Found Safe FL - Caden Speight, 17, kidnapped by 4 unknown men in light-colored van, do not approach, last seen 12800 block SW Hwy 484, Dunellon, 25 Sep 2025

[whitelilac]

When did he buy the bicycle and tent? Same day? Or earlier and planned in advance.

eta...I see above same day.

 

[CityKid]

Sigh. So where did the 4 hispanic men story come from? I'm so tred of media getting things wrong. In this climate it could be a very dangerous thing to do. JMO

Sigh. So where did the 4 hispanic men story come from? I'm so tred of media getting things wrong. In this climate it could be a very dangerous thing to do. JMO

The media got it from the sheriff's department statement.

 

[NervousNellie]

They sure found the Walmart purchase quickly. Impressive.

 

[KBlackRabbit]

Rsbm.

Walmart. Always a Walmart.

Walmart jokes aside, they have a sophisticated surveillance system, almost up there with Target’s. You go anywhere near the property you’re on camera and the cameras at checkout are multi-angle and can zoom in quite close. They keep good records of who purchases what and when. You’d be a fool to want to do something shady and get your shady-work supplies at Walmart.

 

[Maat99]

If he made this up I hope he gets the same level of

Yes, the Veronica Butler case. This all sounds very similar.

except in the Veronica Butler case there was a lot of blood, a broken hammer and other evidence of “a severe injury” next to the abandoned car

https://kansasreflector.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/C.-G.-Twombly-CF-24-73-Info-and-Affidavit.pdf

 

[NervousNellie]

Walmart jokes aside, they have a sophisticated surveillance system, almost up there with Target’s. You go anywhere near the property you’re on camera and the cameras at checkout are multi-angle and can zoom in quite close. They keep good records of who purchases what and when. You’d be a fool to want to do something shady and get your shady-work supplies at Walmart.

I am glad so few people know this!

Now I won't be able to think about anything other than what unflattering angle they might be getting if I ever go into Target again.

 

[Rolypolyoly]

Maybe not that elaborate since he bought the tent at Walmart right before 'the incident'. Sounds like it could be a last minute impromptu staged getaway/runaway attempt that was so badly thought out questions rose immediately.

Reference post #105 for link to police update on purchases.

Im thinking he happened to drive past the 4 guys on the roofing job on his way to wherever he planned to run off to and a crazy idea sprang to mind

Hopefully he is found safe and whatever issues he has he can get help with.

 

[Tutter]

From the missing kid, that’s what he told his mom, I believe.

Why immediately text your mom you need help and were shot? Worst runaway technique ever, imo.

So weird…

 

[CityKid]

WESH 2 spoke with a witness named Jackson McClure on Friday morning.

"I passed by here around 4 o'clock and there was a boy, young man believed to be the guy they're looking for, getting something out of the truck and shoving it into a bookbag and then bout 10-15 mins later I believe he drove by my house on a bicycle," McClure said. "I called Marion County non-emergency line and told them what I had seen, and they said, 'thank you very much, that's very helpful'"

McClure went on to say:

"The police did ask me if he was bleeding as he went by, and i told them no, he looked normal, and he wasn't struggling to ride his bicycle."

Central Florida teen found safe after reports he was taken by group of men were unfounded

Caden Speight was last seen in Dunnellon.

www.wesh.com

What a great witness! And MOO the police already knew this story made no sense, so they asked about the blood.

 

[Eli9]

If he made this up I hope he gets the same level of

except in the Veronica Butler case there was a lot of blood, a broken hammer and other evidence of “a severe injury” next to the abandoned car

https://kansasreflector.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/C.-G.-Twombly-CF-24-73-Info-and-Affidavit.pdf

Except 2 people were actually murdered in that case.

 

[Maat99]

Except 2 people were actually murdered in that case.

That too!

 

[anneoakley63]

If he made this up I hope he gets the same level of

except in the Veronica Butler case there was a lot of blood, a broken hammer and other evidence of “a severe injury” next to the abandoned car

https://kansasreflector.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/C.-G.-Twombly-CF-24-73-Info-and-Affidavit.pdf

Correct......and no guessing as to whether a crime had occurred or not. I was agreeing with the original poster that this case reminded me of the OK case.

 

[Warwick7]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1971610454259601653

 

[nao]

Moo...maybe he had got into a disagreement with ma or pa. Wanted them to feel worried....moo

 

[whitelilac]

PC

Central Florida teen found safe after reports he was taken by group of men were unfounded

Caden Speight was last seen in Dunnellon.

www.wesh.com

 

[justtrish]

So, I am curious if LE saw the texts in question or if they took moms word for it. Did he actually text THAT exact thing or did mom just say he did thinking LE would take it seriously if he was abducted vs if he ran away. Surely, LE would verify before putting info like that out, but it was something that came to mind as it seems odd a 17-year-old would make up a crazy story if they just intended to run away, seems way more attention would hit if the vehicle was abandoned with doors open and a kid is just missing. Many of us were suspicious of this story just because we've seen/heard things like this before and almost always it's not true. I guess at 17 he really isn't able to think through things either or realize how it would sound/look and that if he was seen on a bike it would blow up the entire story. Now if mom just made that text up to get LE involved ASAP.. I could see that too.

So was there a bullet hole in the truck? IF so did he do that himself? Is he armed? uggh

 

[whitelilac]

did anyone hear that update by the lieutenant I linked above ? Did he say Caden was "with deputies and in good health?" I had trouble understanding him and he spoke quickly.

 

[whitelilac]

Yes.
Breaking update: Teen found safe, Marion County officials announced in a news conference Friday afternoon. He's in good health and with deputies.

Central Florida teen found safe after reports he was taken by group of men were unfounded

Caden Speight was last seen in Dunnellon.

www.wesh.com

 

[Seni]

Central Florida teen found safe after reports he was taken by group of men were unfounded

Caden Speight was last seen in Dunnellon.

www.wesh.com

Breaking update: Teen found safe, Marion County officials announced in a news conference Friday afternoon. He's in good health and with deputies.

 

[KBlackRabbit]

If the bullet hole wasn’t there before he damaged a work truck, wasted emergency services, and owes a lot of people especially the Hispanic community a huge apology.