After nearly six years on the run, an Iowa man who slipped out of an ankle monitor and faked his own death has been arrested 1,700 miles from his grandmother’s home, where he had been awaiting trial on child sexual abuse imagery charges, authorities said.
The man, Jacob Greer of Des Moines, Iowa, was found Monday and arrested in Spanaway, Pierce County, the U.S. Marshals Service said in a statement.
Greer, 28, who was described by authorities as a survivalist, was being held at the Federal Detention Center in Seattle until he could be taken to Des Moines for his trial. It was not immediately clear Wednesday whether Greer had a lawyer.
“The arrest of Jacob Greer after six years is a testament to the tenacity of deputy U.S. marshals and our investigative partners,” Ted G. Kamatchus, U.S. marshal for the Southern District of Iowa, said in the statement. “Even though the case went cold, they would not quit.”
Until his arrest this week, Greer had managed to evade capture since 2016.
In April of that year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested him on charges of receipt and possession of child sexual abuse imagery, the Marshals Service said.
He was released on bond and went to live with his grandmother in Des Moines. Under the terms of his pretrial supervision, he was required to wear an ankle monitor.
But on May 31, 2016, his probation officer received an alert that Greer’s ankle device had been removed, authorities said.
A search for Greer that drew on several agencies eventually led to his vehicle, which had a suicide note inside, according to the Marshals Service.
More than a week later, the statement said, the U.S. Forest Service found another vehicle associated with Greer at the Tuchuck Campground in Flathead County, Montana, which has seven campsites and trails for hiking and horseback riding.
“But Greer was not there,” the Marshals Service said.
Investigators said they discovered that Greer had bought a car using a $1,000 loan from a friend.
“He had fled Iowa with money, a bow, arrows and a backpack full of survival gear,” authorities said.
He had last been seen wearing a camouflage hat at a Walmart in Kalispell, Montana, on June 3, 2016. Authorities had issued a public alert to be on the lookout for Greer.
During their investigation, authorities said, they learned that Greer planned to live off the land in remote areas of the Pacific Northwest or southern Canada, hiding out in abandoned cabins.
A spokesperson for the Marshals Service did not immediately respond to questions Wednesday, including whether Greer had been living in the wild when he was arrested.