A Man Has Been Accused Of Faking His Own Death To Avoid Multiple Rape Charges

The story began to fall apart after his 17-year-old son, who'd reported him missing, couldn't give a detailed account about what had happened.

A Scottish tourist may have faked his own death to avoid rape charges he was facing back in his home country, police told the Los Angeles Times.

Kim Gordon, who was visiting Carmel, California, from Scotland, was reported missing by his 17-year-old son on Feb. 25.

The teenager reportedly said his dad had disappeared while swimming at Monastery Beach. The beach's rough waters have earned it the nickname "Mortuary Beach" due to the high number of drowning deaths there.

After days of searching for a body, the US Coast Guard and California Parks Department could not find anything.

That's when the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office started taking a closer look at Gordon's background — and discovered he faces 24 counts of rape back in Scotland, according to KION.

Police began suspecting something was afoot after two interviews with the teenage son produced conflicting details about what had happened, such as how the pair got to the area.

"The son didn't actually see his father go in the water," Michael Dalington, the supervisor of the Monterey County Sheriff's Office dive team, told KION during the search. "We don't have a witness that saw him go in, so it's kinda like a needle in a haystack."

John Thornburg from the Monterey County Sheriff's Office told the LA Times it was the son's inability to give a detailed account of his father's alleged drowning that led them to believe it was all a hoax.

“The story we were given by the son can’t answer those questions, and that’s where it all started to fall apart,” Thornburg said.

The sheriff's office and police could not immediately be reached for comment by BuzzFeed News.

The US Marshals Service is now reportedly involved and will work alongside the sheriff's office to track down Gordon.

His son could also face charges for filing a false police report.

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