An 11-year-old boy who vanished from home days earlier was found during a Dec. 31 traffic stop on U.S. Highway 1 after deputies said a registered sex offender lured him to a campsite, choked him until he lost consciousness and restrained him with shoelaces and duct tape. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect as Darnell Hairston, 60, and said a 15-year-old who was traveling with him later tried to flee in the suspect’s pickup, crashing into a patrol car before being detained.
Authorities said the case began when a caller reported seeing Hairston traveling with two juveniles, including a child who matched a missing-person alert. Deputies pulled over a white pickup with a camper shell near Palm Coast Parkway around 10:40 p.m. and took Hairston into custody after a brief attempt to run. The boy, described as frightened and disoriented, told investigators he had been held for multiple days at a wooded campsite, threatened with a knife and a gun, and forced to ride on the floorboard of the truck under a blanket. The discovery ended an intensive search that had stretched into the holiday weekend and prompted alerts across central Florida.
After Hairston was detained, officials said the 15-year-old slid into the driver’s seat and sped off in the truck, triggering a short pursuit that ended when the vehicle struck a deputy’s cruiser. Two deputies sustained minor injuries, according to initial accounts. Investigators later searched the campsite and the vehicle, documenting shoelaces, an extension cord and duct tape consistent with the child’s description of being bound and gagged. Detectives are reviewing body-camera video, traffic-camera footage and campsite receipts while analysts compile a timeline of movements between the woods and the highway stop.
Hairston, listed as a registered sex offender, faces charges that include kidnapping and aggravated child abuse. Jail and sheriff’s records show he remained in custody Tuesday on a substantial bond while prosecutors reviewed additional counts tied to threats with weapons and alleged obstruction during the stop. Officials said the teen, who was not publicly identified because of age, faces separate charges for aggravated fleeing and eluding, reckless driving and battery on law enforcement and has been turned over to juvenile authorities. The sheriff’s office said the 11-year-old was medically evaluated and reunited with relatives.
The wooded campsite sits off a sand road outside Palm Coast, a bedroom community along Florida’s northeast coast. Investigators said terrain and tree cover complicated aerial searches and that the boy’s account indicated he was moved multiple times, including being concealed under a blanket in the truck’s footwell. Detectives are checking store security video for purchases of tape, cord or fuel and canvassing nearby trailheads for witnesses who might have seen the pickup. Neighbors near the highway stop told reporters they heard sirens and saw a pickup clipped at the front end after the teen’s attempted getaway.
Officials emphasized standard procedures now underway: forensic teams are swabbing bindings and clothing for DNA; phones and the truck’s navigation data are being downloaded; and analysts are cross-referencing missing-person call logs with campsite permits and retail transactions. Prosecutors will decide whether to add counts related to weapons threats and false imprisonment after autopsy-style injury documentation and sworn interviews are complete. Authorities have not publicly detailed how the boy was initially contacted, whether online messages were involved, or why the teenager was with the suspect.
In Palm Coast, the case drew quick public reaction as parents traded updates on neighborhood forums. A couple who live near the highway stop said they saw deputies comforting a small child while other units chased the truck. “You could tell something serious had happened,” the man said. A clerk at a nearby gas station recalled officers asking for any video showing the pickup between 9:30 and 11 p.m. “They wanted every angle,” she said. By late afternoon, a light trail of tire marks and broken plastic remained near the intersection where the pursuit ended.
As of Tuesday evening, Hairston remained jailed and the juvenile co-defendant was in the custody of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. Investigators said the next update would follow lab submissions and a review of digital evidence gathered from phones seized during the stop. The sheriff’s office said the rescued child is safe with family as victim advocates coordinate services and interviews.
Author note: Last updated January 7, 2026.