The FBI suspects a former California firefighter staged his own death to avoid facing federal child sexual abuse material charges.
Charles Jonathan Harris, a former firefighter with the Alameda County Fire Department, was indicted in March 2023 on a federal charge of possessing child sexual abuse material. Weeks later, Harris and his brother went fishing in Suisun Bay, where their boat capsized, and Harris was reported missing. His body was never recovered.
“Law enforcement officials believe the circumstances warrant further scrutiny, including the possibility that his death was staged,” the FBI said on Harris’s “Most Wanted” page.
The circumstances surrounding Harris’s disappearance raised questions among investigators in 2023. Authorities located the boat but found that it was missing a boat plug, prompting federal prosecutors to tell a judge that there were unanswered questions about what happened.
“It’s missing a boat plug,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Volkar told U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam during an April 2023 hearing.
“I say all that, your honor, just to say that there are a lot of questions,” Volkar added, saying local authorities were working to “find Mr. Harris or his body.”
Harris’s brother said the two men had been fishing on April 4, 2023, in a 15-foot boat when it capsized at about 11 p.m. Harris’s next court appearance was scheduled for April 19.
The Coast Guard searched the area for two days after Harris’s disappearance, but he was never found.
Harris’s attorney, Stephen Prekoski, disputed the suggestion that his client had survived the accident. He told the judge that Harris’s brother reported Harris had “succumbed” after about an hour in the water.
Prekowski also urged the judge not to issue a warrant for Harris and said he believed his client had died.
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“As far as I’m concerned, he died innocent,” Prekoski said in a subsequent phone interview, reiterating Harris’s not guilty plea.
Harris had surrendered to federal authorities the month before his disappearance and was released on a $100,000 unsecured bond. He was ordered to stay off the internet while awaiting further proceedings. If convicted, he would have faced a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.