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Citrus Deputies: Wandering Boy Wasn't Abducted

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TBO.com

Published: March 25, 2009

A pajama-wearing 8-year-old boy found running along a country road in Crystal River last week wasn't abducted after all but left home on his own, the Citrus County Sheriff's Office said today.

The child sent detectives scrambling after he was found wandering more than a mile from his home about 11:30 p.m. March 19. His memory was sketchy, but he provided a detailed description of a truck and a man he seemed to have met.

The child described a white man with black hair, a tattoo on his left bicep of an alligator in the water with a fish in its mouth and a tattoo on his right bicep of a bear with an open mouth.

The child said the man drove a light blue or gray pickup with a black interior and a center gear shift. In the truck bed were a tool box and a muzzled dog, possibly a boxer.

The sheriff's office released a composite sketch from the boy's description and canvassed the neighborhood searching for the man and vehicle.

Deputies also conducted checks on sexual predators and sex offenders nearby and interviewed the child's relatives and friends, classmates and teachers.

Today, the sheriff's office said investigators determined through interviews and the boy's admission that he never met anyone that night. Rather, he left home on his own and walked to a convenience store.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Gail Tierney said no charges will be filed against the boy for making a false report because of his age. His family is not facing charges.

Tierney could not provide a financial estimate for the hours and personnel expended during the investigation.

"If you have a child telling you he left the house with somebody … you just can't afford to ignore it," she said.

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