Late last month, Blaze News reported about a Florida teen who authorities said carried out a jaw-dropping hoax featuring his own supposed kidnapping as well as texts to his family claiming he’d been shot and was being followed by four Hispanic men.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office and surrounding agencies pulled out all the stops, committing personnel and resources over the course of about 24 hours to find 17-year-old Caden Speight.
‘While continuing the investigation, detectives additionally learned that Speight had mentioned running away before, and they located ChatGPT searches on his laptop about collecting his blood without causing pain and Mexican cartels.’
But things began looking suspicious with every update, and finally the kid was found. But it was far from a happy reunion.
Turns out authorities said Speight shot himself in the leg. And his claim about Hispanic men following him? Made-up. But that was just for starters.
It now appears that his alleged hoax was even more elaborate than authorities first thought.
How it began
An Amber Alert was issued on the night of Sept. 25 stating that Speight was last seen about four hours earlier in the 12800 block of SW Highway 484 in Dunnellon, which is about an hour south of Gainesville.
Image source: Marion County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office
As time wore on and the crisis heightened, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods noted that he had dedicated all of his available resources in an effort to find the teen, and his personnel worked through the night of Sept. 25 and through most of the next day on the case. In fact, Woods later said “federal agencies” as well as reinforcements “from around the state” turned out to help.
Many observers also were worried; one replied to the alert on Facebook with the following: “Oh, dear Jesus, please bring this young man back to his family safe and unharmed.”
But after the Hispanic men claim was debunked, authorities combed the scene where both Speight’s truck had been found and a shooting had been reported. The teen wasn’t there — but a bullet hole in the truck reportedly was.
The dominoes kept falling. An updated alert added that it was possible Speight “left the incident location on a black bicycle with a red and grey tent, which he purchased at Walmart on SW 19th Avenue Road in Ocala just prior to this incident being reported.” Ocala is about 40 minutes northeast of Dunnellon.
Finally the sheriff’s office said on the afternoon of Sept. 26 that Speight had “been located safe in Williston,” which is about 35 minutes northwest of Ocala.
Authorities say it was a hoax
Sheriff Woods a few days later announced in a video update that Speight made it all up.
Woods said, “We had witnesses that contradicted the initial information. 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.”
As for the teen’s claim that he’d been shot, the sheriff said, “Content 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 an assailant.”
Woods added that numerous people asked if Speight would face consequences, and this week that has come to pass.
Facing justice
The sheriff’s office said Major Crimes Detective Jason Williams on Tuesday arrested Speight for presenting false evidence, shooting into a conveyance, making a false report of a crime, and possession of a firearm by a minor.
In its announcement, the sheriff’s office added that during the all-out search for Speight, crime scene technicians noticed a bullet hole through the windshield of his vehicle, suspected blood, Speight’s severely damaged cell phone, drag marks in the dirt, and bicycle tracks leading away from his truck.
But authorities soon said he went much further than that in an attempt to solidify the hoax:
Further investigation and testing revealed that Speight had fired the shot through the windshield, splattered a mixture of blood in the truck, and destroyed his cell phone. Speight then fled the area on a bicycle with camping supplies he purchased at Walmart just before reporting this incident. An eyewitness also advised that he saw Speight leaving the area on a bicycle.
While continuing the investigation, detectives additionally learned that Speight had mentioned running away before, and they located ChatGPT searches on his laptop about collecting his blood without causing pain and Mexican cartels. On September 26, 2025, Williston Police Department (WPD) officers located Speight during a call for service at 727 W Noble Avenue in Williston. Speight was found with a handgun and the bicycle still in his possession. He attempted to continue the ruse and had a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his leg, which shattered his femur and required medical treatment.
The sheriff’s office said that after Speight’s arrest, he was taken to the Department of Juvenile Justice.
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Caden speight, Florida, Teen, Missing teen, Hoax, Arrest, Charges, Marion county sheriff’s office, Presenting false evidence charge, Making a false report of a crime charge, Crime