STOCKHOLM — American officials are trying to convince a man who claims to be a wanted US Air Force deserter to turn himself in after 28 years on the run, his Swedish lawyer said Friday.

Last month, a man alleging to be 49-year-old David Hemler from Cleona, Pa., contacted Stockholm-based lawyer Emma Persson, saying he missed his family and wanted to reveal his true identity after living in Sweden under a false name for nearly three decades.

For years, the former airman has been listed as ‘‘a security issue’’ on the Air Force most wanted list of fugitives.

The man, who went public with his story two weeks ago, said he had deserted his post at an American base in Augsburg in southwestern Germany in 1984 for ideological reasons.

ASSOCIATED PRESS