Deputies rescue missing 11-year-old boy after chase involving registered sex offender

New video shows chase involving registered sex offender

Authorities say an 11-year-old boy reported missing days earlier was rescued after deputies stopped a pickup truck driven by a registered sex offender, setting off a dramatic series of events that included a foot pursuit and a second vehicle chase. 

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. - Authorities say an 11-year-old boy reported missing days earlier was rescued after deputies stopped a pickup truck driven by a registered sex offender.

That traffic stop set off a dramatic series of events that included a foot pursuit and a second vehicle chase.

New Video:

Newly released video shows deputies stopping a truck along U.S. 1 after receiving a call about suspicious activity involving a registered sex offender and two boys. Investigators identified the driver as 60-year-old Darnell Hairston. 

One of the children in the truck was an 11-year-old boy reported missing from St. Johns County three days earlier.

Deputies said the child was terrified and told them he had been kidnapped and feared he would not survive. 

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According to investigators, the boy said he was choked unconscious, threatened with a knife and a gun, tied up and hidden on the floorboard of the truck for several days. Authorities said Hairston instructed the child to give deputies a false name.

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As deputies attempted to take Hairston into custody, investigators said he fled on foot. During that pursuit, a second boy inside the truck ran off and later led deputies on a dangerous vehicle chase. Authorities said the chase ended when the teen rammed a patrol car, sending both vehicles into the woods.

The teen now faces multiple charges, and investigators said he may have helped plan the kidnapping. Hairston has been charged with multiple felonies, including kidnapping and aggravated child abuse, and is being held without bond.

Authorities said the rescued child was safely recovered.