A man faked his own death to avoid being prosecuted for raping his stepdaughter, authorities say

Scott was awarded the Military Purple Heart Medal for injuries he suffered while deployed in Iraq. Photo / 123RF

From the beginning, investigators had their doubts about the purported suicide. The dinghy found drifting off the Alabama coast on July 30, 2018, had a gun tied to it but contained no body and little blood. There was a note, but something about it, scrawled with the name Jason Blair Scott and the words "I'm sorry," seemed off.

And then there was the criminal case. Scott, a survivalist and Army veteran who was awarded a Purple Heart for injuries he suffered while deployed in Iraq, disappeared days before he was due to stand in a Jackson County, Mississippi, courtroom and plead guilty to sexually assaulting his 14-year-old stepdaughter.

Suspicions that Scott had faked his own death were confirmed this week, the US Marshals Service said, when authorities found and arrested the 43-year-old man at an RV park in the small city of Antlers, Oklahoma. He is believed to have spent the past year and a half hiding out there, growing a beard and taking on the name Luke.

The ruse came to an end less than 24 hours after Scott was added to the agency's "Most Wanted" list - the fastest apprehension in the 37-year history of the programme, officials said.

"This was certainly a collective effort, and if it wasn't for the dogged determination of these investigators and then getting the experience of the Marshals, we may have never known the truth about Mr. Scott's disappearance," Jackson County District Attorney Angel McIlrath said during a Thursday news conference. "We believed that he was alive, and we were confident in our ability to apprehend him and locate him."

As of Friday, Scott was in custody in Oklahoma. He is expected to be extradited back to Mississippi to face the criminal charges, which now include the federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

The case against Scott began when the victim's older sister took her to a hospital to report him, according to the Biloxi Sun Herald. There, the newspaper reported, staff discovered the girl was pregnant. Scott was arrested the same day; DNA evidence later confirmed he was the father.

The victim had kept quiet about the abuse for months, her mother told the Sun Herald, because Scott threatened her.

In September 2017, a jury indicted him on 14 charges, including child exploitation and sexual battery, court records show. He posted bond and was released from jail - a decision McIlrath defended Thursday as his constitutional right.

Scott's wife filed for divorce and got a restraining order against him, but he continued to terrorize her family, the Sun Herald reported. He repeatedly violated restraining orders and was jailed once, getting out after posting US$65,000 ($100,166) bail. The mother told the paper she knew he would flee.

"He wasn't the type of person to own up when he did something wrong," she said. "He said he'd never go to prison."

Scott, who faced a potential life sentence, was reportedly set to accept a plea deal at the time of his disappearance. The details of the deal were not immediately clear on Thursday.

When the abandoned dinghy was discovered off Orange Beach. Alabama, authorities conducted an extensive search for a body, Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell said during Thurday's news conference. After a week, the search was called off and a warrant issued for Scott's arrest.

"We didn't believe from day one that he had committed suicide," Ezell said. "And so we just continued following what leads we had."

Investigators discovered that Scott had withdrawn US$45,000 ($69,356) from his bank account before vanishing. There were possible sightings of him reported in Colorado, Mississippi, Nevada and Louisiana. But, still, Scott evaded capture.

Then came Wednesday's announcement that he had been named one of the marshals' "15 Most Wanted" fugitives. In a news release, the agency noted that his military experience and knowledge of the outdoors "may enable him to live off the grid." The reward for information leading to his arrest was upped to US$25,000 ($38,531).

"Jacob Scott stands accused of unspeakable crimes against a child," U.S. Marshals Service Director Donald Washington said in a statement. "The Marshals will leave no stone unturned until we bring him to justice."

Around 6pm, a few hours before the case was featured on Investigation Discovery's "In Pursuit With John Walsh," the marshals got the tip that led them to Scott.

When law enforcement arrived at his RV, he initially refused to give his name, authorities said. But they identified him based on his tattoos: a machete, a scorpion, compass and "Isiah 6.7," a reference to a Bible verse that reads, "The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: 'Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.'"

At that point, said Inspector Jeremy Stilwell of the US Marshal Service, "he decided to come forward and say he's Jacob Scott."

Authorities soon called the victim's mother to tell her of his arrest. In an interview with the Sun Herald, she said her daughter cried after hearing the news.

"She feels safe now," she said.