'Missing' kayaker faked Louisiana drowning death to avoid child-sex charges, police say

A missing kayaker has been arrested in Georgia after officials said he faked his own death one day before authorities learned he was due in court on child rape charges in another state.

Melvin Phillip Emde, 41, was arrested by authorities following a high-speed pursuit in Tift County in south central Georgia on Sunday, St. Charles Parrish Sheriff Greg Champagne told USA TODAY Tuesday.

The area where he was taken into custody is about 500 miles from where Champagne said Emde was facing felony child sex-assault charges in Brunswick County, North Carolina, just south of the state's coastal city of Wilmington.

The suspect's arrest comes on the heels of a weeks-long multijurisdictional investigation by state, local and federal law enforcement that spanned four states.

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A kayak and an alleged midnight drowning

On Aug, 7, Emde was reported missing by his son. According to initial reports, Emde allegedly went overboard and drowned while kayaking about midnight in the Mississippi River in Hahnville, Louisiana, located 30 miles west of New Orleans.

At the time of the report, the father and son, both from Talihina, Oklahoma, were in Louisiana for work after Hurricane Ida, Champagne told USA TODAY.

"They (the father and son) traveled thought southeast country doing storm-related work," the sheriff said.

On Aug. 8, the day after Emde's son reported him missing, Champagne said detective learned Emde was due in court in North Carolina that same day on a pending charges of indecent liberties with a child and statutory rape of a child.

"We treated this as a missing persons case, but the day after it happened we were pretty sure it was a hoax," the sheriff said.

But Champagne said detectives could not publicly expose their suspicions for fear of tipping Emde off.

"Through investigation detectives learned earlier on the day of the reported drowning, Emde visited Walmart in Boutte and purchased two prepaid phones," the release continues.

Working with North Carolina authorities with help from United States Marshals, detectives tracked the phones − one "discreetly used" and only turned on for short periods of time. The search focused in Emde's home state of Oklahoma, the release says, until authorities said they learned the phones were no longer active.

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A traffic stop, a pursuit and a motorcycle crash

Champagne said early Sunday, about 3:30 a.m., a Georgia State Highway Patrol trooper attempted to stop a motorcycle for reportedly not having a license plate. The motorcyclist fled at a high speed, Champagne said, crashed, and its driver − later identified as Emde, attempted to run but was taken into custody.

It was not immediately known if Emde had obtained an attorney. Details about his rape charges were not released by officials.

Champagne said Emde is like slated to be extradited to North Carolina and will later return to Louisiana for pending felony charges including filing a false report.

Champagne said charges are also likely to be filed against the man's son and said the investigation was ongoing Tuesday.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior correspondent for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @nataliealund.