Sep 12, 2006 1:16 pm US/Mountain
Missing Marine's Family Seeking Answers
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) ―
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Lance Hering, a Marine who was reported missing last week, is now accused of staging his disappearance according to Boulder County Sheriff's Department investigators.
CBS
The father of a Marine suspected of staging his disappearance to avoid duty urged people not to jump to conclusions, saying there were too many unanswered questions. The parents planned to talk to reporters Tuesday afternoon.
"We just don't know anything, and I don't think anyone does," Lloyd Hering told the Daily Camera of Boulder in Tuesday's editions. "All we have is questions, and there are some big questions."
Hering, the father of Lance Cpl. Lance Hering, 21, declined to answer questions from The Associated Press about his son.
A friend reported the younger Hering was injured and lost consciousness in a hiking accident in the foothills northwest of Denver on Aug. 29. The friend, Steve Powers, said he went for help but couldn't find Hering when he returned.
Boulder County sheriff's deputies said Powers later changed his story to say the disappearance was faked. Powers was arrested last week on misdemeanor charge of false reporting. Sheriff's officials said they would seek restitution for the thousands of dollars spent on a five-day search.
The Marine Corps has classified Lance Hering as "duty status unknown," said 1st Lt. Esteban Vickers, a spokesman for Camp Pendleton, Calif., where Hering was due to return to duty Sept. 18. If he doesn't return by then, he could face charges of desertion, unauthorized absence and making a false report, Vickers said.
"Our No. 1 concern is that this Marine is safe and unharmed," Vickers said.
The sheriff's department had said last week Hering was due to return to duty Sept. 11. Sheriff's Cmdr. Phil West blamed the discrepancy on confusing paperwork sent to his agency by the Marines.
Lance Hering's family has said he would not fake his disappearance. They have said he may have suffered a head injury that left him disoriented.
Hering faces a Boulder County arrest warrant accusing him of violating the terms of a deferred sentence he received after pleading guilty to a burglary and obstructing a police officer in a 2004 break-in. Under terms of his sentence, he could avoid penalties if he stayed out of trouble for two years.
Hering is with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, which returned from Iraq early last month, military officials said. Hering was not expected to return to Iraq until at least 2008.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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