HEBER SPRINGS, Ark.—It was a Fluke that led police to arrest a man accused of faking his own death to avoid legal troubles.

According to police, Matthew Sheppard was walking his dog, Fluke, in Yankton, S.D., when he was spotted by U.S. Marshals. And nearly two months later, his wife, Monica Sheppard, was arrested in Urbandale, Iowa—also while walking Fluke.

Police say Monica Sheppard reported that her husband drowned in the Little Red River in February while trying to rescue Fluke. Afterward, Monica Sheppard reportedly filled out a claim on her husband’s life insurance, worth about $657,000, police said.

Matthew Sheppard also faces felony theft charges. He’s accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from his former employer, Eaton Corp.

According to police, Matthew Sheppard was arrested in August in South Dakota. When U.S. marshals entered the couple’s home, “Monica Sheppard started screaming, ’He is not here,”’ according to an affidavit prepared by Monty Vickers, a criminal investigator with the Arkansas Insurance Department. Matthew Sheppard was found, hiding under a bed, and was arrested.

Police didn’t arrest Monica Sheppard then. But two months later, police arrested her in a Des Moines suburb, where she was living with relatives.

“By the times the charges were filed, she had left that area (of South Dakota). It took a while to ... run her down,” said J.R. Howard, U.S. marshal for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

Both Matthew and Monica Sheppard are in jail, being held on $50,000 bond each. Along with the previous theft charges, Matthew Sheppard faces charges of committing a fraudulent insurance act. Monica Sheppard is charged with one felony count of filing a false report and one felony count of committing a fraudulent insurance act or knowingly interfering with the enforcement or investigation of possible insurance-related violations.