A 15-year-old girl vanished from Braden River High School in Bradenton around midday Monday, on what was the very first day of classes for Manatee County students this school year. Zaniyrah Gilbert was last seen at the campus at 6545 State Road 70 East, and deputies say she has run away before.
The Manatee County Sheriff's Office shared details of Gilbert's disappearance in a Facebook post Monday night, describing her as 4 feet 11 inches tall and weighing approximately 110 pounds. According to the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, she was last seen wearing blue overalls, a yellow hoodie and white Crocs with a flamingo pattern, and carrying a purple and pink backpack. Monday also marked the official first day of school for the 2026–2027 academic year across the School District of Manatee County, according to Your Observer, meaning Gilbert disappeared midway through her opening day back on campus.
A Pattern That Predates This Disappearance
This is not the first time Gilbert has gone missing. Before turning up at Braden River High School, she was reported as a runaway juvenile in neighboring Sarasota County, last seen on May 29, 2026, under Sarasota County Sheriff's Office case number P2026023904, per the sheriff's office's Facebook posting. The sheriff's office notes she has run away previously, a detail that shapes how investigators are approaching the search even as they treat every missing-juvenile report with urgency.
Braden River High School operates school resource officers on campus through an interlocal partnership agreement with the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, according to the School District of Manatee County. The 6545 State Road 70 East campus opened in 2005 and marked its 20th anniversary during the 2025–2026 school year; it is led by Principal Wendell Butler and serves students across East Manatee County, Your Observer has reported.
What Florida Law Requires of Investigators
Florida law places specific obligations on agencies handling missing child reports. Under Florida Statutes § 937.021, law enforcement agencies statewide must maintain written policies ensuring prompt investigation of missing child reports without delay, and must transmit report data to state and national law enforcement databases. The state also runs the Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which coordinates missing juvenile alerts, open-source data queries and multi-agency communications across state lines.
National data offers some context for how these cases typically unfold. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reported that runaways accounted for 92% of all missing children cases the organization supported in 2025, totaling more than 29,000 runaway cases nationwide, and that 90% of missing children cases handled that year ended in recovery. The organization also cautions that runaway youth face heightened risks of human trafficking, physical violence and substance exposure, underscoring why investigators continue to treat these reports seriously even when a pattern of running away exists.
Local Cases Have Recently Ended Safely
Law enforcement agencies across Manatee County, including the Bradenton Police Department and the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, have routinely issued public alerts for missing juveniles and resolved several runaway cases involving local teenagers earlier this year, per the sheriff's office's Facebook history. Hoodline previously reported on a missing Bradenton teen's case involving 16-year-old Areyanna Bosworth, and on the safe recovery of 10-year-old Iris Cabrera in Manatee County.
The Manatee County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with information on Zaniyrah Gilbert's whereabouts to call (941) 747-3011. No additional details about the circumstances of her disappearance, or where she may have gone after leaving campus, have been released.
