The end of the line for AWOL Marine Lance Hering

The strange story of Marine Lance Corporal Lance Hering -- whose story was chronicled in the April 2007 feature article "An Uphill Battle" -- just got a little stranger.

Hering first came to the public's attention when his best friend, Steve Powers, emerged from Eldorado Canyon in August 2006 and informed authorities that Hering, a Marine on leave from Camp Pendleton in California, had fallen while rock-climbing and hit his head. What ultimately turned out to be one of the most expensive search and rescue operations in Boulder County history eventually exposed the truth: Due back in Iraq in a matter of days, Hering had faked his death and disappeared. According to Powers, it wasn’t that Hering didn’t want to return to Iraq for fear of the trials of war. Rather, he had witnessed a murder of an Iraqi citizen committed by his fellow Marines and feared their reprisal.

Authorities continued to search for Hering, with occasional reports popping up here. A surveillance video of Hering in a Denver Greyhound station surfaced, too -- but for quite some time, it appeared as if the 23-year-old had simply vanished. Until now.

Hering was arrested Sunday in Port Angeles, Washington, near the Canadian border, along with his father, Lloyd Hering, who has now been accused of aiding and abetting his son. Hering will also face charges, both from the Marines and Boulder County. But for now, no one knows exactly where he has been for the past two years and what he's been doing. Plenty of mystery remains. -- Adam Cayton-Holland