UPDATE: The Marion County Sheriff’s Office announced at 1:45 p.m. Sept. 26 that Caden Speight has been found safe in Williston.
Previously, officials said Speight, 17, had been shot and taken in a van by four Hispanic men after deputies responded to reports of a shooting on County Road 484 in Dunnellon. An Amber Alert was issued Sept. 25 because Speight was believed to be in danger.
Just before noon on Sept. 26, the sheriff’s office said that further investigation proved the initial claims was inaccurate.
Here’s what to know.
What happened to Caden Speight and the Florida Amber Alert?
Sheriff’s officials said that shortly before 4:15 p.m. on Sept. 25 deputies were called to the 12800 block of Southwest County Road 484 in Dunnellon about a shooting.
When they arrived, deputies found a pickup truck they said belongs to Speight, who was not there and could not be located.
Initially, MCSO deputies said they believed the boy was wounded and may have been taken by four Hispanic men in a van, but the office backtracked on that in a later update, saying new information and evidence was “unsupportive of the initially reported facts.”
An MCSO post from 11:52 a.m. said that Speight may have left the area on a black bicycle with a black and grey tent which he bought in an Ocala Walmart just before the shooting was reported.
“My deputies responded immediately, and I have dedicated all of my available resources to respond to this event,” aid Sheriff Billy Woods said in the post.
“Initial information was later determined to be inaccurate; however, we always give everything we have until the investigation takes us into a different direction. I appreciate the many citizens who gave us tips and information to help my detectives. Understand, I will continue to have all of my available resources committed to locating this young man.”
What is Florida’s Amber Alert?
An Amber Alert, or a child abduction emergency alert, is one of several alerts “issued through radio, television, highway Dynamic Message Signs, lottery machines, missingchildrenalert.com, and other resources.” Law enforcement agencies can request alerts to ask the public for help in much broader areas than just where the abduction may have occurred.
AMBER stands for “America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response” and is used to help find abducted children. It’s named after 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who had been abducted and killed in Arlington, Texas in 1996.
Amber alerts are only issued when the subject is under 18 and law enforcement has a well-founded belief, based on an active investigation, that a kidnapping has occurred and/or the child is in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury, and a detailed description of the child and the abductor/vehicle is available to broadcast.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Amber alert update in Florida. 17-year-old boy found safe. What we know
Reporting by C. A. Bridges and Austin L. Miller, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
