Caden Speight Dunnellon teen makes up story about being shot & abducted by 4 Hispanic men in hoax after leaving scene on bicyle in Friday update.
Update: Florida deputies announced on Friday afternoon that the missing teen had been located. The Williston Police Department said officers located him in Levy County, northwest of Ocala.
Original story: Florida authorities continue the search for the whereabouts of a missing 17 year old Marion County teen after the boy allegedly sending off a text that he had been shot and kidnapped.
Marion County teen arrested over fake abduction hoax cause he wanted to run away
Marion County Police say missing teen was shot & abducted possibly by 4 Hispanic men
Caden Speight, 17, of Dunnellon is alleged to have texted his mother, ‘Mom, I need help. Four Hispanics in a white van — one driver. I’m shot.’
The alleged text was sent Thursday afternoon, with the boy’s mother, Annie Speight, since unable to locate her son.
According to Marion County Police, Caden was last seen Thursday around 4 p.m. in the 12800 block of SW Highway 484 in Dunnellon.
He was wearing a t-shirt and blue jeans at the time of his disappearance and being 6ft tall, brown hair, brown eyes and around 150 lbs.
Authorities stated the missing teen may have been with four unknown men, possibly Hispanic, who are driving a light-colored van.
However, detectives have since gathered information and evidence that do not support the initial claims provided in the early stages of the case according to an updated Marion County Sheriff’s Office post, Friday afternoon.
Dunnellon, Florida teen remains unaccounted for
Authorities in their update stated no evidence existed indicating that Caden was abducted by four Hispanic men in a light-colored van, as was originally believed. Instead, investigators believe Caden may have left the area on a black mountain bike which he had purchased earlier that day at a Walmart on SW 19th Avenue Road, in Ocala.
Marion County Sheriff’s deputies say they were called out to reports of a shooting at the 12800 block of SW Highway 484 around 4 p.m.
Deputies say Caden had been driving his work truck when the shooting occurred, and that they believed him to be wounded.
Deputies found a vehicle belonging to Speight at the scene, but he was not present and has not been located, WCJB reported.
‘Once deputies arrived, they located a bullet hole in the vehicle, which was our indication that this was a vehicle involved in the shooting that was reported,’ said Zach Moore, a sheriff’s office spokesperson told WCJB.
An Amber Alert was sent out circa 7.30 p.m, Thursday evening to spread the word about Speight’s disappearance.
Amber Alerts, which were first used in 1996, are issued when authorities believe a child aged 17 or younger may have been abducted and is in danger.
Authorities spent the night searching for the missing teen using K-9 units and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office helicopter. Come Friday the teen who is believed to have been injured continued to remain unaccounted for.
Deputies ask if you were in the area at that time and have any information about this incident, please call MCSO at (352) 732-9111.
