Florida sex offender Gary Howard arrested in Indiana 16 years after faking death

Florida Man Who Faked Death Arrested after 16 Years on the Run

After nearly 16 years on the run, a Florida man who faked his own death to escape arrest was finally apprehended in Indiana. Gary Wayne Howard, 74, had been evading law enforcement since 2010 when he staged his death in an attempt to avoid capture.

Howard was arrested at his home in the Indianapolis area by US Marshals, who had been tracking him down for years. When confronted by agents, Howard chillingly remarked, “I had hoped to be dead before you caught up with me.”

Howard, a convicted sex offender in Florida, had been found guilty of possessing child pornography in Pinellas County in 2007. Despite being branded a sex offender for life, Howard violated his probation and fled to Indiana in 2010.

Authorities believed that Howard had died by suicide after he abandoned a rental car near Mauzy Lake in Kentucky. However, it was later revealed to be a staged attempt to fake his own death and escape justice.

An arrest warrant was issued for Howard in 2011 when he failed to register as a sex offender in Florida. Despite being on the run for over a decade, Howard was finally caught due to the diligent efforts of law enforcement.

Howard, who had been living with relatives in Indiana, was arrested at his home in the Irvington neighborhood. He is currently being held in Vanderburgh County Jail and is facing extradition to Florida to face charges of probation violation and failure to register as a sex offender.

In addition to his Florida charges, Howard is also facing an “Adam Walsh prosecution case” in Indiana, a federal law aimed at protecting children from exploitation and preventing child abuse and pornography.

US Marshal William Berger Sr. commended the efforts of law enforcement in apprehending Howard, stating, “You can run, you can hide, but law enforcement never stops hunting those who defy it – justice has a way of catching up to those who run from it.”