A Mississippi man accused of molesting a 14-year-old girl may have faked his own death and could be hiding in Colorado, the Biloxi Sun Herald reports.
Jacob Blair Scott has been missing since late July, when authorities in Orange Beach, Alabama, found Scott’s abandoned boat with a suicide note in it.
Investigators say they were suspicious of the scene from the start. A gun was tied to the boat and there was not very much blood or other physical evidence.
“Normally in situations where somebody is shot, committed suicide, you’re going to have other forensic-type evidence. For example, brain matter, hair, skin, bone. None of that was found,” Deputy U.S. Marshal Katrina Crouse told KMGH-TV in Denver.
A search of the Gulf Coast was eventually suspended. Crouse told the news station that authorities think it’s odd that a body hasn’t been found, because bodies typically float to the surface.
The U.S. Marshals, and authorities in both Mississippi and Alabama, reportedly believe the 42-year-old Scott is hiding in Colorado because he has family there.
Scott went missing just days before he was scheduled to plead guilty in a sex crimes case.
Meanwhile, Scott’s mother, who lives in the Denver area, asserts he is dead. She told the television station that the 14-year-old victim in the sex crimes case seduced her son.
A judge issued an arrest warrant for Scott the same day the search was suspended, making him a fugitive.
Investigators have since learned that Scott withdrew $45,000 from a retirement account before he went missing.
There also have been multiple sightings of him since the boat was discovered. One of his friends notified police that he saw Scott driving in Mississippi in early August.
In late December, a tipster reported that someone matching Scott’s description had been seen at an apartment complex in Denver.
Metro Denver Crime Stoppers is offering up to $2,000 for information that will lead to the capture of Scott. Call 720-913-STOP (7867), or text the letters DMCS and a message to 274637. Tips can be anonymous.
