While rumors have swirled nationwide for years, it has been confirmed that Elvis Presley lives in Coupeville.

Previously thought to have died from a drug overdose in his Graceland home in Memphis, the King of Rock and Roll is, indeed, alive and well.

Presley currently makes his residence in a small submarine under the Coupeville Wharf, according to multiple sources.

“I’ve seen him popping up and looking for orcas,” said Larry Vail, owner of Vail Wine Shop.

Larry’s son, Erik, who owns Vail Photography in Oak Harbor, got word from his parents and ran down to snag some photos of Presley last week, but he was too late.

“I’ve tried to lure him out with wine a few times,” said Patsy Vail, Larry’s wife. “But he seems very sheltered and unwilling to interact with the community.”

Linda Eccles, Coupeville Chamber of Commerce president, said she suspected Presley was living in town when an artist going by the name of “Smelvis Bresley” opened a booth at last year’s Arts and Crafts Festival.

“He was selling handmade barnacle sculptures alongside water-stained vinyl records,” Eccles said. “I approached him and said he looked like Elvis would today, but he just shifted his eyes away and mumbled, ‘A little less conversation, a little more action, please.”

Confirmation of Presley’s well-being was made when he was spotted at a dark corner table at Toby’s Tavern Tuesday night.

Barb Miller, a waitress at the bar, said she approached Presley, offered him a drink, and was turned down.

“He said he’s sworn off drugs and alcohol since that near-fatal day in 1977,” Miller said.

“Burning, burning, burning and nothing can cool me,” Presley said Tuesday night of his thoughts decades ago. “I just might turn into smoke. But I feel fine.”

He wasn’t fine. But now he is.

“Wise men say only fools rush in, but I can’t help falling in love with you,” Presley said of living in Coupeville.

He said he had been traveling around the island since early 2008 and finally settled on Coupeville in 2010.

“It’s just, uh, a really wonderful place to call home,” Presley said. “Like the Skagit River flows surely to the sea, darling, so it goes, some things are meant to be.”

After five years of living in his submarine, sneaking into Kim’s Cafe and even venturing toward Oak Harbor, Presley has finally decided to become an active member of the community.

“He’s been thinking about this for a while,” said Oak Harbor Mayor Bob Dudley, a friend of Presley’s. “I told him I thought it was time for him to really engage with the community.”

Presley has joined the Coupeville Port Board of Commissioners, Citizens of Ebey’s Reserve, the Oak Harbor and Coupeville town councils and Island Transit Board of Commissioners, and has become CEO of Whidbey General Hospital.

“I know many of these organizations have had some turmoil lately, but I really think I can remedy that,” Presley said. “Let’s rock, everybody, let’s rock.”

Presley, now 80, said that while he has had some success in the music industry, he would really like to settle down and focus on his barnacle sculptures.

“I don’t plan on getting into much trouble,” he said.

While he has had some offers to join families in their homes, he said he’ll stay put in his little home under the wharf.

“I like to watch families walk by and sometimes toss up my blue suede shoes to bring a smile to the little ones’ faces,” he said.

APRIL FOOLS!