Police still looking for missing 14-year-old, asking community for information

Fourteen-year-old Jabez Spann has been missing for 15 days, and the Sarasota Police Department is asking members of the community to come forward with any information about his whereabouts or the last time he was seen.

“Over the last 14 days, we have done everything that we can to try to locate this young man,” said Sarasota Police Chief Bernadette DiPino at a Monday news conference. “I strongly believe there are people in our community who have information about Jabez.”

Police have conducted searches, tracked his cell phone and put his picture out on social media, which has reached more than 100,000 individuals, DiPino said. They sent out automated calls, asking for information. Some community members have gone door-to-door with flyers, asking for information, and conducted searches themselves.

Spann was last seen on Labor Day, Sept. 4, near the 1500 block of 23rd Street. His grandmother said she thought he was sleeping over at a friend’s, but when he didn’t return on Sept. 5, she contacted police.

Spann is 5-foot-9, 120 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a turquoise shirt. 

 He went missing before Hurricane Irma hit the area, but DiPino said that while it's possible evidence could have been cleared by the storm, police are hoping mainly for leads from individuals in the community. 

DiPino called Spann an athlete, a bright person, and said people have told police “when he walks in the room, he lights things up.”

Police have been unable to issue an amber alert for Spann because this case does not meet the criteria — mainly, there is no evidence that he was abducted. They have also been unable to utilize CrimeStoppers because there is no evidence that a crime was committed.

“We have gotten a lot of different bits and pieces of information, but nothing that we’ve been able to substantiate or been able to tie specifically to where he is,” DiPino said.

“Our police department is not going to stop searching for Jabez until he is found.”

Anyone who has information is asked to contact Detective Megan Buck at 941-954-7067.