Nassau County

‘Shook us to our core’: Callahan Soccer Club fields at center of McDowell manhunt

NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. — A five-day manhunt for Patrick McDowell, the man accused of shooting and killing Deputy Joshua Moyers, centered on a Callahan ball field.

Sheriff Bill Leeper said deputies surrounded the ballpark concession stand and bathrooms.

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”[McDowell] called out that he wanted to give himself up and he came out,” Leeper said. “He came out of the bathrooms; we had him get down on the ground and crawl. He crawled like a baby; like the coward he is.”

The fields and concession stands are home base for the Callahan Soccer Club, which is a nonprofit that has up to 200 kids involved.

”This is your sanctuary,” John Graham, one of the board members said. “It shook us to our core.”

The board has not been able to assess the damage yet, but will have to completely sanitize, replace food and fix any damage.

“There’s a lot up in the air at this moment as to when we can proceed with soccer,” Brandi Graham said.

The manhunt put the community on lockdown, and the club was forced to cancel its “coaches vs. coaches” fundraiser, which normally gathers up to $5,000.That money helps the club pay for gear, concessions and maintenance around the facility.

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”It hurt, and of course we didn’t get to raise the money we needed going into next season,” John said.

The team set up a GoFundMe page to help make up for the loss.

”But we’re going to deal with that a lot easier than the unknown of when [McDowell] was going to come out of the woods or hurt somebody else. That unknown was far more worrisome,” John said.

He, along with many in the community, knew Moyers. John said he had an infectious smile and personality.