The FBI is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to the whereabouts of Georgia mom, Leila Cavett, who was last seen on July 25.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Cavett, 21, may have left Georgia with her toddler son “abruptly” at night and drove to Florida for unknown reasons.
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.”
Kamdyn is now in foster care while family members are going through the legal process in an attempt to gain custody. Meanwhile, his mother remains missing.
On Saturday, authorities arrested a person of interest in the case. Self-proclaimed “witch doctor” Shannon Ryan was detained in Florida and arrested for lying to the FBI and kidnapping, in connection to Kamdyn.
The arrest report indicated a car that looked identical to Ryan’s gold Lexus with a missing bumper was spotted on security footage by the apartment complex just moments before the toddler was found.
“A vehicle consistent with Ryan’s Gold Lexus is seen directly in front of the apartment complex where the child was recovered only minutes before the child was found. Ryan’s Lexus is very distinguishable because it is missing the front bumper,” the criminal complaint states.
Shannon Ryan Criminal Compl… by Leigh Egan on Scribd
Ryan previously admitted that he was the last person to have seen Cavett in Florida, but said he didn’t know where she was.
Ryan allegedly claimed that Cavett and Kamdyn got into a dark sedan with “several unknown black males” on July 26 at 2:30 a.m., at a RaceTrac gas station in Hollywood; he said he hasn’t seen her since.
Investigators reviewed security footage of the gas station, which did not “show L.C. leaving in a dark sedan.”
Further, investigators said Ryan went to Walmart and a gas station, where he used another person’s debit card to buy duct tape, odor eliminator, and extra-large garbage bags.
According to a federal search warrant, investigators found shovels with small droplets of some sort of red substance on them in Ryan’s possession. 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.
One of the workers told investigators they saw Ryan near the gas station dumpster. Law enforcement obtained security footage showing Ryan parking his car near the dumpster on July 25.
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?”
On Thursday, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, announced the reward offered for information that leads to Cavett, Local 10 reports.
“The FBI is actively seeking information relating to the whereabouts of Leila Cavett. We are still relentlessly investigating the circumstances surrounding her disappearance. Any information, no matter how seemingly insignificant, may be important to finding Leila. We thank those who have already provided information and urge other members of our community to come forward.”
Anyone with information on Cavett is urged to contact the FBI’s Miami office at 800-CALL-FBI or to submit a tip to FBI.GOV/TIPS.
Read all of our coverage on Leila Cavett here
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[Feature Photo: Leila Cavett and Kamdyn/Facebook; Police Handout]