John McAfee Caught? Not So, Belizean Official Says
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John McAfee/Facebook(NEW YORK) — Belizean officials are not buying John McAfee’s latest colorful tale, this one about his daring attempted escape from the Central American country with the help of a “double” and a false North Korean passport.
It goes like this: Over the weekend a blog maintained by McAfee and others claimed that the software tycoon, who is wanted for questioning about a murder in Belize, had been detained on the Belizean/Mexico border. But Monday a new blog post, written under McAfee’s name, said that the “John McAfee” taken into custody was actually a “double” who was carrying a North Korean passport with McAfee’s name.
The new post, called “I Am Safe,” says the real McAfee is “not in Belize, but not quite out of the woods yet.”
The spokesperson for Belize’s National Security Ministry, Raphael Martinez, told ABC News Monday that no one by McAfee’s name was ever detained at the border and Belizean security officials believe McAfee is still in their country.
“I am wondering… All of these allegations he’s making, they make you wonder if his state of mind is okay,” Martinez said.
McAfee’s blog says he is on the run with his 20-year-old girlfriend Samantha and two reporters from Vice Magazine. “We are well, but extremely tired,” he said.
The blog says he plans to release a video later Monday.
The founder of the McAfee anti-virus company has been on the lam since Nov. 11 when his neighbor, Greg Faull, was found shot in the head. Though he has not been formally charged with the crime and is only wanted for questioning, McAfee maintains his innocence and claims that he will be killed if he is taken into custody.
Martinez said that Belizean police have not launched an “all out manhunt” for McAfee, since he is only wanted for questioning, but that would “definitely” change if McAfee is deemed a suspect.
After hearing some of McAfee’s public statements in the early days of his flight from the authorities, Belizean Prime Minister Dean Barrow said the American expat seemed “extremely paranoid” and “bonkers.”
“They may call me as they wish,” McAfee told ABC News earlier this month. “I do not intend to turn myself in, no matter what they call me.”
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio