DENVER—A former Marine accused of faking his disappearance to avoid returning to his unit has reimbursed authorities for most of the cost of the massive search that took place after a friend reported him missing.
Lance Hering and his father, Loyd, presented the Boulder County sheriff’s office with checks totaling $30,705 on Thursday, the agency said.
Hering, a lance corporal and Iraq war veteran, was on leave from Camp Pendleton, Calif., when he disappeared in 2006. At the time, his friend Steve Powers told authorities that Hering was hurt in a rock-climbing accident near Boulder and wandered away while Powers went for help.
That prompted a five-day search in Eldorado Canyon State Park that cost $33,057 and involved hundreds of volunteers.
Powers later admitted the report was a hoax, and investigators found surveillance tape showing Hering getting on a bus in Denver.
Powers was ordered to pay for the search as part of a plea deal, but he has given authorities only about $2,300 so far. The sheriff’s office says Hering and his father volunteered to pay the rest.
“Upon the clearance of the checks, the matter of restitution in the search and rescue effort for Lance Hering will be considered closed by this office,” Cmdr. Rick Brough said in a news release.
Brough said the payment would have no bearing on Lance Hering’s pending criminal case.
Earlier this month, Boulder County prosecutors offered Hering, 23, the same plea deal it gave Powers, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor false reporting in January 2007 for helping Hering.
Under the deal, Hering would get no jail time in return for an admission of guilt, restitution, a letter of apology to the community, 200 hours community service and two years probation.
However, conviction on the misdemeanor charge means that both Powers and Hering would have a felony record because they were both given deferred sentences for attempted burglary in 2004.
Defense attorney Alex Garlin has said it’s unlikely Hering would accept the offer. Hering is scheduled to meet with prosecutors again May 29.
Hering was found in Washington state in November. He was discharged from the Marines after a hearing at Camp Pendleton in December.
