The FBI added a Bay Area firefighter to its Most Wanted list three years after a boating “drowning” agents say may have been staged to escape child pornography charges.
Charles Johnathen Harris, a firefighter paramedic with the Alameda County Fire Department, was placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted list years after he reportedly drowned on a nighttime fishing trip in Suisun Bay, and after his body was never recovered.
The Daily Mail reported that federal agents say the circumstances around his disappearance warrant further scrutiny, including the possibility that his death was staged. Harris had been free on bond and facing a federal child pornography case when he vanished weeks before a required court date.
He was 46 in the Most Wanted materials. He had been living in Greeley Hill in Mariposa County, near Yosemite, and was described as married with a child and three siblings. The wanted notice also listed aliases “Chuck Harris” and “Charlie Harris,” along with light burn scars on his hands.
Investigators from the FBI, the San Jose Police Department, and the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office moved on Harris after a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. They said he allegedly possessed child pornography images on an iPhone and uploaded graphic images on the Kik platform, including while on duty at a fire station.
Police arrested him on January 8, 2023, in San Leandro. Federal prosecutors charged him in March 2023 with possession of child sexual abuse material.
Then-Mayor Juan Gonzalez called the allegations “deeply concerning.” He also said, “We absolutely understand the anger and disappointment caused by the arrest of a first responder.”
On March 7, 2023, Harris made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Oakland before Magistrate Judge Kandis A. Westmore. Court records described him as 42 at the time. He was released on a $100,000 unsecured bond with limited internet access.
A week later, on March 14, the court eased the terms again. Harris no longer had to remain on house arrest, though he still had to submit to location monitoring. His next court date was set for April 19, 2023.
If convicted, he faced up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and restitution ordered by the court.
On April 3, 2023, Harris and his brother went out on Suisun Bay near Dutton Island, about 33 miles north of Berkeley, for a nighttime fishing trip on a windy day.
A resident later told the U.S. Coast Guard that a man swam up to his dock and said the boat had overturned around 11 p.m. while he and his brother were fishing. Harris’s brother said he spent eight hours in the water looking for him.
Helicopters and boats searched for the next two days. No body turned up.
When the boat was located, the plug was reportedly missing, a detail prosecutors later flagged in court.
Harris was due back in federal court on April 19, 2023, roughly 15 days after the reported drowning. He did not appear.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Volkar pressed for a warrant and told the court local authorities had been working hard to find Harris or his body. “I say all that, Your Honor, just to say that there are a lot of questions, and I do believe that the local authorities have been working very hard to get answers to those questions to find Mr Harris or his body,” Volkar said.
U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam did not hide his skepticism. He said “there are certain aspects of his story that don’t quite match up.” He added, “I can’t even begin to predict, but let’s see where things go,” and, “I have a feeling we will probably have an answer of some sort.”
The judge issued the warrant.
Three years after the Suisun Bay incident, the FBI added Harris to its Most Wanted list and renewed a public appeal for information. The bureau’s wanted poster states the circumstances warrant further scrutiny, “including the possibility that his death was staged.”
Legal analyst Steven Clark told NBC Bay Area that tips may already be in play. “There may have been tips that came into the FBI of a sighting of Mr. Harris. That is frequently the case,” he said.
Clark also warned how hard it is to disappear for good. “It is very difficult now for someone to stay under the radar.” He said agents will look for signs of life, including whether Harris has communicated with relatives, and noted that anyone helping him could face a “federal felony of up to five years in prison.”
The brother who went fishing with Harris was questioned about the death. Public reporting has not settled whether Harris is alive, dead, or still only suspected of staging the scene. The FBI’s posture is clear enough: treat him as a fugitive until proof says otherwise.
A first responder is supposed to run toward danger and protect the vulnerable. Instead, Harris was charged with collecting and sharing images that exploit children, walked out on a six-figure unsecured bond, got his house-arrest terms loosened, and then vanished on the water before he had to face a judge again. Taxpayers paid for the helicopters, the boats, the court time, and the manhunt. The least the system can do now is refuse to shrug and pretend a missing boat plug and an empty bay close the case.
