WEIRDO OF THE WOODS

Survivalist Who Faked Suicide to Dodge Child Porn Charges Arrested After 6 Years

Jacob Greer fled the state six years ago, armed with little more than a bow and some arrows, and disappeared.

A Des Moines man who left a suicide note in an attempt to evade child porn charges, fleeing with little more than a bow and some arrows, was arrested on Monday—six years after his disappearance. Jacob Greer, 28, was found and detained by U.S. marshals in Washington state, where he remains until he can be extradited back to Iowa to stand trial. Greer was first arrested back in April 2016. Authorities granted him pretrial release, and, outfitted with an ankle monitor, he went to live with his grandmother. The next month, Greer’s abandoned vehicle was found with a suicide note inside. His body was not recovered, though investigators knew that he’d been tampering with his ankle monitor, and issued a federal arrest warrant. During their search, authorities learned that Greer had left the state with the weapons, money, and a backpack full of survival gear. He had planned to escape to a series of remote cabins in the northwest U.S. and southern Canada, according to a press release from the U.S. Marshals Service for the Southern District of Iowa. It was not immediately clear if he accomplished that goal.