Crime & Safety

Abductor's Pickup Found in Madeira Beach

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Deputies have been looking for the 2006 GMC since April 3 when they say Joshua Hakken snatched his children from their grandmother's Lake Magdalene home.

Law enforcement officials have Joshua Hakken’s pickup truck in custody, but the man Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies say tied up his mother-in-law and took his two young sons by force continued to elude capture April 4.

An announcement about the 2006 GMC pickup truck’s discovery in Madeira Beach was released just before 11 p.m. Thursday. The truck was found abandoned in the John’s Pass parking garage at 12901 Gulf Blvd. in Madeira Beach, Hillsborough Det. Larry McKinnon wrote in a media release.

McKinnon said the vehicle is being processed for evidence and more details will be released as they become available.

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The search for Chase and Cole Hakken, 2 and 4 respectively, began on Wednesday after they were taken from their grandmother’s Shady Shores Drive home in Lake Magdalene. Deputies have said that Joshua Hakken, 35, lost custody of the children just before the kidnapping.

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The boy’s mother and Hakken’s wife, Sharyn, 34, is believed to be with her family. Sharyn Hakken’s involvement in the abduction is unclear.

An Amber Alert for the boys was issued in Florida on Wednesday. Deputies say Joshua Hakken has a criminal past that includes drug-related arrests. He is also accused of trying to take his children from a Louisiana foster home at gunpoint prior to the boys’ grandparents eing awarded custody.

Joshua Hakken is described as being about 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs about 175 pounds. He has brown hair and eyes. The boy's mother, Sharyn Hakken, is 5-foot 4-inches tall and weighs an estimated 150 pounds.

Anyone with information about the children is asked to call 911 or the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office at 813-247-8200.


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