A 17-year-old Marion County boy accused of faking an abduction, which prompted an Amber Alert and multi-agency search, has been arrested.
On Tuesday, 17-year-old Caden Rex Speight was arrested by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office on the following charges: presenting false evidence, shooting into a conveyance, making a false report of a crime, and possession of a firearm by a minor.
Back on Thursday, September 25, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued an Amber Alert for Speight. At the time, authorities stated that Speight was last seen in Dunnellon at around 4:10 p.m. that afternoon, and it was believed that he may have been shot and abducted by four Hispanic individuals who were traveling in a van.
MCSO stated that a family location safety app, Life360, indicated that Speight’s last known location was in the 12800 block of SW Highway 484 in Dunnellon. When deputies arrived on-scene, they found an abandoned truck that belonged to Speight.
During an inspection of the abandoned truck, law enforcement observed “a bullet hole through the windshield” and “suspected blood.” In addition, Speight’s “severely damaged cellphone” was found, along with “drag marks in the dirt” and “bicycle tracks” that led away from the vehicle, according to MCSO.
While MCSO searched for Speight, with assistance from other state and federal agencies, investigators discovered that Speight had purchased a bicycle, a tent, and camping supplies from an Ocala Walmart shortly before he went missing. He had also sent text messages to his family claiming that he had been “shot and abducted.”
In a media release, MCSO said that investigators determined that Speight had “fired the shot through the windshield, splattered a mixture of blood in the truck, and destroyed his cellphone.”
An eyewitness spoke with investigators and reported that Speight had left the area on a bicycle.
While investigating Speight’s disappearance, detectives learned that he had “mentioned running away before.” On his laptop, ChatGPT searches about “collecting his blood without causing pain” and “Mexican cartels” were also allegedly found.
On the afternoon of Friday, September 26, Williston Police Department officers located Speight in the 700 block of W Noble Avenue. He allegedly had a handgun and bicycle in his possession.
“(Speight) attempted to continue the ruse and had a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his leg, which shattered his femur and required medical treatment,” stated MCSO.
Following MCSO’s investigation, Speight was placed under arrest and transported to the Department of Juvenile Justice.