Fake Green Beret Nabbed

June 11, 2002 10:40 am EST

Reuters

OWEN SOUND, Ontario - An American man, who allegedly claimed to be in the U.S. military's special forces and directed rescue operations after the collapse of an Oklahoma bridge last month, likely faces extradition to the United States, Canadian police said on Monday. William Clark, 29, is wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for fraud and larceny after reportedly showing up at the May 26 bridge collapse, which killed 14 people. Clark allegedly took charge of rescue operations, telling local police he was a special forces captain. He was arrested on Sunday while waiting for a ferry in western Ontario.

"The criminal investigation section will be working with Canadian and U.S. officials on a process to return him," said Staff Sgt. Don Hillman of the Ontario Provincial Police.

Clark, from Tallapoosa, Missouri, showed up two hours after the bridge collapsed clad in army fatigues and a green beret. He stayed for two days and then disappeared. During his stay, police allege he got free food, lodging and a pickup truck.

Newspaper reports said emergency workers got suspicious about Clark even as they followed his orders.

"'Captain Clark' had a substantial paunch for a special forces soldier and a habit of racing an all-terrain vehicle up and down the riverfront near a boat ramp used to embark on rescue missions," according to a report in one Canadian newspaper.

Fourteen people were killed when their cars plunged off a highway bridge that collapsed after being struck by a barge in Webbers Falls, Oklahoma.

At least 17 vehicles plunged 100 feet (30 meters) from the bridge when two connected barges, guided by a tug, struck the span, knocking down a 500-foot (150-meter) section.

The vehicles slammed into one another, forming a mangled pile of metal in the rain-swollen Arkansas River.

Clark, who was wearing army fatigues and had a loaded rifle in the pickup truck when he was arrested, was denied bail at a court appearance on Monday. He will next be in court on June 17.

In Canada, he faces weapons and immigration charges as well as possession of property obtained by crime, Hillman said.