Missking kayaker arrested for 'faking his own death' to dodge child rape charge
20 September 2023, 12:06
A man who was missing for over a month and assumed dead has been arrested on rape charges.
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Melvin Emde, 41, from Talihina, Oklahoma, was reported missing by his son Seth while kayaking in August. Seth told authorities his father drowned in the Mississippi River near Hahnville, Louisiana.
Emde was facing charges of "Indecent Liberties with a Child and Statutory Rape of a Child by an Adult" in Brunswick County, North Carolina, and was due in court the day after he went missing.
A spokesman for St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office said: "We immediately became quite suspicious that this may have been a faked accidental drowning and death in order for Emde to escape charges in Brunswick County, North Carolina.
"However, we could not publicly expose our suspicions for fear of tipping him off."
He was arrested on September 17. Detectives learned that Emde was wearing an ankle monitor as a condition of bail, and were able to track him through that and two prepaid phones that he was using.
Police found Emde on a motorcycle without a licence plate and took him into custody. Fingerprint records revealed him to be the missing kayaker.
Sheriff Greg Champagne from St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office said: "Now it’s time for Mr. Emde to face the music for his charges in North Carolina.”
