Man leaves Colorado to seek marriage with Facebook friend in Athens; police warn him it's a scam

A woman who goes by the name of Sarah has Facebook pictures depicting a luring young woman with a dazzling smile, sensitive blue eyes and a model’s figure.

Supposedly, she lives in Athens.

Months ago, a 72-year-old electrician from Colorado with the first name Jack befriended her on Facebook. Soon a romance bloomed. He drove to Athens.

On March 21, Jack drive to the Athens-Clarke County Police Department on Lexington Road and a report was filed showing he has sent $32,000 to Sarah. The report was listed as theft, but the officer noted that Jack “is convinced she is real, lives here in Athens and is a homeless nurse.”

Contacted this week, Jack told the Banner-Herald that he still believes he and the 30-year-old Sarah will marry. Currently, he is living in a motel in Athens after he sold his home in Colorado. He is in the process of divorcing his wife.

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All these decisions were made in an effort to be with the beautiful woman he saw on Facebook.

“I have never met Sarah,” he said. “I’ve known her for a year by texting. I trust her explicitly. She said she wanted to marry me, so I gave her money to buy a house.”

He also revealed that he and Sarah had plans to meet this week. He planned to pick her up at her workplace.

“I don’t know where that is yet, but I’m sure she’ll let me know. I trust her,” said Jack, who has a lung disease.

Jack said their relationship wasn’t built on money.

“All I have is Social Security. I sold the house in Colorado and that’s how I had some money and now because of my motel bills it’s almost gone,” he said.

Jack said he is already engaged to Sarah, but he would wait until his divorce is final before marrying her.

“I’ve given her an engagement ring, so she knows I’m serious. I sent her the money and she bought the ring,” he said. However, he noted the engagement lacked the romance of them selecting the ring together.

“She wanted the ring so bad,” he said about why he sent her the money.

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The text messages have apparently proved to be a powerful means of communication between Jack and the person he knows as Sarah. He acknowledged their vast age difference, but Sarah didn't care.

“She is such a sweet person. She’s really into nature, which I am, too. She’s a nurse, so you know she’s got to be a good person,” Jack said. “She said some beautiful things to me that attracted me to her. I’m not going to give up until we are together.”

Jack said the police report was made only out of precaution. He went to the police department to find out if Sarah had a record.

“They didn’t find anything,” he said, further explaining he showed an officer his bank statements showing he had provided the woman $32,000 through Cash.App. The officer scanned the records as evidence and warned him not to give her any more money.

“Some of that money was given to buy the house, so it wasn’t all given to her,” he said.

When warned again that Sarah was likely a scam, Jack responded, “Don’t go there. I’ve already heard it many times.”

“The money is already gone,” Jack added. “I’ll never get it back. But the money isn’t the problem. It’s my heart. I put my heart and soul into this lady.”

Jack also said that at about 3 p.m. the day he was to meet Sarah that first he was to meet a man, whom he expected would give him a title and keys to a house he believes he bought. He has not seen the house.

In a later conversation, Jack said the meeting with the real estate agent never happened as he could never find the man.

“Now she is mad at me,” he said about Sarah. Their first face-to-face meeting was cancelled.

Jack sounded confused by the situation.

“The police kept telling me don’t trust anybody, so I don’t know who to believe,” he said.

After he was unable to meet with Sarah, Jack said he started driving.

“I’m just driving, and I don’t know where I’m at right now,” he said. “I’m sitting in a Publix store parking lot somewhere.”

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Coloradan seeks life with Facebook friend in Athens; police say scam