Friend of missing Marine arrested for false reporting

BOULDER, Colo. Authorities say a Marine who is missing after reportedly injuring his head while hiking in Colorado's Eldorado Canyon last week staged his disappearance. Boulder County officials say they're still looking for 21-year-old Lance Hering, who was back at Camp Pendleton, California, after being on leave from Iraq.

They say they've arrested Hering's friend, 20-year-old Steve Powers, for investigation of allegedly making a false report.

Authorities say they became suspicious when they re-interviewed Powers about his August 29th hiking trip with Hering. They say he eventually confessed that the disappearance was staged and that Hering was avoiding his return to duty.

Lieutenant Phil West of the Boulder Sheriff's Department says the developments have been reported to the Marine Corps and to Hering's parents.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/9807355/detail.html

Hering's Friend Arrested, Faces False Reporting Charges

UPDATED: 10:06 pm EDT September 7, 2006

BOULDER, Colo. -- After five days of searching to no avail, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office now believes that the Marine who was lost in the mountains was never missing and may have staged his disappearance.

Lance Hering disappeared just days before he was set to return to his unit in Camp Pendleton, Calif. He had just returned from Iraq in July.

His friend, Steve Powers, told authorities that Hering fell and hit his head while both were rock climbing on Tuesday, Aug. 29. Powers said he hiked out of Eldorado Canyon State Park to get help while Hering was told to remain where he was. When rescuers returned three hours later, Hering was nowhere to be found.

Powers, 20, was arrested Wednesday night after he admitted during police questioning that he made up the story about the hiking accident and helped Hering stage his disappearance, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office said.

"There were a number of inconsistencies in his story and as we pursued that with him in an extensive interview last night, he ultimately confessed that he and Mr. Hering had colluded in staging this whole event," Boulder County Sheriff's Lt. Phil West said.

Powers faces a misdemeanor charge of false reporting. However, the sheriff said he also plans to seek restitution for the tens of thousands of dollars expended in the search effort -- which was the largest search effort in Boulder County's recent history.

Massive Search Cost Thousands

The massive search started last Wednesday morning and ended on Sunday. The search included county officials, retired Marines and an Air Force ROTC group.

Powers was brought in for questioning Wednesday when investigators began to notice discrepancies and inconsistencies in his story. For example, Powers' timeline of events was improbable and left many questions unanswered, West said.

Also investigators thought it was suspicious that the repeated searches of the area where Hering was supposedly last seen, including several searches by canines, failed to turn up any evidence. And, when authorities learned that Hering had $2,000 cash with him and had discussed "disappearing" in the past, detectives grew concerned.

The motive for Hering's disappearance appears to be his reluctance to return to duty as a Marine, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office said. The 21-year-old was part of the 1st Marine Division and has been on leave from his duties. Authorities at Camp Pendleton said he will not be considered AWOL until his scheduled date to return to his unit at Camp Pendleton has come and passed.

. . .Hering's whereabouts remain unknown, though Powers gave investigators and military officials a number of leads on which they are following up. The sheriff said that they believe Hering is in another state, but they are not saying where.

Sheriff Joe Pelle said that authorities are shocked and angry about the way that the search has ended and the fact that the false report prompted an expensive but ultimately needless search.

"We are certainly a little embarrassed that we were duped -- angry," said West.

"The appropriate charge that we filed against Mr. Powers is a misdemeanor and that doesn't go anywhere near toward accounting for the cost that these two put the taxpayers through. So, the sheriff has already made an appeal to the district attorney to seek restitution from both of them as part of any plea considerations," West said.

West said the cost of the search has not been calculated yet but includes 7,000 man-hours, the use of a Denver police helicopter and other support costs such as fuel and additional deputies who were on the case.

According to Marine Corps officials, Hering is currently classified as "unauthorized absent" because he left before officials approved of his request for leave. If he fails to return by Sept. 11, he faces potentially much more serious federal charges.

He currently faces local charges.

Hering's Family Reacts

Pelle and Division Chief Dennis Hopper met with Hering's parents Wednesday night to inform them of the developments in the case. They have repeatedly denied that their son could be AWOL. In fact, when authorities called off their search on Sunday, Hering's family and friends continued to look for him.

His family is stunned and are still concerned for Hering's welfare and whereabouts, West said.

Brendan Hering, Lance's brother, has said it was an "insult" to suggest that his brother staged his own disappearance to avoid military duty. Air Force Lt. Brendan Hering, was on leave in Colorado from Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

"He doesn't run from his problems," Brendan Hering told the Daily Camera in Boulder for a story Wednesday. "He doesn't have any problems with the military."

Hering's parents, who helped in the search, have said they believed Lance's head injury may have caused him to lose his memory and become disoriented, possibly walking out of the park or asking for a ride.

State authorities were comparing DNA from human blood found at the scene where Hering was reported to have fallen while rock climbing to samples from Hering and Powers.

Brendan Hering said that about 10 years ago, Lance Hering hit his head and temporarily lost his vision and speech. A few days later, he suffered some short-term memory loss. He said his brother could be suffering a similar injury.

"My first take is this is a man who apparently has served our country in a combat situation in Iraq and he needs help," said marine veteran Rick Baum. "This man is hurting and he needs, really, a haven to come back to."

Baum was instrumental in the volunteer search effort for Hering. He said he is concerned about Hering's state of mind.

Anyone with information about Hering's whereabouts is asked to contact the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office immediately at 303-441-4444.

Desertion In The Military

The Pentagon has said simple desertion has been decreasing in the military in recent years -- about 2,500 troops last year didn't show up for work, down from almost 5,000 in 2001.

But groups that run the GI Rights Hotline, which helps servicemembers interested in getting out of their required service, have reported receiving more than 36,000 calls in 2005, and about 19,000 in the first six months of this year, up from fewer than 1,000 in 2001, two years before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

"Certainly, the numbers of people who are opposed to the war are going up," said Steve Morse, GI Rights coordinator for the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors. "Many people are going (absent without leave), more and more, some who are back from the war with post-traumatic stress disorder and many facing going back again say they are not going to go."

There have been several high-profile cases of people who refused to return to Iraq in recent years.

Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, an Arabic translator, faces two desertion charges after Navy investigators concluded he fled Camp Fallujah in Iraq in June 2004 and then failed to arrive at his base in Camp Lejeune, N.C., in January 2005. Hassoun is still missing.

Last week, Army Spc. Mark Wilkerson surrendered to authorities at Fort Hood, Texas, after being declared absent without leave a year and a half ago before his second deployment to Iraq. He said he wanted to turn himself in rather than "live in constant fear" of being arrested.

Wilkerson said his request for conscientious objector status was denied a month before his unit was to return to Iraq, and he decided not to return from two weeks of approved leave after learning his appeal would not be considered until he returned from another deployment.

Toronto attorney Jeffry House, who represents Army paratrooper Jeremy Hinzman, who is seeking political asylum in Canada, has said about 20 Americans have fled the military and applied for refugee status in Canada. House also has estimated 200 others were hiding in Canada awaiting the outcome of Hinzman's case

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