GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – Law enforcement officers could be seen Thursday searching the woods around a Green Cove Springs home where Clay County deputies say a couple were held hostage for more than two days.
Aubrey Lumpkin, 46, is charged with home invasion robbery, kidnapping and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in the case.
According to Lumpkin’s arrest report, he called 911 just after 11:30 p.m. Monday and told the dispatcher he “was a piece of s***” and had done “horrible things” and wanted to turn himself in. He told the dispatcher where he was and that there were two elderly people with him in need of medical attention.
Court and property records list a couple in their 70s as the owners of the home off County Road 315 where Lumpkin was taken into custody.
When deputies arrived, they found the couple bound with duct tape on their arms, legs and faces. They were extremely dehydrated, covered in feces, malnourished and suffering from infections and lesions from being bound for more than 48 hours, the report said.
According to deputies, Lumpkin told investigators he was willing to talk and that “he had murdered someone.” It’s unclear who he was talking about as both victims in the kidnapping survived the encounter.
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The Sky 4 helicopter flew over the home on Thursday. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement had a crime scene van set up, and dozens of investigators from various agencies could be seen in the woods behind the house with machetes and prodding poles and rakes. There was also someone on a kayak on a pond. In addition, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office has forensic anthropology students from the University of Florida helping.
Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook arrived around 2 p.m. and took part in the search, as well.
The Sheriff’s Office isn’t sure what to believe of the statements Lumpkin has made, but they’re doing due diligence on his claim that “he had murdered someone.”
News4JAX tried speaking with a few neighbors on the road, but no one knew anything or wished to speak.