Police looking for man who faked death

CARROLLTON, Ky. - When rescue crews in Kentucky couldn't find the body of a man who jumped from a bridge after writing a suicide note, they became suspicious.

Two weeks later, police say they were alerted to YouTube videos that show the man — 40-year-old Wade Meisberger— is alive.

Carrollton Police Chief Michael Willhoite told WLKY-TV that officers believe the man speaking in the videos is Meisberger.

Willhoite says Meisberger is wanted on a probation violation. He was convicted of killing a man and the theft of his car in Bloomington, Ind., almost 20 years ago and served several years in prison before being released on probation about five years ago.

Police said they found clothes, a wallet with Meisberger's identification and a suicide note after receiving a report of a jumper on the Carrollton-Prestonville Bridge on June 21.

"We searched approximately 10 hours that day, trying to make a recovery of Mr. Meisberger. By the end of that evening, it was under the impression by the Boone County Water Rescue that Mr. Meisberger was not in that river. So, we began working on the theory that this might be a staged event," Willhoit said.

Then the videos began surfacing. Five have been posted to a Facebook page in Meisberger's name.

One status reads, "I am alive and a fugitive on the run!" In a video, the man says he doesn't want to return to prison.

"From the videos we've seen, it's obvious to us Mr. Meisberger is not acting in a rational, sane way," said Willhoite. "So, his mental status would be something I would question."

Willhoite said Meisberger doesn't face any criminal charges in Carrollton, but a civil suit could be filed to recoup expenses for the agencies that searched the river for his body.

Meanwhile, Willhoite says officers are still searching for Meisberger.