Man who claims he saw missing mom Leila Cavett faces kidnapping charge

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A man who claims he was the last person to see a missing Atlanta woman is facing a kidnapping charge in connection with the case, authorities said.

The Associated Press reported that Shannon Demar Ryan, 38, of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, faces a charge of kidnapping with the intent of collecting ransom, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday in Florida.

Ryan was arrested Saturday on charges of lying to federal agents, the Miami Herald previously reported. He is being held in a Broward County, Florida, jail, according to the newspaper.

Ryan said he has known the missing woman, 21-year-old Leila Cavett, since January of last year, the criminal complaint said. Authorities have been searching for Cavett since her toddler son, Kamdyn, was found alone in a Miramar, Florida, apartment complex last month, according to the AP.

Cavett, who had been living in Atlanta and had ties to Jasper, Alabama, was last seen on video July 25 at a gas station in Hollywood, Florida, one day before residents found the 2-year-old boy wearing a dirty diaper and no socks or shoes, the Herald reported.

Ryan told authorities that Cavett and Kamdyn met him at the gas station before the three went to the beach together, the complaint said. He claimed they returned to the gas station about 2:30 a.m. July 26, and Cavett and the boy got into a car with a group of Black men, according to the complaint. Investigators, however, said surveillance footage doesn't show Ryan's car or the mother and son getting into another vehicle, the AP reported.

Authorities added that Ryan's car was captured on video leaving the gas station at 8:15 a.m. July 26 and returning about 20 minutes later, according to the AP. Surveillance footage also captured Ryan's car at the apartment complex where Kamdyn was found that same morning, authorities said.

According to the complaint, Ryan bought odor eliminator, duct tape and trash bags at the gas station and a nearby Walmart, the AP reported.

Investigators found Cavett's vehicle, a white truck, abandoned in Hollywood on July 28, according to the AP.

In a nearly hourlong video posted to Facebook on Aug. 9, a man who appears to be Ryan said he saw Cavett and "gave the police everything that I know," the AP reported.

Ryan also describes himself as a "witch" and "god" in social media posts, according to the Herald.

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– The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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