Dead man walking: Fleeing sex offender caught alive 16 years after faking own death in bizarre stunt

New York/Florida (The Uttam Hindu): A shocking case has emerged from the United States. Police here have arrested a notorious sex offender they had believed dead for the past 16 years.

The suspect faked his own death with such seriousness that he himself was convinced he would (really) die before he was caught. According to local police, the Florida-based criminal was arrested in Indiana this week.

According to local media reports, Gary Ben Harvard was convicted in 2007 in Pinellas County, Florida, on 22 felony counts, including possession of child pornography. The court subsequently declared him a "lifetime sex offender."

To avoid punishment, Gary defrauded everyone by fleeing Florida to Indiana in 2010. According to authorities, he parked his rented car in a Kentucky lake in a cunning plot to make it appear as if he had committed suicide .

Police became aware of the incident when Gary failed to register as a sex offender in 2011. They subsequently issued an arrest warrant for him. However, the case eventually cooled, and police became convinced that Gary had committed suicide.

How he was caught:

However, recently, police received a tip that Gary was still alive. According to the New York Times, police officers discovered that Gary had several acquaintances living in Indiana. Following this, US Marshals increased patrols in Indiana and eventually arrested Gary.

Even at the time of his arrest, he was saying he hoped he would be dead before he was apprehended. He is currently being held at the Banderburg County Jail. A court order has been issued requiring Gary to be brought back to Florida to face his crimes.