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Marion County Amber alert: Where is Caden Speight? Latest update on missing Florida teen
An AMBER alert has been issued for Caden Speight, a teenage boy missing from Florida's Marion County.
A teenage boy from Florida's Marion County has gone missing, prompting an AMBER alert to be issued on Thursday night.
Authorities identified the boy as one Caden Speight. He is 17 years old. As per the AMBER alert, Speight is from Dunnellon in Florida, and is 6 feet tall. He weighs 150 lbs and has been marked missing since September 25. Caden has brown hair and brown eyes, and the text alert reportedly referred to him as a 'kidnapped child', as per NBC affiliate, WFLA.
Where is Caden Speight?
As per the alert, Speight was last spotted in the area of the 12800 block of Southwest Highway 484 in Dunnellon. He is said to have been in a tee-shirt of unknown color, and had blue jeans on.
Authorities added that Speight might be in the company of four unknown males, who're possibly Hispanic. Authorities further shared that they might be traveling in a light-colored van. “If located, DO NOT APPROACH. Contact law enforcement immediately,” the alert continued.
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Currently, Speight has not been located and authorities have urged people to reach out with any information pertaining to the matter.
Meanwhile, another local media outlet affiliated with NBC, reported that the Marion County Sheriff's Office had shared, on Thursday, that it was looking into a shooting at 4 pm in the same location where the teenage boy was last seen. Deputies, upon arrival, had found the vehicle which belonged to the victim. However, the victim was not present, and has not been located yet.
What is an AMBER alert
The AMBER alert system had begun in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed with local police to set up an early warning system that would help authorities find abducted children.
AMBER stands for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response. It was created as a legacy to Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old who was kidnapped while riding her bike in Arlington, Texas, and was then brutally murdered.
Today, the AMBER Alert system is used in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.
