More than three years after a California firefighter was reported drowned during a boating trip, the FBI’s San Francisco office is asking for help finding him. The FBI believes his death may have been staged.
Charles Johnathen Harris, who worked for the Alameda County Fire Department, disappeared in Suisun Bay on April 4, 2023. He was facing a federal charge of possessing child sexual abuse material.
“We have received, on more than one occasion, a sighting, a reported sighting of Charles Harris since the time of his alleged death,” Scott Schelble, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Francisco office, said in ABC10’s October 2 report.
The renewed effort follows conversations with family members and other people close to Harris, along with new tips.
That Spring
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A federal grand jury indicted Harris on March 2, 2023. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California announced that he surrendered on March 7 and appeared in federal court in Oakland before being released on bond with restricted internet access.
Federal prosecutors charged him with possessing child pornography on his iPhone, including images involving prepubescent children. The case began with a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and prosecutors contended that he uploaded material through Kik, including while at Alameda County fire stations.
His next court appearance was scheduled for April 19. Before that date arrived, he went fishing at night with his brother in Suisun Bay, north of Concord.
ABC10 reported that his brother swam to safety and reported that their boat had capsized. Search efforts recovered the boat, but Schelble said Harris’s remains were never located.
On April 21, a federal arrest warrant was issued in Oakland after Harris was charged with failure to appear.
A Familiar Face
Harris would now be 46. The wanted notice includes photographs taken in 2019 and 2023 and lists the aliases Chuck Harris and Charlie Harris.
Born in Modesto, he is described as 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighing 220 pounds, with red hair, blue eyes, and light burn scars on his hands.
Anyone with information about Harris can contact a local FBI office or submit a tip through the FBI’s online tip portal.
All parties are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.