A 15-year-old Crystal River girl has been missing since last morning, according to a bulletin issued by the Citrus County Sheriff's Office. Payton Strawn was last seen in Crystal River, Florida at 12:17 a.m., wearing a dark blue Yellowstone sweatshirt and black shorts. She is described as a white female standing five feet tall and weighing 110 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes.
The Citrus County Sheriff's Office classified Strawn as a missing runaway juvenile after receiving the report Wednesday. The case has been assigned case number 2026-00008075 and bulletin number 2026-090. Anyone with information is asked to call the Citrus County Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit at 352-249-2790.
Tipsters who wish to remain anonymous, and who may be eligible for a cash reward, can instead contact Crime Stoppers of Citrus County at 1-888-269-8477 or through its website, www.crimestopperscitrus.com. Crime Stoppers of Citrus County operates as a community non-profit that partners with local law enforcement to facilitate anonymous tip reporting and reward eligibility for cases that get resolved, per background compiled on the organization.
A Second Crystal River Runaway Case in a Single Week
Strawn's disappearance comes just two days after the same sheriff's office resolved a separate runaway case involving another Crystal River teenager. Sixteen-year-old Levi Kelly, who had gone missing as a runaway on August 3, was located safe on August 4, as Hoodline reported at the time. The back-to-back cases highlight how frequently local deputies handle juvenile runaway reports in the Crystal River area.
The Citrus County Sheriff's Office, established in 1887 and headquartered on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Inverness, is led by Sheriff David Vincent, who took office after winning election in August 2024, according to Florida Politics. The agency oversees major crime investigations and missing person cases across the county, which had an estimated population of 171,666 in 2025, with youth under 18 making up roughly 14 percent of residents, per USAFacts.
What Florida Law Requires When a Child Goes Missing
Under Florida Statute 937.021, law enforcement agencies receiving a missing child report must notify all on-duty officers immediately and enter the case into the Florida Crime Information Center and National Crime Information Center databases within two hours, according to state statute published on Online Sunshine. That mandatory window helps explain how quickly bulletins like the one for Strawn reach the public.
Statewide, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse logged 404 total missing person alerts in 2024, including 84 Missing Child Alerts and nine AMBER Alerts, according to FDLE figures. Nationally, more than 90 percent of the 20,000-plus missing children reports handled each year by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children involve endangered runaways, the organization has said.
Runaway Cases Usually Resolve Close to Home
Research published in Pediatrics has found that family conflict is the primary factor driving youth runaways, and that the vast majority of runaway youth are located within one week, typically while remaining close to their home community. Experts note that even though most cases resolve quickly, runaway youth still face real risks while away from home, which is why authorities continue urging the public to report any sightings.
Families and runaway youth seeking help can also reach the National Runaway Safeline, a federally designated 24/7 crisis hotline at 1-800-RUNAWAY, which operates a Home Free program in partnership with Greyhound Lines to provide free travel tickets for young people trying to return home or reach safe shelter. As of Thursday, Citrus County investigators had not released additional details about Strawn's possible direction of travel or whether she may be with anyone else.
