Rape suspect fled police into a river. He tried drowning a K9 before he went under, Ohio cops say

A Cincinnati sex offender faced several new charges this month — including rape, assault and sexually battery, according to police.

But rather than face arrest on those felony warrants, Robert Kasee, 34, ran from police into a heavily forested area near the Kentucky side of the Ohio River on Wednesday, according to the Cincinnati police department. From there, Kasee got into the river and started swimming.

A police dog pursued Kasee into the waters around 1 p.m. as officers tried to arrest him, police said. That wasn’t stopping Kasee, though. He just tried to drown the dog, according to police. The dog managed to escape Kasee’s grasp and paddle back to shore, WKRC reports.

Kasee wasn’t so lucky, police said. He’s now presumed dead.

Kasee remained in the water for some time before officers spotted him go under two times. After that, Kasee wasn’t seen again despite a “lengthy search and rescue operation,” according to Cincinnati police. On Thursday, when police picked up the search again, their efforts had become a “recovery” rather than search mission.

Cincinnati police announced Thursday afternoon that the department and Kentucky authorities who helped pursue Kasee will be conducting an administrative review of the incident. Kasee’s family and the victims of his most recent alleged crimes have been notified, police said.

Helicopters and boats have been used to try to find Kasee to no avail, FOX 19 reports. Police said the dog bit Kasee as he scrambled through the woods and into the water.

Kasee had been working at a construction site in the Kentucky suburbs of Cincinnati on Wednesday when officers tried to apprehend him, WKRC reports. After fleeing officers once, Kasee came back to the same construction site roughly an hour later. That’s when police tried taking him into custody again.

But this time, Kasee escaped Cincinnati and Ludlow, Kentucky, police into the river, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Kasee is currently accused of raping two women in Ohio — one in April 2017, and another in May of this year, the Enquirer reports. He served a three-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in 2011 to gross sexual imposition and sexual battery.

Kasee is a tier-three sex offender and was most recently a Cincinnati resident, according to the Ohio state sex offender registry.

Court documents obtained by WKRC said neither of Kasee’s most recent alleged victims could have given consent, and that he used force in one of the incidents.

This story was originally published June 14, 2018 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Rape suspect fled police into a river. He tried drowning a K9 before he went under, Ohio cops say."