Police say sister helped man fake death on beach

KATHERINE TATE Port Aransas police have arrested a Rockport woman for allegedly helping her brother fake his own drowning on a Mustang Island beach.

Police arrested Katherine Tate, 34, on Friday, May 29, said Port Aransas Police Lt. Darryl Johnson.

Tate is accused of lying to police that her brother, Larry James Tate Jr., disappeared while swimming in the surf off Port Aransas on Sept. 22. Katherine Tate was on the beach that day and stood by while police and Coast Guard personnel searched the waters for her brother, Johnson said.

Police believe Katherine Tate helped her brother fake his death so he could avoid prosecution for crimes in Arkansas, his home state. Larry Tate was charged with incest, failure to appear in court and sexual assault, police said.

Police spotted Larry Tate at a Wal- Mart store in Fort Smith, Ark., on April 25, and officers arrested him after a short foot chase.

Coast Guard officials have said those responsible for lying about Larry Tate’s disappearance could be ordered to pay for the cost of searching for the man, which totaled about $180,000.

After a Port Aransas Police Department investigation, Port Aransas Municipal Court Judge Duncan Neblett issued warrants charging Katherine Tate with hindering apprehension or prosecution, a third-degree felony; perjury, a Class A misdemeanor; and making a false report to a peace officer, a Class B misdemeanor.

Johnson said he and Port Aransas Police Sgt. Sandy Franco drove to Rockport and contacted Katherine Tate by phone. She obeyed a request to turn herself in at the Aransas County Sheriff’s Department headquarters, Johnson said.

Katherine Tate later was taken to jail in Port Aransas, then transferred to the Nueces County Jail in Corpus Christi. She was released on $6,500 bond on May 30, according to a jail spokesman.