Florida teen arrested for staging his abduction, shooting himself as hoax ignited frantic search

A teenager from Florida was taken into custody on Tuesday for allegedly fabricating his own kidnapping and inflicting a gunshot wound to his leg in order to perpetuate the deception — as authorities found desperate messages he sent to his family that were “entirely false.”

Caden Speight, aged 17, is facing multiple charges, which include filing a false report, discharging a firearm into a vehicle, and possessing a firearm as a minor, as reported by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.

The teen’s disappearance in Dunnellon, located north of Tampa, raised alarms on September 25 when authorities located his abandoned truck, which had a gunshot wound in the windshield.

Investigators identified signs like Speight’s severely damaged mobile phone, drag marks in the earth, and bicycle tracks exiting from his vehicle, along with what appeared to be “suspected blood” in the vicinity, as stated by the sheriff’s office.

At one point, law enforcement considered that Speight might have been kidnapped by “four Hispanic men” in a pale-colored van, based on information he had relayed to his family.

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office even deployed a helicopter during the night and issued an AMBER alert to search for the possibly abducted teenager.

However, investigators soon recognized inconsistencies in the alleged abduction when they received reports of eyewitnesses seeing Speight “riding away on a bicycle.”

Additionally, police discovered that Speight had bought camping gear at Walmart just prior to his disappearance.

Detectives also uncovered web searches made by Speight on his laptop that included queries about “how to collect his blood painlessly” and “Mexican drug cartels.”

“Furthermore, as the investigation progressed, it came to light that Speight had previously indicated he was considering running away,” noted the department.

The teenager was ultimately discovered during a service call by police on September 28, located approximately 25 miles from where he had gone missing.

He had sustained a “self-inflicted gunshot wound to his leg, which shattered his femur and necessitated medical attention,” which authorities suspect was an attempt to maintain the illusion of his abduction.

When found, he had a handgun and the bicycle still in his possession.

“The initial messages Caden sent to his family were confirmed to be false. Entirely fabricated,” stated the sheriff’s office.

“We indeed discovered evidence of a single gunshot wound where Caden abandoned his truck. Nonetheless, his claims of being shot and kidnapped were swiftly discredited.”

After deputies tracked him down, Speight did not admit to orchestrating a hoax. Following the investigation’s conclusion, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office secured a warrant for Speight’s arrest.

He is currently being held at the Department of Juvenile Justice.