A Florida teen was arrested Tuesday for allegedly staging his personal abduction and taking pictures himself within the leg to maintain up the ruse — as police found frantic texts he despatched his household had been “utterly false.”
Caden Speight, 17, faces a slew of expenses, together with submitting a false report, firing a gun right into a car, and having a firearm as a minor for the flowery scheme, in response to the Marion County Sheriff’s Workplace.
The teenager was feared to be in grave hazard when he out of the blue vanished in Dunnellon, north of Tampa, on Sept. 25, and authorities uncovered his deserted truck with a gunshot gap by the windshield.
Investigators additionally discovered Speight’s severely broken cellphone, drag marks within the grime and bicycle tracks main away from his truck” and “suspected blood” close to the truck, the division stated.
On the time, authorities believed Speight had been kidnapped in a light-colored van by “4 Hispanic males,” primarily based on particulars the teenager had texted to his household.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Workplace deployed a helicopter in a single day and issued an AMBER alert to find the presumed-missing teenager.
Nevertheless, authorities rapidly realized one thing was improper with the alleged kidnapping once they found Speight was seen by an eyewitness “leaving the world on a bicycle.”
Speight had additionally bought tenting provides at Walmart simply earlier than he was reported lacking, in response to police.
Detectives additionally discovered Speight’s ChatGPT searches on his laptop computer included asking about “accumulating his blood with out inflicting ache” and “Mexican cartels.”
“Whereas persevering with the investigation, detectives moreover discovered that Speight had talked about operating away earlier than,” the division revealed.
The teenager was finally discovered throughout a service name by police on Sept. 28, about 25 miles away from the place he was reported lacking.
Speight was affected by a “self-inflicted gunshot wound to his leg, which shattered his femur and required medical therapy,” which police believed was an try and proceed the ruse.
He was additionally discovered with a handgun and the bicycle nonetheless in his possession when he was positioned.
“The preliminary particulars that Caden texted to his household, had been confirmed to be false. Utterly made up,” the sheriff’s workplace stated.
“We did discover proof of a single gunshot the place Caden left his truck. Nevertheless, his claims that he had been shot and kidnapped had been rapidly disproven.”
Speight didn’t confess to having fabricated a hoax after deputies tracked him down. After wrapping up the investigation, the Marion County Sheriff’s Workplace issued a warrant for Speight’s arrest.
He’s at the moment locked up on the Division of Juvenile Justice.
