JACKSON, Miss. - A man suspected of faking his death to avoid charges in Mississippi, where he is accused of raping and impregnating his 14-year-old stepdaughter, was added to United States Marshals’ Top 15 Most Wanted list on Wednesday.
In July 2018, police found a note in a dinghy off the shore of Orange Beach, Alabama, from police found a note from Jacob Blair Scott, who was to be charged in the crime.
“If you find this, contact Melody Scott,” said the note, then listing a phone number. “My name is Jacob Scott, Jackson County.” Written under his social security number, the note read, “I’m sorry.”
Now, authorities say that Scott, 43, didn’t actually commit suicide and that it appears he faked his own death.
According to WSFA, authorities found an unspent bullet with blood on it in the dinghy where the note was found, along with a gun tied to the side. Police believe the gun was placed there to look like he had committed suicide.
"He was out on bond, but had failed to appear for a scheduled court hearing, when investigators found his abandoned dinghy off the coast of Orange Beach, Alabama, in July 2018," the U.S. Marshal's Office said in a release. "During their search of Scott’s vessel, authorities found a gun and a note, but little forensic evidence indicating a suicide. A week-long search of the Gulf of Mexico was conducted for Scott’s body, but his remains were never found. Authorities later discovered Scott had withdrawn $45,000 from a bank account before his disappearance. The money was never recovered."
Scott is a purple heart veteran. He's wanted by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in Mississippi for charges of sexual battery, touching a child for lustful purposes and exploitation of a child. There have been reported sightings of Scott in Mississippi, Colorado, Nevada and Louisiana. U.S. Marshals believe he’s in Colorado now.
Scott is described as 5-foot 10-inches tall and weighing 225 pounds. He has brown hair and blue eyes. Scott also has several tattoos of a machete knife, scorpion, and a compass with feathers with the Bible verse Isaiah 6:7: "With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’”
Authorities are offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
If you have any information, call 1-877-WANTED-2.