Kentucky man found dead in Paris amid child abuse material probe

Todd E. Garland, 64, of Covington, went missing June 22 after he had not been seen since June 9, and police later learned he had flown from the United States to Paris on June 11. Detectives in Northern Kentucky were already working a criminal investigation tied to his Greenup Street apartment.

Covington police contacted Garland on June 10 in connection with that investigation. Homeland Security Investigations confirmed on June 23 that Garland had been found dead in Paris, and the Paris Police Prefecture opened a death investigation. Covington police had no further information about how he died.

The Kentucky probe centers on an affidavit and search-warrant application tied to Garland’s home. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children flagged the address after three reports involving the possession, distribution and manufacturing of child sexual abuse material. The reports listed xAI, the company that operates Grok and owns X, as the source, and 192 images were uploaded using three xAI accounts between about Oct. 28 and Nov. 18, 2025.

Investigators said 71 of the images were unique and depicted prepubescent nude females. At least some of the photos carried a watermark from a Ukrainian online subscription service and photography studio that operated from 2001 until 2004. All three reports shared a common IP address tied to an apartment leased to Garland on Greenup Street, and email addresses linked to the reports belonged to him. Garland’s driver’s license listed the Greenup Street address as of May 2026.

Officers seized a cellphone, a laptop and an external hard drive when they searched the home on June 10. Roebling Books & Coffee identified Garland as a former employee at its Newport location. He had not been seen for 12 days, and the business later expressed grief over his death.