Free Republic

A Marine escort picked up Lance Cpl. Lance Hering at the Clallam County jail ...to take the AWOL Marine to Camp Pendleton in San Diego... Port Angeles police officers arrested Lance Cpl. Hering — who may face desertion charges after staging his disappearance in Colorado and spending 26 months in hiding — last Sunday at William R. Fairchild International Airport in Port Angeles. Hering was reported missing in August 2006. A friend said Hering had wandered off after he was injured in a rock-climbing accident near Boulder. After a massive search, authorities concluded the report was a hoax.

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...