DOJ: Mother faked her own and son’s deaths in custody battle

PORTLAND, Ore. - A Canadian mother is accused of going through extraordinary lengths to avoid a custody dispute by faking the deaths of herself and her son, stealing a friend’s identity, and then fleeing to the United States.Federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against Dawn Walker in the U.S.

District Court of Oregon last Friday.Walker faces charges of aggravated identity theft, a felony, and possession of false identification documents, a misdemeanor.Authorities said Canadian investigators contacted Homeland Security investigators in Oregon last Thursday and said that Walker had entered the U.S.

with her child without permission. Walker had picked the child up from his biological father just weeks prior.  RELATED: Brooklyn grandmother, grandson were poisoned to death months apart, says medical examinerCanadian authorities said after they put out a missing alert for the mother and child last month, a citizen came to report several items were located at a local park.The items included a blanket on the ground, a purse with ID, and a broken fishing pole lying halfway in the water.Prosecutors said Walker created this checklist to help stage the disappearance. (Credit: U.S.

Attorney's Office) The ID matched Walker and authorities originally suspected foul play. They later suspected the mother and son were swept away by a current and died but continued to offer a $10,000 reward for information on their whereabouts.