MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. – Police in California are investigating the case of a man who they believe faked his own death in order to avoid facing 24 counts of rape in his homeland of Scotland.
Kim Gordon, who is believed to be in his 50s, had been reported missing by his 17-year-old son on February 25. The teen told investigators that his father disappeared after going for a swim at Monastery Beach in Monterey County.
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Officers said they spent three days searching by land and water, but there were no signs of Gordon. Investigators learned that nobody actually saw Gordon enter the water, and as the search progressed, the son's story began to fall apart.
"As we dug deeper and as the deputies started looking into it and with assistance of the detectives from the sheriff's office, it started to crumble and fall apart, and it looks like he is trying to avoid prosecution out of Scotland," said John Thornburg of the Monterey County Sheriff's Department.
KSBW learned that Gordon is a known street trader and performer from Iverness in Northeast Scotland. He is supposed to appear in Scottish court on March 11 to face the rape charges.
U.S. federal agents are now on the lookout for the accused rapist.
"One story is or one rumor out there is that he hitchhiked or that they hitchhiked," said Thornburg. "We can't show how they got here, which is where stories start- facts don't start to match up, more questions start to get asked and that's how this really started to fall apart for them."
Investigators said Gordon's son, who returned to Scotland on Thursday, may be charged with filing a false police report as well as aiding and abetting a wanted fugitive.