Caden Speight, age 17, of Dunnellon, arrested on charges related to abduction hoax

Marion County Sheriff's Office, Ocala, Florida

Ocala, Florida - On October 14, 2025, Major Crimes Detective Jason Williams with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) arrested 17 year-old Caden Speight of Dunnellon, Florida on numerous charges related to an incident - believed to be a hoax - that occurred in late September, 2025. Speight's charges include presenting false evidence, shooting into a conveyance, making a false report of a crime, and possession of a firearm by a minor.

Around 4:10 p.m. on September 25, 2025, Marion County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to the 12800 block of SW Highway 484 in Dunnellon, after Speight texted his family that he had been shot, due to the Life360 family safety phone application showing this as Speight's last known location.

When deputies arrived at the loction, they found the truck that Speight had been driving, but Speight was not found at the location. Crime Scene Technicians observed a bullet hole through the windshield of the vehicle Speight had been driving, and a substance, suspected to be blood, was found inside the vehicle. Speight’s severely damaged cellphone was found at the location, along with drag marks in the dirt, and bicycle tracks leading away from his truck.

Further investigation and testing revealed that Speight had fired the shot through the windshield, splattered a mixture of blood inside the truck, and destroyed his cell phone. Speight then fled the area on a bicycle with camping supplies he'd purchased at a Walmart store, just before he'd texted his parents that he'd been shot.

An eyewitness advised law enforcement personnel that he'd seen Speight leaving the area on a bicycle.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office used avast amount of resources and personnel, along with the assistance of numerous other law enforcement agencies, to search for Speight and collect evidence at the alleged crime scene. An Amber Alert (public notification system used to enlist the public's help in locating an abducted child) was issued.

During the investigation, detectives learned, that prior to the incident, Speight had mentioned running away, and they located on his laptop computer ChatGPT searches about collecting blood without causing pain and Mexican cartels.

The following day, September 26, 2025, Williston Police Department (WPD) officers located Speight during a call for service from an undisclosed person at 727 West Noble Avenue in Williston, Florida, the location of the Winn-Dixie grocery store.

Speight was found with a handgun and the bicycle still in his possession, and a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his leg, which had shattered his femur and required medical treatment. He attempted to continue the abduction ruse with the first responders who'd responded to the location.

At the conclusion of the Marion County Sheriff's Office's investigation into the incident, a warrant was obtained for Speight’s arrest. He was located and placed under arrest, then transported to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, Marion Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Ocala, Florida.