Newly released 911 call leads to discovery of missing 11-year-old in Florida
By Hayley Crombleholme
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FLAGLER COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office released the 911 call on Tuesday that helped lead deputies to a missing 11-year-old boy.
Investigators say Darnell Hairston held the boy for three days, hog-tied him with an extension cord and tortured him. The Sheriff’s Office says this all may have started over comments the boy made about a sexual assault allegedly involving Hairston.
This traffic stop of Hairston, a registered sex offender who deputies allege had a 15-year-old and a missing 11-year-old in his truck, ended with Hairston facing charges, as well as the 15-year-old, who’s accused of taking off in the truck, ramming a cruiser, and crashing.
These arrests might not have happened, and that missing child might not have been found if it weren’t for this 911 call.
The caller tells the operator, “Yes, Ma’am, there’s a child pedophile with two kids in his truck. One’s a runaway,”
“Where are you at, sir?” The operator asks,
“He’s coming down US-1, his name’s Darnell…”
The caller, who knew Hairston and knew he was a registered sex offender, just happened to see him on the road. He dialed 911 after spotting him with what looked like two underage boys in the car.
“How do you know this person?” The operator asked.
“Um, he’s our neighborhood child pedophile, and there’s two missing kids that’s runaway from out there, and he’s got two teenage boys in the back of his truck,” the caller said.
The caller followed the truck down US-1.
“You don’t have to continue following,” the operator told him. But he continued to follow, saying he wouldn’t stop till he saw law enforcement stop Hairston.
FCSO, along with many other local agencies, advises against confronting suspects, as it can put you in danger while gathering information. This included following suspect vehicles.
Deputies ultimately found the truck and, after a bit of a struggle, had Hairston in handcuffs.
As of Tuesday night, Hairston was still being held at the Flagler County Jail.
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