Dwight Samuels, 43, (left) standing next to the Corporal who captured him on Friday, July 26, 2024. (OCSO)
OKEECHOBEE, Fla. (CBS12) — The manhunt in Okeechobee County came full circle as the Sheriff's Office Corporal from whom a suspect fled on Thursday was the same person who nabbed him the next morning.
The Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) posted Friday morning that Dwight Samuels is back in custody. Samuels, 43, was wanted on multiple warrants in St. Lucie, Broward, and several other counties. Court records show he is accused of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery in St. Lucie County.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Corporal Michael Cauley who caught Samuels was participating in SWAT training near the 98 Civic Center, which is by the Okeechobee County airport, when authorities learned a man matching Samuels' description was hiding in the pavilion near the Civic Center.
Corporal Cauley found Samuels, who allegedly took off on foot. Cauley, the same law enforcement officer who Samuels is accused of running away from ended up being the man who ran him down, OCSO reported. It shared a picture of the two on its Facebook page shortly after the arrest.
Okeechobee County Sheriff Noel Stephen says a parent saw Samuels at a pavilion about 50 feet from the Civic Center, where children were attending a summer camp. Matthew Gammill, Okeechobee County Parks and Recreation Manager, says about 72 children ages 6-13 were at the summer camp.
"One of the parents, see something, say something, had seen an individual that had walked up to a pavilion at the county's facility and contacted the staff. The staff at the camp locked the children down, contacted the Sheriff's Office. Having the assistance of our taxpaying community that we're protecting, that's teamwork. It don't get no better than that," said Sheriff Stephen.
Samuels was captured about 14 miles from where he managed to escape on Thursday, the Sheriff’s Office noted. They're uncertain if anyone may have given him a ride. On Thursday, Samuels ended up running into a wooded area near 19600 U.S. 98 North, south of the Community Church of Basinger.
K-9 units, the Indian River County Sheriff's Office, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the U.S. Marshals Service and a helicopter from the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office participated in the search. OCSO offered its thanks to those agencies as well as the person who called in the tip that led to Samuels' arrest.
The Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office is looking for Samuels' car, a white 2017 Chevy Impala, Florida tag LYSN66. The Sheriff's Office has released a photo of the car. They believe the car is hidden or parked somewhere in Okeechobee County. Anyone who knows the location of the car is asked to call the Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office at 863-763-3117.
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