ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office is explaining why no Missing Child or AMBER Alert was issued before a local boy was found during a traffic stop in Flagler County with a registered sex offender.
Dash camera video shows the moment a Flagler County deputy stopped a white Ford F-150 along U.S. Highway 1 on New Year’s Eve. Investigators say that at the time the boy was reported missing, the circumstances did not meet the criteria for an alert.
According to authorities, the stop involved 60-year-old Darnell Hairston, a registered sexual offender from Hastings. Deputies say a caller reported seeing Hairston traveling with juvenile passengers, including a child reported missing in St. Johns County.
St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick said coordination between agencies began once Flagler County made contact.
“Flagler County Sheriff’s Office reached out to us in reference to the suspect being from St. John’s County,” Hardwick said.
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office said the juveniles involved were initially considered runaways, not confirmed kidnapping victims, until the traffic stop occurred. During the stop, deputies confirmed one of the juveniles was the missing St. Johns County child.
The 11-year-old was taken to a hospital and later interviewed by investigators. Authorities say the child reported being choked by Hairston and threatened with a gun and a knife.
Investigators said search warrants were then executed at multiple locations, including Hairston’s vehicle, his residence and a campsite, where they recovered evidence they say supported the child’s statements.
“There was some visible evidence that they could physically see on the 11-year-old child… We did have a 15-year-old that is known to us in St. John’s County as runaways,” Hardwick said.
As questions mounted about why the public was not alerted sooner, the sheriff’s office reiterated that investigators did not have evidence of abduction or imminent danger at the time the boys were reported missing.
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Skip Cole, the director of criminal investigations, said detectives were familiar with the juveniles involved.
“Very familiar with both of these kids… they are chronic runaways. Based on the investigation, we knew their approximate location in Flagler, so it really wasn’t necessary,” Cole said.
Meanwhile, a friend of Hairston is speaking out publicly for the first time about the allegations. Action News Jax is protecting her identity and disguising her voice because she says she fears retaliation.
“he’s a good person when he’s not doing stupid stuff, but it’s very scary,” she said.
The friend said the accusations are difficult to process, even though she knew about Hairston’s sex offender history.
“Well, to be honest, everything is leading up to his guilty that he done what he did,” she said.
Despite that, she said Hairston never showed signs of violence.
“he’ll give his shirt off his back to helping anybody,” she said.
When asked if he ever showed signs he was capable of such actions, she responded, “No… no.”
Authorities said the situation escalated quickly after the traffic stop, leading to arrests and a broader criminal investigation.
Hairston was charged on January 2 with kidnapping a child under 13, aggravated child abuse, battery by strangulation, and robbery with a deadly weapon. He is being held without bond at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility.
Investigators said the second juvenile, 15-year-old Junior Bishop, fled the scene in Hairston’s vehicle, leading deputies on a pursuit that ended in a crash near the Putnam County line.
Bishop was arrested on multiple charges and is in the custody of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. Authorities said he may face additional charges as the investigation continues.
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office said AMBER Alerts and Missing Child alerts are reserved for specific circumstances and are not issued in every runaway case. The investigation remains active.
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