PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – A 16-year-old being held at gunpoint during a home invasion robbery who was sought as a possible kidnapping victim by St. Johns County deputies has been found safe, deputies said.
According to the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, Marcus Anthony Hatch was brought to a home on Great Harbor Way at gunpoint during a home invasion. An Amber Alert was issued for Hatch, who was found in Jacksonville in good health.
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A couple who lives in the home, which is West of A1A off Ponte Vedra Lakes Boulevard, told deputies that Hatch was a known acquaintance to them as a resident of Jacksonville. The couple and a roommate were tied up by three men who took the couple's car and Hatch, who was still being held at gunpoint, deputies said.
The vehicle is a 2009 Grey Subaru Legacy with Florida “Air Force” tag AKN6Z. The hubcaps are silver except for the front passenger wheel and there are scratches on the driver's side rear door. There is a middle finger sticker and a sticker that says "Thrasher" on the back of the vehicle.
Hatch is described as a Hispanic male, 6 feet, 2 inches tall and weighing 160 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing black pants with a black hoodie and black Adidas shoes with red stripes. He has a mole on the left side of his face, a medium-length afro and facial hair.
According to deputies, the couple answered a knock at their door Monday night and were confronted by two men armed with handguns and wearing camouflage clothing. The men forcibly entered the home and ordered the victims to stay in a particular area of the home, while they gathered property.
Sometime later, a third man arrived holding Hatch at gunpoint.
As the incident continued, a roommate of the couple arrived home and was also held at gunpoint, deputies said. The men tied up the couple and the roommate and left with Hatch in the couple's car.
The men are described as being in their 20s and between 5 feet, 9 inches tall and 6 feet, 2 inches tall. One is wearing a tan camouflage jacket, blue basketball shorts and tan cargo shorts. One is wearing a red hoodie and has dreadlocks. One is wearing a camouflage jacket, with jeans and black Jordan sneakers with a red stripe.
St. Johns County investigators contacted the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office to help identify Hatch and learned that he had not been seen since yesterday.
Hatch has been registered as a missing endangered juvenile, and an Amber Alert was issued Tuesday.