for lost time before Habbershaw enters the U.S. Marine Corps in August.

Although Baumgart missed out on much of Habbershaw's life, he said he is proud of the man he now knows as his son.

"His mother did a fine job of raising such a fine young man," said Baumgart.