Caden Speight, Dunnellon teen shot self to fake kidnapping by 4 Hispanic men in hoax, Florida authorities announce as potential charges mulled as parents refuse to let cops interview son.
A cry for attention… A Florida teenager who triggered a statewide Amber Alert after claiming to have been shot and abducted by four Hispanic men last week fabricated the story and shot himself, authorities claim.
Caden Rex Speight, 17, texted his mother that he had been shot and was with four Hispanic men and needing help, prompting an Amber Alert to be issued in Dunnellon, a city about 80 miles northwest of Orlando in Marion County.
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The teen was presumed missing and in danger with investigators soon coming across his bullet riddled truck along with his cell phone going straight to message bank.
Speight was believed to have last been spotted in a light-colored van with four unidentified men, authorities said at the time — apparently relying on details the teen had texted his family.
Less than 24 hours later, the ‘missing’ teen was caught on surveillance camera riding a bike near the site of the alleged abduction, prompting questions about what had actually happened.
Investigators now believe Speight made the whole story up — and even shot himself as part of a ruse.
‘The initial details that Caden texted to his family were proven to be false, completely made up,’ Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods alleged in a video statement Monday. ‘We then learned that he had purchased a bicycle, tent and camping supplies just prior to him reporting this.’
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Speight was seen on surveillance footage purchasing those items at a Walmart in Ocala hours before the alleged kidnapping.
In the interim, Florida authorities expended wide resources in a desperate bid to locate the youth who they believed to be in serious trouble according to Zachary Moore, a public information officer with the sheriff’s office.
Stated Moore, ‘To continue the ruse, Caden, who had a handgun with him since the beginning of all of this, chose to shoot himself in the leg, causing a non-life-threatening injury just prior to walking out to the roadway where he would be located by citizens of Williston.’
Adding, ‘There is zero chance that Caden’s gunshot wound came from any type of assailant.’
According to the sheriff, Speight’s parents have refused to allow detectives to speak with the teen to help authorities reach a ‘true final conclusion.’
Woods said criminal charges ‘are not off the table,’ and that authorities are still processing evidence. Detectives are also looking into the cost of the investigation so Speight can possibly reimburse them for it,
Not immediately clear is why the teen made up the ruse and what he sought to gain from the fabricated story?
