ATLANTA — A federal kidnapping charge has been dropped against a man who was arrested shortly after a Georgia woman's toddler was found wandering alone in a Florida neighborhood.
Broward County jail records now show that 39-year-old Shannon Demar Ryan, a self-described witch and chakra master, now faces a state charge of child neglect - no bodily harm. But no other charges are currently listed.
It's the latest update in a case still unfolding in Florida, where 21-year-old Leila Cavett disappeared last summer. As of yet, Cavett, who disappeared a short time before her son was found, remains missing.
Ryan was initially charged with kidnapping Cavett's 2-year-old child. On July 26, 2020, the 2-year-old was found outside wandering alone wearing only a shirt and a diaper near Miramar, Florida.
According to the original complaint, a license plate reader showed Cavett's white GMC truck in a Walmart parking lot on July 27. The complaint said that a day later, after authorities set up surveillance of the truck, Ryan approached the truck with the keys in his hand.
The self-described witch and chakra master was interviewed by authorities after that point and, according to the complaint, told them that he had known Cavett since January 2019. He said that she was coming to Florida to sell him her truck.
Later, in a lengthy video posted to Ryan's Facebook page, he had claimed to have first met Cavett in his home in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, when she and her son showed up in the middle of the night needing shelter due to their car breaking down.
NBC South Florida reports that Ryan claimed to have let them stay and taught Cavett witchcraft before she moved out. The station also said that investigators had evidence that Ryan had bought an odor eliminator, duct tape, and extra-large garbage bags around the time she went missing.
As of Monday afternoon, jail records show Ryan remains incarcerated facing a bond of $100,000.