PORT ANGELES, Wash., Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Police say they have arrested 23-year-old U.S. Marine Lance Hering in Port Angeles, Wash., for allegedly going absent without leave by faking his own death.
The Denver Post said Monday Hering was arrested last weekend along with his father, Lloyd, and both have been charged in relation to the AWOL marine's disappearance in 2006.
Authorities allege Hering attempted to make it appear he had fallen to his death in Colorado's Eldorado Canyon in summer 2006 as part of an attempt to avoid military service in Iraq.
Steve Powers, a climbing companion of the marine, allegedly confessed to the attempted scam after a lengthy search of the canyon.
Police were able to arrest Hering, who had served a seven-month tour in Iraq prior to his disappearance, on Sunday at a Port Angeles airport thanks to a tip made from the marine's hometown of Boulder, Colo.
The Post said Hering was wanted on charges of desertion, a crime with a potential death penalty sentence while his father has been charged with aiding and abetting a criminal.
