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A Florida Blue Alert was issued overnight for a previously convicted child molester accused of shooting an unidentified sheriff's deputy late Tuesday night.
Florida Police are currently looking for fugitive Gregory Ryan Miedema, 33, who allegedly shot a Taylor County deputy multiple times, resulting in life-threatening injuries. What led to the shooting, which took place near the Big Bend region of Florida, is yet to be disclosed.
According to FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement), the gunman was last seen on US 19 near Deer Run Road in Perry, Florida, and was wearing a dark tank top. People were warned not to approach Miedema, who might be traveling in a 2000 gold Chrysler Sebring with Florida license plate tag Y78TKU, and a dark-colored convertible top.
In 2011, Miedema was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison followed by two months of probation for committing crimes against a minor. He served in the U.S. Army prior to the conviction. Miedema is described as having brown hair and blue eyes, standing 5'8"-tall and weighing 165 pounds.
Miedema, who recently relocated to Sarasota, was not under the supervision of the Florida Department of Corrections but was forbidden from living anywhere within a thousand feet of a school, daycare facility, playground or park.
Law enforcement officials advised people with any information on Miedema's whereabouts to contact the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office at 850-584-2429 or call 911.
Florida Blue Alert: Meaning Explained
The Florida Blue Alert might be rare, but it is not new. It is a statewide notification alert system that alerts the public when a law enforcement officer is missing, hurt or killed on duty by a person who could still harm the public. For the past decade, the Florida Blue Alert has been sent to people via phones, televisions and highway signs.
The same notification system is used to broadcast information about missing children (Amber Alert) and missing adults with cognitive impairment (Silver Alert) in order to get assistance from the public in locating the missing or abducted person.
