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A Florida teenager is accused of falsely claiming he was shot and abducted before disappearing with camping gear and later shooting himself in the leg, authorities said.
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods announced the allegations Monday in a Facebook video, saying 17-year-old Caden Speight’s abduction claims were “proven to be false.”
The investigation began Friday after urgent messages from Speight prompted an Amber Alert and a large law enforcement response. Authorities said he texted his family claiming he had been shot and abducted, sparking the alert.
The Amber Alert, issued Sept. 25, said Speight was last seen that afternoon wearing a T-shirt and jeans and might have been with four men in a light-colored van — information authorities later determined was unfounded.
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The sheriff’s office launched an extensive search using detectives, aviation, field force and mounted units. By the next day, investigators said there was no evidence Speight had been abducted by men in a van. Instead, they noted he may have left on a black bicycle with camping gear he had just bought at a Walmart in Ocala.
He was later found safe in Williston, about 20 miles southwest of Gainesville.
Woods commended his deputies Monday for working through the night to find Speight.
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“Because of their hard work, the initial details that Caden texted to his family were proven to be false – completely made up,” Woods said. “We did find evidence of a single gunshot where Caden left his truck. However, his claims that he had been shot and abducted were quickly disproven. We then learned that he had purchased a bicycle, tent and camping supplies just prior to him reporting this.”
Woods said there were “an alarming amount of red flags” that required investigation, but there were also witnesses who contradicted the teen’s story.
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“Caden simply rode away towards Williston while the rest of us were left to think the worst and my team was working in overdrive to solve this case,” he said. “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,” Woods added.
The sheriff did not rule out whether Speight would face charges, saying investigators are still reviewing evidence. He added that deputies have questions for Speight, but his parents have refused to let him speak with detectives.
