Rape suspect accused of faking his own death in the US is arrested

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jul/27/suspect-accused-of-faking-his-own-death-in-the-us-is-arrested

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A Scottish father accused of faking his own death in the US to escape rape charges at home has been arrested, police have said.

Kim Avis, who is facing charges of alleged rape and a string of sexual assault offences, was captured by US marshals more than 1,000 miles from the spot of his supposed disappearance.

The 55-year-old busker was arrested on Friday morning in Colorado Springs five months after police were told by his 17-year-old son that he had failed to return from a swim at a beach on the Californian coast.

But no trace was found of Avis at Monastery Beach – dubbed “Mortuary Beach” because of the number of drownings there – and police began to suspect a hoax after three days of searching. Avis’s teenage son could not recall crucial details, including how the two got to California’s coast after flying to Los Angeles from Scotland.

“There was a lack of detail,” John Thornburg, Monterey county sheriff’s captain, said at the time. “The son, who reported it, couldn’t even tell us where he went in under the water.”

In March, Avis was spotted in Monterey county, northern California, driving a white Ford van. Yesterday, Monterey county sheriff’s office announced that Avis – also known as Ken Gordon-Avis – had been captured by US marshals, who are responsible for tracking down fugitives.

In a Facebook statement, the sheriff’s office said: “Back in February, the Monterey county sheriff’s office received a report from Avis’s juvenile son that his father had not returned from a swim at Monastery Beach.

“Many resources were used, including a coastguard helicopter, a sheriff’s office drone and our dive team, to search for Avis, with no success. We continued to investigate the case and learned that Avis was out on bail for 24 felony sexual abuse charges pending in Scotland. After speaking with his ex-wife, we became suspicious of the drowning report. We re-interviewed his son and determined he was not telling the truth. Avis’s son was returned to Scotland with the help of Monterey county child protective services.

“Over the next few months, deputies worked with the US marshals service, Interpol and Scottish authorities to secure an arrest and extradition warrant for Avis. Thanks to the efforts of the Northern District of California, San Francisco, US marshals were able to secure a warrant through Interpol and the Scottish authorities.

“Last week, US marshals were able to track him to Colorado Springs due, in part, to a report in March that Avis was spotted in Monterey county driving a newer white Ford van in the Big Sur area.”

Avis is being held by US marshals until an extradition hearing in Colorado Springs later this month, the sheriff’s office added. He failed to appear at the High Court in Edinburgh in March where he was due to stand trial.