HOUSTON -- Was Roland Carnaby a member of the U.S. intelligence community or a would-be spy? The mystery widens in the case of the man who claimed to be a CIA operative who was shot and killed by Houston police following a high-speed chase on Tuesday.

In fact, the only thing sure about the mystery surrounding Carnaby is that chase and fatal shooting.

"When we do an investigation like this and you have so much mystery involved,” said Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt, who said he didn’t know who Carnaby was, even after a photo of the two from a Houston Policeman’s Ball was given to 11 News by Carnaby’s family. “And the fact that the individual is dead, and we want to make sure that we are doing a good job and give you accurate information."

The question of accuracy is key in this case, because so far much about Carnaby’s life is shrouded in mystery.

His family claims he was a long time CIA contractor. Certificates and distinctions from what appear to be service all over the globe to prove it.

HPD said he did have what appear to be federal credentials of some kind.  

"There are credentials in the car that we have seized,” said HPD Capt. Steve Jett. “That was the indication that he worked for the CIA. They look authentic, but you can do a lot of things with a computer."

To that end, Houston police said a CIA official would be meeting with investigators to review the identification as well as assist HPD with the case.

Officially, the FBI and CIA say that Carnaby was not an officer. A spokesman for the intelligence agency went as far as to make it a point that while the agency doesn’t normally confirm or deny a person’s employment with the CIA, “he was never a CIA officer.”

David Adler for sure worked for the CIA. He said the biggest question is the hardest to answer.

“It is almost impossible to find out if somebody claims to be an intelligence officer, if they really were unfortunately,” said Adler.

Adler was a case officer with the intelligence agency for five years and has met Carnaby.

He said there are many misconceptions about the CIA and that an officer’s goal is to be low-key. 

“If you walk into a casino, and everyone knows your name is James Bond, you’re not doing your job,” he said.

When Adler looked at Carnaby’s things, he noticed details that might have slipped by a layperson.

“This word ‘completion’ is spelled wrong,” Adler said, pointing to one of the mementos and noting something off about another. ”There is no ‘Iraq Division’ of the CIA.”

Family provided photo

Roland Carnaby, left, is shown in this undated photo with Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt taken at a HPD Policeman's Ball.

Still, Carnaby’s family is convinced he was what he claimed to be.

“He was a contract employee who worked for decades with the CIA and different federal government agencies,” the family said.

The CIA denied that Carnaby was an employee, but the family said that’s to be expected.

“If you are covert, you know from the beginning that the CIA won’t admit to these things,” the family said.

Adler said he’s met a lot of people who claim to be spies.

“I think it is a problem,” he said. “There are people out there who are sort of enamored with that lifestyle and wish to be part of it and portray themselves as part of it. And they are not.”

Adler also said he’s met plenty of people who believe the stories of spy imposters.

Even online, the mystery continued.

11 News found blogs that have now been deleted but are archived by the search engine Google.

One caught our eye: "One of the CIA's former counter-terrorism chiefs and pioneers in covert operations, Roland Carnaby retires,” the posting read.

The posting was created in February and saved by Google in March.

It continued: "The departure of Mr. Carnaby, 52, would mean the loss of the CIA's most experienced, talented and high profile clandestine officers in management."

It is no doubt a mysterious blog and proves nothing, as anyone could make a blog posting. It just raises more questions.

No matter the ultimate answer to Roland Carnaby's background, another issue troubles Adler.

“There just doesn't seem to be any legitimate basis for behaving the way he did in the last hour of his life,” he said.

In Thursday’s online editions of the Houston Chronicle, Sha’rie Burch – an ex-wife of Carnaby’s – said much of his background struck her as odd.

Burch told the Chronicle that when she pressed him for details on what he did for the CIA, he became defensive. They eventually divorced in part, said Burch, because he had an ill temper.

Carnaby’s ex-wife did confirm he had many friends in law enforcement and claimed in her interview with the Chronicle that former Harris County Sheriff Johnny Klevenhagen was the best man at their wedding in 1986. Klevenhagen died in 1999.

The Houston Chronicle also reported that Burch said Carnaby’s family was a wealthy Lebanese family in the shipping business.

On Wednesday, Carnaby’s family said his parents were flying in from Beirut and are asking for their son to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

The newspaper also said Carnaby had a clean criminal record with the exception of a couple of speeding tickets. One of those citations, incidentally, was issued last summer in Fairfax, Va., which is just 14 miles from Langley, Va. – the home of CIA headquarters.

Portions of this story provided by a partnership with the Houston Chronicle and Chron.com.