A Palm Coast man was arrested Saturday, August 1, 2026, after investigators said he used GPS to keep tabs on a woman across Flagler County, then stole a teddy bear containing her sons’ ashes. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said the arrest came through joint work with the Flagler Beach Police Department.
Deputies responded to the Flagler Beach Police Department, where the woman reported that a man she met through a dating app had grown controlling, then hostile. She identified him as Justin Fountain, 31, of Palm Coast. According to her statement, he tracked her movements, repeatedly showed up wherever she went, and took the ashes even after she told him, clearly, to stop contacting her. The Sheriff’s Office said the messages didn’t stop — she received more than 100 texts in just a few hours.
After she ended contact, the woman told deputies, Fountain arrived at her job without being invited. Another warning followed: leave her alone. Later, back at the hotel where she had been staying, she saw his vehicle in the lot. She drove to Culver’s to meet a friend, and he appeared there as well, trying to speak with her. She again told him to go.
Trying to get distance, she headed to Flagler Beach, the Sheriff’s Office said. While there, she started receiving notifications that someone had signed into her social media. She hadn’t allowed Fountain access and believed he got in while she was asleep.
Deputies said Fountain then sent messages meant to scare her off from calling police, including claims she would be arrested on a warrant if she involved law enforcement. The release quoted messages such as, “You need to answer my calls if you know what’s good for you” and “I’m going to destroy you.” Around that same time, deputies said, he texted that he had taken the teddy bear holding her sons’ ashes and would “burn it” if she kept ignoring him.
Investigators used their methods to locate Fountain driving north on Interstate 95, then conducted a traffic stop. Fountain told deputies he was headed to Georgia. During a search of the vehicle, deputies found the teddy bear and the ashes inside.
Fountain was arrested on charges of aggravated stalking, extortion, and hindering communication with law enforcement. Flagler Beach Police also charged him with unauthorized installation of a tracking device and unauthorized access to an electronic device.
“The excellent cooperation between the Flagler Beach Police Department and Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is what led to Fountain’s arrest,” said Flagler Beach Police Deputy Chief Michael Schoenbrod. “He was an obvious threat to the victim, and he needed to be taken off the street before he harmed her.”
Sheriff Rick Staly also praised the woman for reporting what happened. “I commend the victim for coming forward despite this stalker’s threats,” Staly said. He urged people to be cautious about who they allow into their personal lives, noting that phones, laptops, and homes can hold banking information, social media access, and irreplaceable keepsakes. He said people like Fountain will use anything they can to control victims, including threats tied to deeply personal, emotional items.
The teddy bear was returned to the woman. Fountain was booked into the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where he is being held without bond.
The post Palm Coast Man Arrested After Deputies Say He Stalked Woman, Tracked Her by GPS, and Took Urn With Her Sons’ Ashes first appeared on Flagler County Buzz.
