Arrest made in Fleming Island attempted abduction from April

Jacksonville, FL — The Clay County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man in connection with an attempted abduction of a Fleming Island teenager eight months ago.  A spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office confirms the suspect, 36-year-old John Keen Jr., was arrested in St. Johns County.  He made his first court appearance Thursday morning and is facing a charge of attempted abduction.  He’s being held on $500,000 bond.  His arraignment is set for January 16th.

Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels spoke about Keen’s arrest on Wednesday afternoon, saying crime will not be tolerated in the area.

“I guess he wanted to get caught. You know, why someone would come from another county and come into Clay County... with this type of sheriff’s office, who thrives on pushing criminal activity away from Clay County, I guess he wanted to get caught. Maybe, he was testing the system,” says Sheriff Daniels.

As for how Keen was finally caught, Daniels says physical evidence found at the scene proved to be key.

Daniels says a bottle was found near where the attempted abduction was reported, so they sent it to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for processing. DNA was found on the bottle, though it didn’t initially show a hit. Daniels says a later hit was what linked them to Keen. Daniels also gave credit to the victim for being able to provide an accurate description of the suspect.

This all stems from the incident back in April, when a 16-year-old girl who was jogging in the Eagle Harbor area told deputies she was approached by a man who attempted to lure her into a white truck.

Deputies described the suspect at the time as a white man in his 50’s or 60’s with balding hair and bright orange shirt. The white truck had large mud tires.

“He was very clear about what his full intentions were based on his statements“, said Sgt. Keith Smith at the time of the original event.

The teen was shaken up but otherwise physically OK, according to Sgt. Smith. She was able to run to a FedEx delivery truck, and the driver then called 911.

Clay Detectives have been actively working this case since the spring, following up on roughly 80 tips.

WATCH: FULL BRIEFING FROM THE CLAY COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE