Rape Suspect Ends Hiding, Turns Himself In

The eight-month search for a man accused of child rape has ended, and Snohomish County authorities are crediting community cooperation.

Don Maurice Geer, charged last summer with six counts of first-degree rape in assaults on two girls aged 10 and 4, turned himself in Sunday to authorities at the Skagit County Jail. He was later booked into the Snohomish County Jail.

Geer had been sought since he failed to appear for trial in Everett Aug. 8.

When the Snohomish County sheriff’s office requested help from the community, fliers were posted by the Stanwood-Camano Island News, the city of Darrington and Community Transit. Local media reported the story.

When Geer turned himself in Sunday, he told authorities he saw the photos of himself and articles about his case everywhere he went, sheriff’s spokeswoman Jan Jorgensen said. When he saw himself on television, he panicked and hid out in the woods, eating freeze-dried foods and losing 25 pounds.