The case of a missing Gaston County woman feared drowned off North Myrtle Beach took an abrupt turn Wednesday when police said Amy Lynette Arrington and her husband staged the disappearance to avoid the wifes court date in Charlotte. 
 
 As of late Wednesday afternoon, authorities in Charlotte and in North Myrtle Beach said they did not know the whereabouts of Amy and Paul David Arrington. 
 
 Patrick Dowling, a spokesman for the North Myrtle Beach police, said Paul Arrington will be charged with filing a false police report. And the Mecklenburg County district attorneys office said a warrant has been issued for Amy Arringtons arrest. 
 
 Paul Arrington filed a missing person report Saturday evening with North Myrtle Beach, saying his 42-year-old wife told him she was going into the water. That touched off a land and sea search along the Horry County coast that lasted from Saturday evening until late Tuesday. 
 
 Meanwhile, Amy Arrington missed a scheduled appearance Monday in Mecklenburg County court on charges including identity theft, forgery and obtaining property by false pretense. 
 
 The court issued an order for her arrest when she failed to appear Monday, a spokeswoman for the Mecklenburg district attorneys office said Wednesday afternoon. 
 
 While searching the water, North Myrtle Beach police on Tuesday also began looking into the possibility that Arrington had disappeared on land. And by Wednesday morning, Dowling said, police determined that Amy Lynette Arrington did not drown in the ocean off North Myrtle Beach on July 5. 
 
 Rather, he said, North Myrtle Beach police and other law enforcement agencies determined Amy and Paul Arrington conspired for her to disappear to avoid having to show up in court in North Carolina to answer to charges filed against her in that state. 
 
 Amy Arringtons criminal record dates to 1992 with charges mostly in Union, Gaston and Mecklenburg counties. Among the charges: credit card theft, larceny and financial card fraud. 
 
 According to a search of court records by the Observer, Amy Arrington served more than two years in prison for identity theft and fraud. She was released in 2008. 
 
 Her mother-in-law, Shirley Arrington, told the Observer on Tuesday that she was floored by the news reports of Amy Arringtons legal problems. Shirley Arrington could not be reached Wednesday, after news broke that the disappearance allegedly had been staged. 
 
 Paul Arrington told police he watched his wife walk waist-deep into the water about 4:40 p.m. Saturday before he lay down on the beach and turned over. 
 
 About 20 minutes later, Paul Arrington said, he looked toward the water for his wife. He told police he saw a woman who he thought was his wife, but after he approached her, he realized it wasnt. He then reported his wife missing to a lifeguard. 
 
 Speaking to the Observer on Tuesday, Paul Arringtons brother, Todd, said he hasnt talked to his brother much in the past year. Todd Arrington said his brother and Amy Arrington met through an online dating service. 
 
 She came to my wedding, and Ive met her a few times, hung out a little bit, but I really didnt know anything about her, Todd Arrington said. 
 
 Regarding Amy Arringtons criminal past and pending charges, Todd Arrington said, I dont think Paul really had a clue. 
 
 Court records show Amy Arrington was previously married. The couple divorced last year. 

 By Ken Lemon 
 
 North Myrtle Beach authorities told Channel 9 Thursday morning that Amy Arrington, the Gaston County woman who police said faked her disappearance in North Myrtle Beach last weekend, turned herself in to Charlotte authorities. According to the Mecklenburg County Jail website, Arrington is scheduled to appear in court Friday. 
 
 
 
 Her bond was set at $500,000. 
 
 
 
 North Myrtle Beach Public Safety officials announced Wednesday that they had determined Arrington did not drown in the ocean. Officials said Arrington conspired with her husband, Paul David Arrington, for her to disappear to avoid having to appear in court in Charlotte to answer to charges filed against her. 
 
 Paul Arrington spoke exclusively to Channel 9 Thursday before he left Gastonia to turn himself in to police in North Myrtle Beach. He is in custody after turning himself in at 4 p.m. 
 
 
 
 RAW VIDEO: Husband who conspired with wife in her disappearance talks to Channel 9 
 
 Arrington said he knew about his wife's criminal history, but said she has been a law-abiding citizen and the perfect companion since they met in 2012. 
 
 He cried as he read love letters he said she left for him around the house. 
 
 He doesn't think she's guilty of stealing money from the two people's accounts, but he was still worried she may go to prison. 
 
 When they arrived in North Myrtle Beach last weekend, he decided to tell police she disappeared. He did it so she wouldn't have to go to trial on Monday. 
 
 "It was a stupid choice, I mean very stupid. One that we both regret that was made, but I love my wife and I'm going to do anything I can to protect her,” Paul Arrington said. 
 
 North Myrtle Beach police were looking to charge Amy Arrington for planning her own disappearance. Paul Arrington is expected to be charged with filing a false police report in North Myrtle Beach. 
 
 Amy Arrington's past 
 
 
 
 Neighbors also did not know Amy Arrington was supposed to go to trial on Monday, accused of stealing thousands of dollars out of people’s accounts. 
 
 
 
 Court records show three other names for Amy Arrington: Amy Robinson, Amy Goebel and Amy Sutton. Her history of fraud goes back 10 years in Mecklenburg County. 
 
 
 
 IMAGES of Amy Arrington 
 
 
 
 Records show she went to prison in February 2006 on fraud charges and was released at the end of 2008. 
 
 
 
 She's charged now with using another woman's account information to make payments of hundreds and even thousands of dollars to buy things on Amazon, pay a cable bill and pay a bank bill of almost $7,500. 
 
 
 
 She was scheduled to go to trial in May, but received a note from the hospital in Gastonia saying she was in the emergency department. 
 
 
 
 Channel 9 went to her last address in Mount Holly on Tuesday afternoon, but was told she hasn't been there for months. 
 
 
 
 RELATED: Police: Lowell woman missing from N. Myrtle has long record 
 
 
 
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– It would normally be good news to learn that a woman feared drowned at Myrtle Beach last weekend didn't drown after all. The catch is that Amy Arrington, 42, is accused of concocting the story in cahoots with her husband to avoid a court appearance, reports WRAL. The fruitless search continued from Saturday evening into Tuesday night after husband Paul Arrington told police his wife walked into the ocean and never returned. Amy Arrington has since turned herself in to Charlotte police and is due in court tomorrow to face charges including identity theft and forgery, reports WSOC. "It was a stupid choice, I mean very stupid, one that we both regret that was made, but I love my wife and I'm going to do anything I can to protect her,” Paul Arrington told the TV station. He faces charges of filing a false report. The Observer reports that his wife has a criminal record dating back to 1992 and served two years in prison for fraud and identity theft before her release in 2008. "I don't think Paul really had a clue" about his wife's criminal past, says his brother.