Your social media presence mirrors the one you already keep. A photo at a monument, a casual stroll, a post about a meal—the difference is that the person behind these accounts isn’t being hunted byInterpol or the FBI for nearly two decades to face charges in court.
This is the narrative of the TikTok Fugitive, a self-appointed label used across his social networks. Another moniker he goes by is ‘Raccoon Kudzu.’ He documents his life not only on this channel but also on Instagram and Twitter, recounting his daily experiences in various countries where he sought refuge to avoid certain North American authorities.
Kahraman insists that the accusations tied to his son’s disappearance are baseless. He maintains a website that lays out his case in detail and includes legal documents he says protect him. He has lived in multiple jurisdictions without extradition orders from the United States, ranging from remote Caribbean islands to Russia, where he currently posts his videos.
his story
The man behind the tale is Chad Zachary Hower, born in Titusville, Pennsylvania. He worked as a software developer at Microsoft and later moved to Tennessee with his wife. Their marriage ended in 2001, after which she relocated to Cyprus. Their son, Aarys, was born in 1996.
Hower contends that after the divorce, his mother engaged in neglectful behavior, going so far as to hide the child to impede contact. Following several warnings from a judge in 2005, custody shifted to the mother, who took Aarys to Europe.
As Chad explains it, Aarys’s mother returned to Pennsylvania after losing custody, yet Aarys never lived there and had only a handful of relatives there. Still, kidnapping charges were filed against Chad in Pennsylvania. He recounts traveling with Aarys to the United States in June 2006 for summer visits with his mother until school resumed in Cyprus in September. They separated in Boston, and Aarys was escorted to Cleveland to stay with his mother. Chad then moved to Seattle for his job at Microsoft.
According to the account, the mother refused to return the child in August when it was her turn to hand him over. A court order was reportedly required to compel the return, and Chad includes a copy of that order on his page. The judge, named White, allegedly ordered the boy to fly to Cyprus.
contradictions
The story grows more tangled here. Chad asserts that he was in the United States only briefly in 2006, never entering Pennsylvania during that time. He argues that the alleged kidnapping incident occurred on November 6, 2006, making the charge impossible given his absence from the U.S. since June of that year. He even claims the FBI’s sealed indictment contains internal inconsistencies.
He suggests a conspiracy against him, alleging that Judge White, just two months later, helped manufacture false kidnapping charges, despite having contact details for Aarys in Cyprus. A warrant followed, issued secretly in a Federal Grand Jury proceeding with no advance notice or opportunity for defense.
Chad also notes wide media attention, stating he appeared on the front page of Erie Times, was covered by AP News, and featured in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia outlets, along with radio and TV reports at regional levels. He says his family learned of his arrest in Bulgaria through the evening news.
The escape begins
Chad’s arrest reportedly occurred in Bulgaria in 2009 during a conference visit. The United States sought extradition but did not secure it, and from there a global flight of a software professional began. From Europe, he traveled to the Caribbean island of San Cristobal, where he reportedly battled serious kidney illness that nearly proved fatal.
After the Caribbean, the journey led to Russia, where he allegedly secured residency. He has since lived in Moscow, taking advantage of regional tensions and geopolitical shifts to move more freely while sharing his travels online.
Meanwhile, his son remains listed as missing but is active on social media and runs a personal site that presents the self-promotion as ongoing. The United States has not withdrawn the search warrant against Chad, who continues to narrate his life as the pursuit continues. The global fugitive remains at large, with Interpol reportedly unable to identify a solid path to capture him, at least in public narratives and disclosures to date [CITATION: law enforcement statements].