This browser does not support the Video element.
Missing child found with registered sex offender, deputies say
Two people were arrested, and a missing child was located following a traffic stop that escalated into a vehicle pursuit and crash across western Flagler County, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said.
FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. - Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly has released additional details after a 60-year-old registered sex offender was recently found with an 11-year-old boy, who was reported missing in St. Johns County, and a 15-year-old boy.
Sheriff Rick Staly said Darnell Hairston, of Hastings, has been charged with four additional charges and is now being held in jail on no bond.
New charges:
- Kidnapping
- Aggravated child abuse
- Battery by strangulation
- Robbery with a deadly weapon
Previous charges: resisting an officer with violence and attempting to
deprive a law enforcement officer of their firearm.
Sheriff's office: Hairston lured 11-year-old boy into woods, choked him until he lost consciousness
According to a news release, the 11-year-old boy told deputies that Hairston lured him to a wooded campsite in Flagler Estates, where he was choked until he lost consciousness.
The boy told deputies that when he woke up, he was threatened with a knife, tied up with shoelaces and an extension cord, and had duct tape placed over his mouth, the sheriff's office said.
He told deputies that Hairston kept him at the campsite for "multiple days" and made him hide under a blanket off the floorboard of his truck if they traveled anywhere.
The sheriff's office said the boy was reported missing for at least three days out of St. Johns County.
FOX 35 has reached out to St. Johns County for details on their investigation. A spokesperson declined an interview with FOX 35 and told our staff to file a public records request for information.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly told FOX 35 in an interview on Friday afternoon that the boy feared Hairston and thought that he was going to be harmed by him.
He praised the citizen who suspected something suspicious and contacted 911.
Duct tape, video surveillance equipment recovered during search warrants
Deputies with the Flagler County Sheriff's Office conducted search warrants of the man's vehicle, his home in Hastings, and the campsite. Deputies found duct tape, video surveillance equipment, and weapons "consistent with the child's statements," the sheriff's office said.
Sheriff's office: The man knew the boy was reported missing
The sheriff's office said in its news release that Hairston knew the child was missing and endangered, and that law enforcement was looking for the boy, but did not have a reason why he had the child with him.
Sheriff: 15-year-old may have helped with kidnapping
The sheriff's office also said that the 15-year-old boy who was found with Hairston may have been a co-conspirator in the kidnapping of the 11-year-old boy, but did not provide specifics.
Sheriff Staly told FOX 35 that the investigation remains active and ongoing.
The 15-year-old faces an additional charge of grand theft because he did not have permission to take Hairston's truck.
He was previously charged with aggravated fleeing and eluding, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, reckless driving, driving without a license and resisting an officer without violence.
FOX 35 is not naming the boy due to his age.
The backstory:
On the morning of New Year's Eve, Dec. 31, a concerned person reported "suspicious activity" to Flagler County deputies, who pulled over a F-150.
Deputies found Hairston, an 11-year-old boy, and a 15-year-old boy in the truck.
The 11-year-old boy was placed in a patrol vehicle.
This browser does not support the Video element.
Dashcam: Florida man found with 2 kids in truck runs from deputies
The Flagler County Sheriff's Office said deputies conducted a traffic stop early Wednesday morning after someone reported suspicious activity. Deputies pulled over a truck on US Highway 1 and found a 60-year-old man and two minors. One of those minors was reported missing out of St. Johns County. As deputies were investigating, the man attempted to flee, but was quickly tackled. At the same time, a 15-year-old hopped in the driver's seat of the truck and took off, nearly running over one deputy's foot in the process. That teenager eventually drove off the road, crashed, and flipped the truck on State Road 100.
Hairston attempted to run from deputies, but was quickly tackled and taken into custody. He's accused of attempting to grab a deputy's gun during the struggle.
At the same time, the 15-year-old boy hopped back in the truck and drove away, nearly running over the foot of a deputy, who was holding Hairston on the ground, the sheriff's office said.
This browser does not support the Video element.
Dashcam: 15-year-old crashes, flips car amid law enforcement pursuit, deputies say
Flagler County deputies conducted a traffic stop on Dec. 31 on US Highway 1, near Whiteview Drive. Someone called 911 to report suspicious activity. Deputies found a 60-year-old man and 2 minors in the truck. One of those children were reported missing out of St. Johns County, deputies said. The other was 15. During the traffic stop, the 60-year-old man attempted to run from deputies and was quickly tackled and arrested. At the same time, the 15-year-old hopped back into the van and drove away, leading deputies on a brief chase, before crashing along State Road 100. This portion of the dashcam video shows the crash.
The boy later crashed into the side of one of the deputy's vehicles, where both went off the road. The deputy was not hurt. The truck flipped over.
The Source: Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly talked with FOX 35's Chancelor Winn on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026 about the case. The Flagler County Sheriff's Office issued a news release on Friday with more information about the investigation.