|
 The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department said Orville "Moe"
Fleming, a 55-year-old battalion chief with the California
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, has deep knowledge of
the Sierra and Santa Cruz mountains and the picturesque Yosemite
Valley.
Fleming, who has fire department keys giving him access to gated
trails and roads, disappeared a week ago after his 26-year-old
girlfriend, Sarah Douglas, was found stabbed to death at the home
they shared.
The hunt for Fleming, believed to be armed, comes just over a year
after former Los Angeles policeman Christopher Dorner fled into
Southern California mountains after a murderous rampage targeting
police officers and their families. That case ended in a fiery
standoff that left Dorner dead.
 The Fleming case has not yet sparked the same kind of intense
manhunt undertaken for Dorner, in which hundreds of officers joined,
in part because he had targeted law enforcement officials and their
families. Investigators said Thursday they have not yet been able to narrow
down Fleming's location, and hope public attention could bring
reports of sightings to help mount a targeted search.
The case took a prurient turn when sheriff's investigators said
someone from an escort service may have helped Fleming evade
capture.
"Investigators have discovered that Fleming has had contact with
many escorts he met through the website "My Redbook," the sheriff's
department said on its Facebook page.
After the murder, the fire department car that Fleming used was
found abandoned in a Sacramento suburb, the department said.
"Investigators are looking into the possibility that someone Fleming
knew, either through his contact with escorts, or through his
personal or professional life, picked him up and drove him away,"
the Facebook post said.
[to top of second column] |
Fleming has been fired from his job for not showing up for work from
April 30, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
spokesman Daniel Berlant said.
The sheriff's department, in a separate Facebook posting on
Wednesday, noted that Fleming had changed his appearance in the past
by shaving his head and mustache. He frequently wears a baseball cap
and has tattoos on his left arm and bicep, it said.
Even though a week has passed since Douglas' death, her assailant
would probably have sustained cuts on his hands and arms that would
require bandages, investigators said. They said Fleming owned two
pistols and should be considered armed and dangerous.
(Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Eric Walsh; Editing by Clarence
Fernandez)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
