A man who federal agents had sought to question in connection with the disappearance of his girlfriend -- who turned up dead in Mexico -- appeared in San Diego federal court Monday on charges of using someone else's identity.
Tyler Adams, who the FBI said was known to use more than a dozen fake names and stolen identities and was described by some law enforcement officials as a 'master of disguise,' allegedly used another person's Arizona driver's license in order to enter the United States from Mexico through the San Ysidro Port of Entry in June of 2022.
The following day, the FBI's San Diego office put out a call to the public for information in locating Adams, who they said was wanted for questioning in the disappearance of his girlfriend, San Diego resident Racquel Sabean. Sabean's decomposed remains were found inside a vehicle in Tijuana about a month before Adams re-entered the United States.
Sabean's-then 7-month-old daughter was also briefly missing, prompting an Amber Alert to be issued, but the girl was later found safe, the FBI said.
Adams was detained in Mexico in connection with the Amber Alert and questioned about Sabean, "but was uncooperative," according to the FBI.
After crossing into the U.S., Adams spent approximately the next 18 months on the lam before he was arrested in Orange County in late 2023.
The federal charges in San Diego County pertain solely to his alleged use of another person's driver's license at the border. Adams pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of aggravated identity theft and making a false statement, a U.S. Attorney's Office spokesperson confirmed.
A complaint filed in federal court states that Mexican authorities deported Adams and he was handed over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers on June 16, 2022. CBP officers were told Adams' name was Aaron Lee Bain and that he'd been arrested in Mexico for drunken driving, the complaint states.