Found Safe FL - Caden Speight, 17, was found safe (after falsely reporting kidnapping)

[katsrfun]

No I think she was in full panic. It was just him.

I'm not replying to you specifically; just a note. My husband and I got an Amber alert last night; not sure what time, but we live in South Florida, many counties away. Anyway, it said, "if spotted, do not approach. Contact authorities". They surely must have been sure he had a gun. I initially thought it was the kidnappers with the gun, but from what I have read, obviously not. Just MOO. Katt

 

[katydid23]

He wasn’t bright because he was at Walmart? I suppose I am confused by your statement. MOO

He went to Walmart and bought a tent/sleeping bag and a bike. He used those things to get away and go hide out. So yes, he wasn't very bright because it made LE question his actions.

Also, he was on video and LE could clearly see he was not shot and wounded earlier.

Texas teen accused of faking kidnapping that set off Amber Alert hunt

A frantic search for a Florida teenager has been abruptly stopped as evidence emerged that his disappearance may have been a hoax.

www.dailymail.co.uk

17 hours ago — Police found footage of Speight stopping at several stores before his disappearance was reported. He even purchased a tent, a sleeping bag, and ...

 

[Stunned]

Maybe he really wanted to get away from his life on the berry farm, and didn't know how?

College or the Military?

 

[Stunned]

College or the Military?

Well, maybe not.

 

[Absoluterubbish]

DBM

 

[Leilei]

Marion County SO has issued an update on their FB page.
The most important points from their update, IMO:

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 in Williston. There is ZERO chance that Caden’s gunshot wound came from any type of assailant.

Many of you have asked, “Will Caden be facing any charges?” “What about the taxpayer cost of this large-scale investigation and search?” I can tell you those items are not off the table at this point.

Naturally, my detectives had a lot of questions for Caden, however, his parents refuse to allow my detectives to speak with him.

Shame on him AND his parents for not cooperating.
IMO.

 

[PayrollNerd]

I wonder if the parents understand Obstruction of Justice law in Florida? Maybe they’re interviewing attorneys.

This boy needs a lot more help than his parents can give him. I hope they put their egos and pride aside to get the boy help, before they lose everything financially.

 

[Ontario Mom]

I wonder if the parents understand Obstruction of Justice law in Florida? Maybe they’re interviewing attorneys.

This boy needs a lot more help than his parents can give him. I hope they put their egos and pride aside to get the boy help, before they lose everything financially.

Folks on this very forum advise over and over again to not speak with LE until you have an attorney, so maybe that's what they're doing?

If that were my son? LE would have already spoken to him, for as long as they needed.

jmo

 

[Inthedetails]

Folks on this very forum advise over and over again to not speak with LE until you have an attorney, so maybe that's what they're doing?

If that were my son? LE would have already spoken to him, for as long as they needed.

jmo

And I'd be making a restitution plan for him to pay back that money either with earnings from a job or with unpaid physical labor on behalf of the city. Honestly, as a citizen, I think I would be satisfied with that solution and not need to see further legal action.

jmopinion

 

[vls12345]

Literally shooting yourself in the leg in furtherance of a hoax seems extreme.

Imo.

 

[Leilei]

Folks on this very forum advise over and over again to not speak with LE until you have an attorney, so maybe that's what they're doing?

If that were my son? LE would have already spoken to him, for as long as they needed.

jmo

Considering that LE probably wants to know whose gun he had, and how he got access to it, getting an attorney for all three is probably in their best interest.
You have to be 18 to carry a firearm in FL, I believe.
So they're all looking at possible charges if that gun belonged to the parents and/or wasn't locked up.
But, dang, especially if it's a mental health type of situation, what is the harm in speaking with detectives?
What a mess.
IMO.

 

[Ontario Mom]

And I'd be making a restitution plan for him to pay back that money either with earnings from a job or with unpaid physical labor on behalf of the city. Honestly, as a citizen, I think I would be satisfied with that solution and not need to see further legal action.

jmopinion

Oh yes, restitution would be a given.

 

[Knox]

Marion County SO has issued an update on their FB page.
The most important points from their update, IMO:

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 in Williston. There is ZERO chance that Caden’s gunshot wound came from any type of assailant.

Many of you have asked, “Will Caden be facing any charges?” “What about the taxpayer cost of this large-scale investigation and search?” I can tell you those items are not off the table at this point.

Naturally, my detectives had a lot of questions for Caden, however, his parents refuse to allow my detectives to speak with him.

Shame on him AND his parents for not cooperating.
IMO.

Well dang, this keeps getting worse doesn’t it?

 

[MerBeach]

I read through the entire thread and I didn’t see this mentioned(I could have missed it)…could he have been lured/catfished? He went to the extreme of shooting himself. At 17 lots of teens can become emotionally obsessed with who they think they are in love with.

 

[OneLove]

And I'd be making a restitution plan for him to pay back that money either with earnings from a job or with unpaid physical labor on behalf of the city. Honestly, as a citizen, I think I would be satisfied with that solution and not need to see further legal action.

jmopinion

Yeah; I'd be okay with that too EXCEPT without a legal judgement, even just in juvenile court, that restitution agreement would have no "bite" behind it or legal means of enforcement.

I think this troubled kid AND his parents need juvenile court involved. Counseling, community service, and restitution are all often mandated in juvenile justice. This family needs all 3, imo. And when satisfied, the record can be expunged.

We could pretty accurately predict those doomed to reoffend by how they AND their parents satisfied those mandates. Some kids were very thankful their parents were required to attend family counseling as it would never have happened otherwise. These kinds of offenses are often desperate calls for help.

 

[Inthedetails]

I read through the entire thread and I didn’t see this mentioned(I could have missed it)…could he have been lured/catfished? He went to the extreme of shooting himself. At 17 lots of teens can become emotionally obsessed with who they think they are in love with.

That's an angle I hadn't thought of. Given his age, I suspect we're unlikely to know exactly what happened and why. I'm okay with not knowing, and I hope his life gets straightened out, he makes ammends as needed, and he learns to make better decisions.

jmopinion

 

[Lucy6226]

He was lucky he didn't nick an artery and bleed out imo.

 

[whitelilac]

Literally shooting yourself in the leg in furtherance of a hoax seems extreme.

Imo.

And here I was stating, at the beginning of this, that I doubted he'd shoot himself before being found "safe" if a hoax....hence I initially believed the story as much as it seemed off.