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.Divers in Tahiti searched for cluesin the waters off the island of Moorea in a lagoon on the north coast.The missing trio had spent time there just before they disappeared.There were no signs of the boat, but Dabord turned up shortly after-wards thousands of miles away in the United States when Dele s busi-ness manager noticed that something was amiss with the former NBAplayer s finances.Kevin Porter had met Dele in college and they became close friends.When Dele joined the NBA, Porter became his business manager.He would sign the checks that Dele approved to help out his brother.On August 31, 2002, he discovered that a personal check for $152,000had been drawn on Dele s account to purchase Golden Eagle coins fromMurder on the High Seas: The Case of Basketball Player Bison Dele (2002) 383a dealer in Phoenix, Arizona, called Certified Mint.The check had anaddress for a Mail Boxes Etc.franchise in Miami and the signature didnot match the one that the bank had on file.This set off alarm bells for Porter.Dele used certified checks or acredit card to pay bills; he had not written a personal check in 10 years.He also did not have a mailbox with Mail Boxes Etc.Porter phonedCertified Mint and learned that the purchaser had requested the coinsbe delivered to the mailbox.The owner of the shop provided the twotelephone numbers that Dabord, posing as his brother, had given.When Porter phoned one of the numbers, the answering machine hadDele s usual message but it was his brother s voice.The man pretending to be Bison Dele phoned Certified Mint onSeptember 3 and said that he would come pick up the coins in Phoenixtwo days later rather than having them mailed to the Miami address.Porter informed Phoenix police that something was amiss.Dele andDabord s mother, Patricia Phillips, flew to Phoenix with Porter the fol-lowing day.She told investigators in Phoenix that Dabord had beensomewhat estranged from the family for about three years, but that hewould return after one of his  get rich quick schemes had failed.Thebank notified the Phoenix police department that a possible forgery hadoccurred.Dabord arrived at Certified Mint on the afternoon of September 5,2002, and identified himself as Dele.He showed Bison s passport asproof.The Phoenix police took him into custody.He was in possessionof Bison s passport and two credit cards.Dabord told police that Delehad authorized the transaction, and he was released that evening withoutpolice filing any charges.When Dabord left the police station, Porter waswaiting.He questioned him for hours about the fate of Dele, Karlan, andSaldo.The discussion ended at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.Accordingto an interview that Porter granted ESPN, when Porter insisted thatDabord divulge the whereabouts of the missing trio, Dabord allegedlysaid,  We re in a state that carries the death penalty.I m flying to a state[California] that carries the death penalty.In order for me to tell youanything I have to be in Mexico. Then Dabord boarded a plane to PaloAlto, California, just after 5:30 AM on September 6, 2002, and disap-peared again.The same day that Dabord was questioned by Phoenix police, a friendof Captain Saldo found the Hukuna Matata docked in the port of Taravaoon the east coast of Tahiti.A pair of French and American flags thathad faded from the sun were hanging from its mast.However, the boat384 Cold Cases: Famous Unsolved Mysteries, Crimes, and Disappearances in Americahad been repainted and renamed the Aria Bella.There was no sign ofDele, Karlan, and Saldo.French authorities suspected foul play; theybelieved that Dabord had killed the trio and tossed the bodies overboard.ARREST WARRANTOn September 6, the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued an arrestwarrant for Dabord for identity theft and forgery.Agents searched forhim in Mexico.Officials from the FBI in San Francisco also sent a teamof 13 forensics experts to Tahiti to investigate the disappearance ofDele, Karlan, and Saldo and search their boat for clues as to their fate.The FBI later learned that Dabord had his brother s checking accountstatements forwarded to the two mailboxes he had rented.He also pur-chased a cellphone in Dele s name and apparently planned to buy abusiness in Belize in Dele s name.The FBI believed that he was planningto assume his famous brother s identity.Dabord s former girlfriend Erica Weise was listed as the boat sprimary emergency contact.Authorities got in touch with her, and shetold the FBI and the Sonoma County Sheriff s Department what shehad learned from Dabord while driving him from Northern Californiato the Mexican border [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]