WILLIAMSPORT - Harley J. McKeag’s obituary was published almost exactly two years ago. Now, authorities say McKeag has been arrested in Canada and will return to face charges in Pennsylvania.
Harley J. McKeag, 30, formerly of the Linden area, has agreed to be extradited after being arrested in Canada and turned over to authorities in Niagara County, N.Y., Thursday.
An obituary for McKeag was printed in the Williamsport Sun-Gazette on July 28, 2017. The obituary said McKeag had died six days earlier in Los Angeles.
"We never thought Harley was dead,” Lycoming County District Attorney Kenneth A. Osokow said Sunday. “We never believed it. We thought the obituary was a fake.”
McKeag was charged with theft of a car and retail theft by state police and Williamsport, both of Aug. 10, 2016. McKeag was released on a combined $35,000 unsecured bail.
Bench warrants were issued in both cases in May 2017 after McKeag failed to show for court proceedings. Court records show McKeag has 2006 convictions for forgery, criminal trespass and receiving stolen property and received short jail terms followed by probation.
McKeag was arrested by Canadian authorities on warrants not removed from records systems because investigators did not believe McKeag was dead, Osokow said.
On Thursday, McKeag appeared in court in New York State after being turned over by Canadian authorities.
McKeag had been charged by both Williamsport and state police in 2017 as a man. Lycoming County court records list the individual as Harley Joseph McKeag. McKeag now goes by Harley Jo McKeag and is identified as female.
Authorities have no explanation for the change in gender identification.
The obituary described McKeag as a female who had lived in Los Angeles for seven years. McKeag’s obituary stated she left Williamsport “due to the ignorance that surrounded her being a hermaphrodite."
“She had never allowed it to bother her when someone made reference to her as a him, sir or a boy.
“She always said, “I’m the best of both worlds, God does not make mistakes and people are going to talk about you till the day you die and then some.”
The obituary described McKeag, also known as Anya McKeag, as “a vibrant spirit with a kind loving generous heart of gold.
“She was a 15 year old runaway, who put herself through college and was on a path to success being a former model and CEO of Lotus & The Frog Inc.”
The Facebook page for Lotus, which is in Los Angeles, states it offers body detox, energy healing, natural homeopathic medicines, aromatherapy and massage therapy. McKeag is listed as the contact person.