John Jefferson
Insets, from left: Breanna Watkins, Matthew Hunt and Richard Newlen (Jefferson County Sheriff). Background: Divers search a lake in Ohio for Newlen (WTOV).
Three people in Ohio are accused of faking the suicide of a registered sex offender by claiming to have seen him fall into a lake in a fiasco that tied up resources from multiple law enforcement agencies and required the use of three dive teams in the bogus search.
Breanna Watkins, 28, and Matthew Hunt, 43, face charges of inducing panic, making false alarms, obstructing justice, and falsification. The man they allegedly claimed had tried to kill himself is Richard Newlen, 40, a registered sex offender. He faces charges of tampering with evidence, inducing panic, and making false alarms, online court records show.
The case came to light on Aug. 25 when Watkins and Hunt claimed Newlen fell into the lake at Friendship Park in Steubenville, officials said. Newlen even left a suicide note for the pair to give to police, the Herald-Star reported.
The searchers included emergency medical services, fire, police, and sheriff’s deputies from multiple departments and counties were dispatched to find the man. Dive teams suited up and combed the water but did not find Newlen. Then authorities realized it was a hoax as Newlen remained on the lam.
“There was a 911 call made, and the individual reported that someone had went into the lake after a fishing pole and dove in and did not resurface,” Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla told local NBC and Fox affiliate WTOV at the time. “At which time, emergency responders responded out there and began a rescue and a recovery.”
“As the day went on and we started to get some information, we began to question whether or not anyone had actually went into the lake,” Abdalla continued. “We put men and women at risk getting in that water. We wasted tons of time and effort away from our families, all over a bunch of crap. Mr. Newlin should turn himself in right now, but I’m totally disgusted because, like I said, we’re putting people’s lives at risk looking for someone. We sat there and searched yesterday afternoon in that heat. Went through three dive teams, and for what, as these witnesses to this alleged drowning sat there and watched us.”
Newlen was arrested days after the search. He is a registered sex offender stemming from a 2013 conviction on charges of gross sexual imposition with a victim under 13 and illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or performance, WTOV reported, citing authorities. The cause of the alleged hoax was due to a deadline he missed to report his location to authorities as he’s required to do every six months, the Herald-Star reported.
The defendants are set to be arraigned on Wednesday, online court records show.
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