Port Graham man charged with faking his own death to avoid prison sentence

A 34-year-old man and his girlfriend have been charged with conspiring to fake his death by making it look like he had died in a boating accident in late November.

Ryan Riley Meganack, known as "Unga," and 25-year-old Ivy Rose Rodriguez were charged Wednesday in the U.S. District Court with conspiracy and false distress.

A commercial fisherman, Meganack is a longtime resident of Port Graham, roughly 30 miles south of Homer. He was scheduled to plead guilty to a charge in a 2015 sexual assault case in December 2016, charging documents say.

Prosecutors allege that Meganack and his girlfriend hatched the scheme to avoid prison time by making it look like he had gone missing after a boating accident.

In late November, Meganack constructed a "makeshift camp" in the woods near Port Graham, charging documents say.

On Nov. 29, he took his fishing vessel, F/V Aires, out to nearby Passage Island and abandoned his skiff. He then returned on his fishing vessel to Port Graham, where Rodriguez got on board.

Together, they traveled to a tidal lagoon next to Port Graham Bay, secured his fishing boat and returned to town on land.

Prosecutors say Meganack then went to the makeshift camp and Rodriguez returned to her home in Port Graham.

Around 2 a.m. on Nov. 30, Rodriguez began sending Facebook messages to Meganack's family. Rodriguez told the family he had been drinking and had taken off in the skiff, which "wasn't running right," the charging documents allege.

She sent a series of messages later that morning saying she was worried and that he hadn't returned home.

Around 2 p.m., the family member asked whether the Coast Guard had been called, charging documents say.

"Not yet," Rodriquez replied.

An extensive search for Meganack ensued.

Federal, state and local officials, along with local residents, searched for him in poor weather conditions of snow, high winds and low visibility.

A Coast Guard helicopter found the abandoned skiff around 5 p.m., swamped on Passage Island with its engine down and keys in the ignition.

The search for Meganack continued through Dec. 1. Late that evening, Alaska State Troopers got a tip that Meganack might be in hiding.

He was found safe at the campsite on Dec. 2, according to troopers.

Meganack was in violation of his parole and was arrested and taken to the Homer jail.

The U.S. Coast Guard sent helicopters and the Coast Guard Cutter Naushon to look for him, spending $310,897.50 in resources over the course of a few days.

On Wednesday, Meganack was also charged with possessing a firearm, and prosecutors are asking for his Norinco Poly SKS rifle to be forfeited if he is convicted.

A twice-convicted sex offender, Meganack is already serving time at the Goose Creek Correctional Center in Point MacKenzie for the 2015 case in which he pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual assault.