Deputies say the child, missing for three days, told them he had been abducted and threatened before the New Year’s Eve stop.
BUNNELL, FL — A Flagler County traffic stop on Dec. 31 led deputies to a missing 11-year-old boy who immediately told them he’d been kidnapped, prompting the arrest of 60-year-old Darnell Hairston of Hastings and a brief chase after a second teen fled in the truck, authorities said.
The case escalated quickly into a major investigation bridging Flagler and St. Johns counties. Detectives say the child had vanished three days earlier and was recovered after a caller reported suspicious activity on U.S. 1. Hairston, a registered sex offender, now faces new counts including kidnapping of a child under 13, aggravated child abuse, battery by strangulation and robbery with a deadly weapon. A 15-year-old found at the scene faces separate charges and is being reviewed as a possible co-conspirator. Officials say search warrants turned up items that match the boy’s account, and the inquiry remains active as agencies process evidence gathered at a campsite, a home in Hastings and the vehicle.
Deputies stopped a Ford pickup on U.S. 1 near Whiteview Drive the morning of Dec. 31 after a citizen called 911 about suspicious behavior, according to the sheriff’s office. Inside were Hairston, the 11-year-old boy reported missing out of St. Johns County, and a 15-year-old. Once the child was separated from the adult, he told a deputy he was not safe and feared being killed. As a deputy moved to detain Hairston, the man tried to run, deputies said, and was tackled after a short foot chase. At the same time, the 15-year-old jumped into the driver’s seat of the truck and sped off, nearly striking a deputy in the roadway. The pursuit continued onto State Road 100, where the teen rammed a patrol SUV; both vehicles left the road and the truck rolled. “Clearly, thanks to ‘see something, say something’ and our deputies recognizing the victim was very afraid, we rescued a missing child who was in fear,” Sheriff Rick Staly said.
In an interview with detectives, the boy said he had been lured to a wooded campsite in the Flagler Estates area and choked until he lost consciousness. When he woke up, he said, he was threatened with a knife and a firearm, tied with shoelaces and an extension cord, and had duct tape put over his mouth. He told investigators he was kept at the campsite for multiple days and made to ride on the truck’s floorboard under a blanket if they traveled. Detectives executed search warrants on Hairston’s truck, his residence in Hastings and the campsite, recovering duct tape, video surveillance equipment and weapons consistent with the child’s account. Investigators said Hairston knew the child had been reported missing and endangered but offered no clear reason for keeping him away from his parents. The 11-year-old was taken to a hospital for evaluation and later interviewed by deputies trained to speak with child victims. The teen who fled — identified by deputies as 15-year-old Junior Bishop of Hastings — was arrested after the crash and faces counts including aggravated fleeing and eluding, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, reckless driving, driving without a license and resisting arrest without violence.
Records show Hairston is a registered sex offender with a prior 12-year sentence for three counts of false imprisonment and arrests over the years that include aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, burglary with assault or battery, and lewd or lascivious offenses. Detectives are also reviewing possible ties to a sexual assault case under investigation in neighboring St. Johns County; whether that allegation is directly connected to this incident remains under investigation. Officials said the 11-year-old and 15-year-old knew each other and had communicated in a social media group chat where the younger boy had discussed concerns about Hairston. Investigators said the precise motive for the alleged abduction is still unknown. The sheriff’s office credited a timely 911 call and quick coordination among patrol deputies, traffic investigators and the Major Case Unit for the rescue and rapid arrests at the roadside and crash scene.
After Hairston’s initial arrest on Dec. 31 for resisting an officer with violence and attempting to deprive a deputy of a firearm, detectives worked through New Year’s Day to collect statements, process three crime scenes and prepare warrants, the sheriff said. On Friday, Jan. 2, deputies served additional charges: kidnapping of a child under 13, aggravated child abuse, battery by strangulation and robbery with a deadly weapon. Hairston is being held without bond at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility. The 15-year-old is in the custody of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice and, as of Jan. 2, faces an added count of grand theft of a motor vehicle tied to the truck he drove from the stop. Detectives said they are evaluating evidence to determine if the teen should face conspiracy or kidnapping-related counts.
Neighbors told deputies Hairston was known around the Flagler Estates area for helping kids repair dirt bikes and ATVs at a rural spot off sandy roads. Investigators say the campsite sat back in the woods, with paths leading to water and thick brush — a place hard to see from the main road. The truck involved in the stop, search and later crash showed damage on the passenger side after rolling near the wood line off State Road 100. At the sheriff’s jail in Palm Coast, Hairston was booked as detectives hauled in boxes of seized items, from tape to recording gear. “A lot of things were done to this young man that will probably traumatize him for a long time to come,” Staly said, adding that the boy told deputies he believed he was within minutes of being killed.
As of Saturday, investigators said they are still taking statements, running forensic tests on items picked up during the searches and coordinating with St. Johns County on the missing-child case file. The sheriff’s office said more charges are possible as interviews conclude and lab work returns. Officials have not released the child’s name because of his age. The next update is expected after detectives complete additional search returns and interviews early next week. Hairston remains jailed without bond; the 15-year-old remains in juvenile custody pending court dates.
Author note: Last updated January 3, 2026.