In the following scenario, have any laws been broken?

Joe Bloggs wants to get away from it all. He buys a cheap, tired old sail boat and, filling it with supplies, sets off from a local port.



He has done his research and, although he has never sailed before, he tells friends he's off round the world. A few weeks later, a merchant tanker passes by the wreckage of his boat floating out in the open ocean. There is no sign of him and due to the fact he was an inexperienced sailor he is listed as 'lost at sea'.



HOWEVER, the whole episode had been planned to perfection: Joe Bloggs had scouted out a deserted island using the internet, and, loading a raft with supplies, had scuttled his sailboat and set off to become a deliberate castaway.



Months pass, and the outside world has forgotten about Joe. Then purely by chance, a scientific expedition arrives at the island and finds him living there.



He tells them his boat was wrecked in a storm and that his marooning was an unfortunate disaster, and agrees to return to civilisation with them.



Has Joe done anything illegal by A) Carrying out his plan in the first place, or B) Lying to the science crew?



Thanks!In the following scenario, have any laws been broken?
No. None that I can see. Even if tons of money was spent searching for him, he didn't ask for it or tell anyone he needed to be rescued (as opposed to the runaway bride case)



If he didn't owe any money or have any other unsettled obligations he would be fine



Even the lie told to the science crew wouldn't be illegal.
I agree with the above poster. He could face fines for wasting rescue crews' time. If he had any debt, he'd definitely get in trouble for skipping out on it. Same, I would imagine, with taxes.



Other than that, no. It's not illegal to "disappear" unless you're doing so to escape legal responsibilities or jail time.In the following scenario, have any laws been broken?
he could possibly have been done for wasting the emergency services time, but in reality i doubt you could say he had specifically broken any law.
I'd have to say nothing illegal, but certainly unethical, making people think you'e lost. Not to mention the resources the Coast Guard wasted looking for him.In the following scenario, have any laws been broken?
No, I don't think he would be liable, and it seems unlikely anyone would find out. The wolrd would actually welcome him, and he would be smarter to just go with it.
not done anything legally wrong. when are you planning on going?