SKY NEWS
A man who is facing a child rape charge has been arrested after faking his own death in a kayaking accident, Louisiana police have said.
Melvin Emde, 41, was detained after crashing his motorbike while being pursued by police in Georgia for not having a number plate on Sunday.
The suspect, from Talihina in Oklahoma, had been reported missing by his son early on 7 August, authorities said.
Emde had been kayaking on the Mississippi River in Louisiana when he was last seen.
Authorities were told at the time that Emde had drowned.
Police carried out a search spanning two days and used divers, sonar, a small boat and a drone but no body was found, the St Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana said.
Meanwhile, investigators learned that Emde was due in court on charges of “indecent liberties with a child and statutory rape of a child” in North Carolina.
Louisiana Sheriff Greg Champagne said: “We immediately became quite suspicious that this may have been a faked…
Connect with us on our socials: