FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A 911 call is revealing new details about how deputies were able to find a registered sex offender who was arrested last month while driving with a missing child he’s accused of kidnapping and torturing.
In the audio released on Tuesday, the caller told a dispatcher he saw Darnell Hairston, 60, driving along U.S. Highway 1.
“There’s a child pedophile with two kids in his truck,” the caller said. “He’s our neighborhood child pedophile and there’s two missing kids that’s run away from out there.”
According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, Hairston had two boys, 15 and 11, inside his truck.
Deputies said the 11-year-old was in a Snapchat group chat with the teen. The boy said in the chat that he thought Hairston sexually assaulted his friend, which deputies say led the teen to help lure the boy to Hairston.
The boy said Hairston choked him until he passed out, then tied him up with duct tape over his mouth.
Deputies said they found evidence matching the boy’s story.
While on the phone with a dispatcher, the 911 caller said he was determined to see Hairston caught.
“I’m following until I see a cop pull his a** over, because he’s got two kids in his car,” the caller said. “If a cop don’t pull him over, I’m going to pull him over and it ain’t going to be f***ing pretty.”
Deputies caught up to Hairston and while making the arrest, the 15-year-old got behind the wheel of the truck.
Dash-camera video showed the truck leading deputies on a chase until it rammed a patrol car and crashed.
Hairston is jailed, facing multiple charges for kidnapping and assault. The teen is held in the local juvenile detention center.