Wanted 15-year-old captured at Canadian border, police say

Logan Mott in custody; body believed to be grandmother found

NEPTUNE BEACH, Fla. – Police announced Friday night that an armed and dangerous 15-year-old wanted on suspicion of auto theft of his grandmother's Dodge Dart was in custody.

Logan Mott was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection after trying to enter Canada from Buffalo, New York, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said.

WJXT-TV reports a body believed to be that of Logan's grandmother reported missing Wednesday from Neptune Beach has been found in a shallow grave in the backyard of her son's home, police said.

Police said Logan is a person of interest in his grandmother's death.

Logan's mother, Carrie Campbell-Mott, released a statement Friday to WJXT-TV after police made the announcement regarding a body being found. She asked media to keep their distance from her Missouri home, where she lives with her three younger children, all under the age of 5.

"Logan, no matter what has happened, I love you and I will stand by you, so please contact us," Campbell-Mott said in her statement.

Reported missing

Logan and Kristina French, 53, were reported missing Wednesday after they didn't show up at the airport to pick up Logan's father, who is a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office corrections lieutenant.

Logan's father returned to find the family's home ransacked, Logan and French gone and their wallets missing, along with several guns, Campbell-Mott said.

"The front door was wide open, and the house had been gone through and the weapons were missing," she told WJXT-TV.

Police said Friday that the gun safe appeared to have been damaged, and that there was evidence of "criminal violence" inside the home.

They said the body of a woman matching French's description was found Friday, buried in the backyard, but that the medical examiner would have to positively identify the body.

Despite their wallets being gone, Campbell-Mott said there has been no activity on either her son's or French's bank or credit cards.

Campbell-Mott said Logan missed school Monday and Tuesday. She said French, a therapist with a practice catering to autistic children, wasn't at work those days, either.

Campbell-Mott said Logan's father got a text from French on Tuesday, saying she would pick up her son and his girlfriend at the airport.

"We don't know for certain if that was her or not at this point," Campbell-Mott said.

Police said Logan was previously last spotted in a Dodge Dart in south-central Pennsylvania.

This article is courtesy of WJXT-TV.


About the Authors:

Jim Piggott is the reporter to count on when it comes to city government and how it will affect the community.

Corley Peel is a Texas native and Texas Tech graduate who covered big stories in Joplin, Missouri, Tulsa, Oklahoma and Jacksonville, Florida before returning to the Lone Star State. When not reporting, Corley enjoys hot yoga, Tech Football, and finding the best tacos in town.