Hell of a way to break off an engagment

[BULLO12]

Man Found After Faking Death 20 Years Ago

Arrest Leads To Discovery Of 'Drowning Victim'

POSTED: Wednesday, January 28, 2009

UPDATED: 6:47 pm EST January 28, 2009

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A tourist who was believed to have drowned in Daytona Beach was found alive Tuesday in North Carolina almost 20 years after he faked his death, officials said.

Bennie Harden Wint, 49, of South Carolina, vanished in the ocean in 1989 shortly after getting engaged. His fiancee was on the beach when he swam offshore and did not reappear.

A search using helicopters and jet skis failed to locate Wint, who authorities believe swam north or south then got out of the ocean.

Wint was located in North Carolina when he was arrested on suspicion of giving police a false name and driving with a suspended driver's license.

A Volusia County lifeguard said he remembers the incident and always thought it was suspicious because no one actually saw Wint go under the water.

Scott Petersohn with the Volusia County Beach Patrol also said the incident likely affected other lifeguards on duty that day.

"It's always in the back of your mind, you know, 'Did I miss somebody?' Apparently not, and that's the bad part of this. For 20 years, this guard has been thinking he might have missed something when it turns out this was some kind of hoax. That's a crummy thing to do," Petersohn said.

Officials said they believe Wint faked his death to avoid marrying his fiancee. It is not known if his former fiancee, who had returned to South Carolina, has been made aware that he is alive.

Wint has been released on bond.

[Sunil]

This story isn't over until we get to hear and see the fiancee....then we can all be as judgemental as we want  ;D

[Guest steveosan]

Wow. Reminds me of that movie Double Jeopardy. Except it doesn't look like the wife was charged with his murder in this case. Now THAT would be a story.