Missing kayaker Melvin Emde is arrested for pretending to drown on the Mississippi River later that day to avoid child rape charges
- Melvin Emde, 41, of Talihina, Oklahoma, was reported missing by his son
- Police were immediately suspicious at the time of the “disappearance” as he was due to appear in court later that day
- But they played along by searching the river and looking for information
Police in Louisiana lulled an alleged child rapist into believing he got away with faking his own death on the day of his trial.
Melvin Emde, 41, was reported missing by his son after he allegedly fell out of a kayak on the Mississippi River in Hahnville on August 7.
The local sheriff’s office determined that he had purchased two prepaid phones in nearby Boutte that day and was also scheduled to be in court, but sent a search party to the river and appealed for information.
“We immediately suspected that this may have been a faked accidental drowning and death so that Mr. Emde could avoid charges in Brunswick County, North Carolina,” said St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne.
“However, we couldn’t reveal our suspicions publicly for fear of tipping him off.”
Emde disappeared on the day he was to be charged with child rape in North Carolina
Police sent officers to the suspected site of his disappearance along the Mississippi River in Hahnville
St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne said the disappearance sounded like a “pretty good invention.”
“So we kind of left it at the missing person report, another person who just drowned in the river and whose body hasn’t turned up.”
“It sounds like a pretty good invention they came up with, but like most of them, they don’t work.”
Deputies worked with authorities in North Carolina and the U.S. Marshals Service to track down Emde’s new phones, but were hampered by his “discreet” handling of the devices and the fact that he rarely turned them on.
He was finally found at 3:30 a.m. Sunday when a Georgia State Highway Patrol trooper attempted to stop a motorcyclist who did not have a license plate.
The driver sped off before crashing and being arrested.
He gave a false name but was identified as Emde, of Talihina, Oklahoma, when officers took his fingerprints.
Local sheriffs have filed a series of appeals for the missing 41-year-old after he reportedly fell from a kayak on the Mississippi River
The “search” for Emde was unsuccessful, although the investigators displayed high-tech equipment
Emde was eventually found by Georgia Patrol officers, who spotted him riding a motorcycle with no license plates
Now he’s facing charges of wasting police time in Louisiana, there’s also a rape case in North Carolina, and prosecutors are also considering charges against his son.
“Fundamentally, filing false reports, which we call a public records violation in Louisiana, is a crime,” Champagne said.
“Obviously he’s dealing with more serious things.”
“Now it’s time for Mr. Emde to face the music of his protégés in North Carolina.”