US man thought to have staged his own disappearance found in Queensland

Kenneth Rodman allegedly confessed to police that he had been listed as a missing person since 2010 when they approached him on an unrelated matter

Kenneth Rodman was travelling in north Queensland on a tourist visa when he was reported missing in December 2010 . Photograph: Queensland police

Queensland police have chanced upon a US man who appears to have tried to fake his own disappearance in the state’s tropical north more than four years ago.

Kenneth Rodman was 55 and travelling on a tourist visa when he was reported missing in December 2010, having last been seen by a friend on the way to a beach in Mowbray, near Mossman.

Rodman’s green kayak, with which he had travelled around Australia, was recovered from Wangetti beach the following month and family in the US had no contact from him since.

It is understood Rodman came to the attention of officers investigating an unrelated crime north of Cairns on Saturday night, mistakenly believing they had come for him.

Rodman allegedly confessed to police he had been listed as a missing person, having been featured regularly in missing person reports since his 2010 disappearance.

He was detained by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection ahead of his deportation from the country, police said in a statement.

Police, who suspected Rodman was living in far north Queensland, thanked the public for reporting sightings of the US citizen since 2010.