A person of interest in the disappearance of missing mom, Leila Cavett, is behind bars for lying to the FBI, but new information in a recently-released federal arrest warrant details an additional charge.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Cavett, 21, may have left Georgia with her toddler son “abruptly” at night and drove to Florida for unknown reasons, although some family members fear she met someone online that she wanted to see in person.
During the morning hours of July 26, passerby Ebony Williams discovered Cavett’s son, 2-year-old Kamdyn, wandering alone in a t-shirt and a dirty diaper outside of an apartment complex off of SW 68th Avenue in Miramar. After searching the area for the toddler’s caretakers without luck, Williams contacted the police.
“I heard the baby crying, so I walked over, and I realized he was by himself,” Williams said. “I asked him, ‘Where’s your mommy?’ And he kind of just like pointed everywhere.”
A gold Lexus that resembled self-proclaimed “witch doctor” Shannon Ryan’s car was spotted on security footage by the apartment complex just moments before the toddler was found.
Ryan previously admitted that he was the last person to have seen Cavett in Florida, but said he didn’t know where she was. He claimed Cavett and Kamdyn got into a car with a group of men at a RaceTrac gas station in Hollywood and he has not seen her since.
Ryan was arrested and charged over the weekend for giving false statements to the FBI. He’s now also charged with kidnapping Kamdyn, The Washington Post reports.
Further, investigators said Ryan went to Walmart and a gas station, where he used a debit card to buy duct tape, odor eliminator, and extra-large garbage bags, according to court documents.
According to a federal search warrant, investigators found shovels with small droplets of some sort of red substance on them. The shovels are currently being tested.
Investigators also interviewed several workers at a RaceTrac gas station where Cavett was spotted on July 25. Employees said they noticed children’s toys and women’s clothing in the dumpster. One article of clothing looked identical to the floral pants Cavett was seen wearing on security footage.
Search records on Ryan’s phone allegedly showed incriminating online queries, including, in part:
- “What day does commercial garbage pickup for Hollywood, Florida?”
- “Does bleach and alcohol make chloroform?”
Ryan, however, reportedly continued to deny that he had anything to do with Cavett or her son’s disappearance. Although he claimed the pair left in a dark sedan at around 2:30 a.m with a group of black males at the RaceTrac, investigators said that there is no evidence on security footage that backs up Ryan’s claims.
Prior to his arrest, Ryan posted an hour-long Facebook video, claiming Leila left on her own with her son. One the same video, Ryan said he had known Cavett and her son since 2019, and that the pair previously lived with him in Alabama.
Ryan also said he was in Hollywood visiting a friend in the hospital when he asked Cavett to come to Florida. He offered to buy her truck from her, a truck Cavett had reportedly just bought for herself.
Who is Leila Cavett and what is my connection to her disappearance? Let’s talk about it!!!
Posted by Magnetic Kundalini on Sunday, August 9, 2020
“I said, ‘Let me buy that truck from you,’” Ryan said. “‘I’m not selling my truck.’ I’m like, ‘Leila, come on, sell me the truck.’ From my understanding, I thought she was the reason she was coming to Florida.”
Ryan alleged that Cavett showed up with the truck and her son in Florida after their conversation. He claimed he paid $3,000 for the truck, then spent the day with Cavett and Kamydyn, going to the beach and treating them to lunch and dinner.
Security footage captured Cavett on the evening of July 24 at a Cracker Barrel in Vero Beach, with her son. She was spotted the following day at a RaceTrac gas station near at 441 and Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood.
Cavett entered and exited a Lexus sedan at RaceTrac at around 3 p.m. on July 25. Cavett returned to the same gas station that evening, with her son, according to authorities.
“That’s my price. This is how I do business. I get paid to answer people’s questions, so you are no different. Other than that, I have nothing to say and you can quote me on this,” Ryan told CrimeOnline.
Cavett stands 5-feet-4-inches tall and weighs around 120 pounds. She has a tattoo on her inner right arm that reads, “Kamdyn,” in cursive and a small tattoo of a “Jesus fish” on her right wrist.
Anyone with information on Cavett’s whereabouts should contact the FBI Miami at 1-800-CALL-FBI or go to FBI.gov/tips.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Feature Photo: Leila Cavett and Kamdyn/Facebook; Police Handout]k
