09/11/2026
FATHER ARRESTED AFTER RECENT BEAUFORT COUNTY MISSING CHILD FOUND 1,000 MILES AWAY IN TEXAS
New details are filling in what happened after 12-year-old Dominic Caruselle was reported missing from Hilton Head.
The Chambers County Sheriff’s Office says Beaufort County contacted them September 8 regarding an “abducted 12-year-old child” who had been taken by his non-custodial father, Dean Caruselle.
Authorities also believed Dean may have been attempting to flee to Mexico with Dominic.
That is considerably more specific than what was initially released locally.
Beaufort County had previously told the public Dominic was believed to have left Hilton Head overnight with “someone he may have known.” Investigators had already determined he was outside Beaufort County before law enforcement was contacted.
According to Chambers County, deputies received information about Dean’s vehicle, searched their license-plate-reader network, located it at a hotel near the interstate, recovered Dominic safely and arrested Dean.
They say it took just 16 minutes from receiving Beaufort County’s information to finding Dominic.
A Chambers County booking record shows Dean was arrested September 8 on charges listed as:
• Harboring Runaway Child
• “Children / Custody order pending / transport child under 16 Y, not returned within 72 hours”
That second charge corresponds with South Carolina CDR Code 0338 — Custodial Interference, a Class F felony.
And there is another piece of this timeline that now stands out:
Weeks before Dominic disappeared, Dean had created a GoFundMe to relocate with his son.
The fundraiser, titled “Help Us Start Fresh in a Peaceful New Home,” said:
“We’re packed and ready.”
Dean asked for help covering moving expenses, gas for the trip, stops along the way and utility hookups, and wrote:
“I’m actively looking for work as we go.”
He also claimed he had maintained sole custody for 11 years.
Texas authorities now describe him as Dominic’s non-custodial father.
The GoFundMe does not prove criminal intent, but its timing and language are now a relevant part of the timeline.
Dominic was ultimately found safe and unharmed roughly 1,000 miles from Hilton Head.
The biggest update here is not simply that an arrest was made.
It is what Texas authorities have now publicly filled in:
The person Dominic was traveling with was his non-custodial father.
Authorities were treating the case as an abduction.
Investigators believed they may have been headed toward Mexico.
And weeks earlier, Dean had publicly said they were “packed and ready” to relocate.
That is a very different picture than “someone he may have known.”
Charges are allegations. Dean Caruselle is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
