thedrifter
10-07-06, 07:49 AM
Sheriff wants Marine to pay
False report led to $32,000 search in Eldorado Canyon
By Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News
October 7, 2006
BOULDER - Marine Cpl. Lance Hering and his climbing partner, Steve Powers, should have to pay back the $32,000 spent to search for Hering when he was falsely reported missing in Eldorado Canyon, Sheriff Joe Pelle said.
Powers, 20, reported that Hering, 21, disappeared Aug. 29, while they were climbing southwest of Boulder. That set off a five-day search requiring helicopters, equipment and 7,000 volunteer hours.
Under questioning by investigators, Powers admitted the whole thing was a ruse, a way for Hering to disappear so he wouldn't have to return to his unit, which likely was headed back to Iraq.
Later, investigators found a videotape showing Hering boarding a Greyhound bus in Denver, just hours after he was reported missing.
Hering's girlfriend told investigators he had been thinking about skipping out for a long time and had planned to be declared dead and have the survivor benefits funneled to him.
Powers was arrested for false reporting, and Hering, who remains a fugitive, is wanted on two outstanding arrest warrants. He was due back at Camp Pendleton in California on Sept. 18.
In an interview with the Daily Camera this week, Powers said he participated in the plot because he feared for Hering's life, saying he might be killed by fellow Marines back in Iraq because his unit has eight soldiers in jail on charges of killing an Iraqi civilian.
Sheriff's investigators assume Hering has left the county, if not the state.
Pelle wants the Boulder District Attorney's Office to require the $32,000 reimbursement as part of any deal struck with the two men. He said the amount includes overtime wages, fuel reimbursements for volunteer search and rescue groups from across the state, the use of the Denver Police Department helicopter, and miscellaneous expendable supplies. The total does not include wages for sheriff's deputies or time by volunteer rescuers.
scanlon@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-442-8729
Ellie
False report led to $32,000 search in Eldorado Canyon
By Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News
October 7, 2006
BOULDER - Marine Cpl. Lance Hering and his climbing partner, Steve Powers, should have to pay back the $32,000 spent to search for Hering when he was falsely reported missing in Eldorado Canyon, Sheriff Joe Pelle said.
Powers, 20, reported that Hering, 21, disappeared Aug. 29, while they were climbing southwest of Boulder. That set off a five-day search requiring helicopters, equipment and 7,000 volunteer hours.
Under questioning by investigators, Powers admitted the whole thing was a ruse, a way for Hering to disappear so he wouldn't have to return to his unit, which likely was headed back to Iraq.
Later, investigators found a videotape showing Hering boarding a Greyhound bus in Denver, just hours after he was reported missing.
Hering's girlfriend told investigators he had been thinking about skipping out for a long time and had planned to be declared dead and have the survivor benefits funneled to him.
Powers was arrested for false reporting, and Hering, who remains a fugitive, is wanted on two outstanding arrest warrants. He was due back at Camp Pendleton in California on Sept. 18.
In an interview with the Daily Camera this week, Powers said he participated in the plot because he feared for Hering's life, saying he might be killed by fellow Marines back in Iraq because his unit has eight soldiers in jail on charges of killing an Iraqi civilian.
Sheriff's investigators assume Hering has left the county, if not the state.
Pelle wants the Boulder District Attorney's Office to require the $32,000 reimbursement as part of any deal struck with the two men. He said the amount includes overtime wages, fuel reimbursements for volunteer search and rescue groups from across the state, the use of the Denver Police Department helicopter, and miscellaneous expendable supplies. The total does not include wages for sheriff's deputies or time by volunteer rescuers.
scanlon@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-442-8729
Ellie