A SMOOTH talking conman who proposed to a Cairns woman before cleaning out her bank accounts was once on the state's most wanted list.

More details have emerged about the murky criminal background of John Arthur Edwards after an exclusive report in The Cairns Post yesterday revealed how he talked his way into the woman’s life before fleeing with her savings and her parents’ car.

Police yesterday warned Edwards, who uses up to 20 aliases and often masquerades as a paramedic, rescue worker or mechanic, could still be operating in the Far North.

There are 20 warrants out for the former jail breaker’s arrest in Queensland alone and a further 10 across Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and the Northern Territory for fraud, theft and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

Edwards has been cheating his victims for more than 20 years.

Far Northern Regional crime co-ordinator Det Insp John Hartwell urged people to be cautious if they saw Edwards and to immediately report his whereabouts to police or Crime Stoppers.

"He may be that brazen that he is still in the Cairns area; we just do not know," Det Insp Hartwell said.

"He is on the run. People on the run are desperate and can resort to desperate acts."

Det Insp Hartwell said Edwards was a smooth operator.

"He obviously has a way with words because he has managed to con a number of people right throughout Australia," he said.

Investigations by The Cairns Post have found Edwards’ trail of deceit stretches back to 1986 and across six states and the Northern Territory.

In one bizarre incident in 1995, he was found wandering lost near Birdsville in the Queensland Outback suffering severe dehydration after stealing a car from Western Australia.

He abandoned the car after being sighted by a council worker near Bedourie.

Twice this year he has stolen vehicles to make his getaway after fooling his lovers.

In Western Australia in January he allegedly fleeced a woman and stole her four-wheel-drive before heading interstate.

In the Cairns case he is believed to be using the car owned by the parents of the Trinity Beach woman he conned.

The vehicle is a white and silver 1997 Kia Sportage four-wheel-drive, 216-JPA, with roof racks, spotlights and a nudge bar.

He is described as Caucasian, 180cm tall, about 100kg. He has short red hair, an arm band tattoo on his right arm and a tribal tattoo on his upper back.

Edwards, who has been using the name Casey Matthews while in Cairns, has also left unpaid bills resulting from his attempt to buy a $700,000 house at Trinity Beach.

Paul Davis of Safeway Pest Control said he was out of pocket $220 while a building inspector lost $260.

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