Former North Carolina police chief arrested after faking his own death

A former North Carolina police chief who was the subject of a missing person search was arrested this Thursday morning, WCET reports.

Columbus County Sheriff Jody Greene says former Chadbourn police chief Anthony Spivey was hiding in at his aunt's residence. Spivey's aunt, Brenda Rowele, said she didn't know she was harboring a fugitive that her nephew had missed a court appearance earlier in the week.

“I was told different stories, but I do know and I will state to the fact that he is not no drug addict like they say he is. Columbus County cops is doing him wrong,” Rowele said of her nephew’s legal troubles.

Spivey has 40 outstanding warrants for failure to appear for a total bond of $1 million. He was arrested in April 2021 and accused of repeatedly raiding the Chadbourn Police Department’s evidence room, and stealing a variety of narcotics, and thousands of dollars in cash, and firearms. In June of last year, he was charged with embezzling $8,000 meant for a family whose relative died from leukemia.

Spivey missed a court appearance earlier this month, claiming he could not attend because he had COVID. After missing another court appearance on Monday, his attorney said Spivey was missing, and may have committed suicide.

After investigating, authorities said the evidence they collected -- which included an abandoned boat at a local river, handwritten letters, and a .22 caliber rifle with a discharged round still in it -- suggested that Spivey did not commit suicide.

“However, with Spivey still missing, dive crews searched waters, and tracking teams searched the wooded areas for Spivey. Search and rescue crews conducted searches for three days, including several agencies assisting with aerial coverage, K9 sniffing, and sonar scanning. Meanwhile, Criminal Investigators were conducting a separate investigation," a police press release stated. “As investigators collected video from surveillance systems and conducted interviews, it became even more apparent that the scene on the river was staged.”

Read the full report over at WCET.