Phoebe Barnett, a 17-year-old girl, hasn't been seen in Johnson City since August 10, and the case has now stretched to two weeks with no confirmed sighting. She's described as 5 foot 4 inches tall, weighing about 110 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes, and public flyers note she wears eyeglasses. State investigators are asking anyone with information to come forward as the search continues.
State Agency Spotlights Case Through Weekly Campaign
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation featured Barnett's disappearance in a Facebook post published Monday as part of its ongoing #MissingMonday campaign, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Juveniles highlighted through the weekly initiative are most often considered at-risk and believed to have left home on their own, rather than the victims of confirmed abduction, and per state protocol, they must already be cataloged on the Missing Children of Tennessee clearinghouse website before receiving the social media spotlight.
That distinction explains why Barnett's case has not triggered an AMBER Alert broadcast to phones across the region. Under Tennessee Bureau of Investigation guidelines, AMBER Alerts are reserved strictly for cases where a minor is confirmed abducted and believed to be in imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm, according to TBI guidance. Missing youth considered at-risk, like those featured on #MissingMonday, are instead tracked through the state clearinghouse rather than a mass mobile alert.
How Families and the Public Can Get Updates
The TBI maintains a dedicated mobile application called TBI FIND, which pushes real-time notifications on active missing child cases, Silver Alerts, and other endangered missing persons directly to the public, per state records. The app is managed by the bureau's Information Systems and Missing Persons units. Anyone with information on Barnett's whereabouts is asked to call the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND, or reach the Johnson City Police Department directly at 423-434-6125.
Johnson City police also have expanded technology at their disposal for cases like this one. In August 2025, the department launched an $8 million Safe City Project in partnership with East Tennessee State University, establishing a Real-Time Crime Center and installing 145 license plate recognition devices and 145 pan-tilt-zoom cameras across the city, according to the City of Johnson City. Hoodline previously covered the rollout in a piece on the Safe City Project's ETSU partnership.
Camera Network Extends Beyond City Limits
The department's Flock Safety license plate reader system connects Johnson City police to a broader regional and national network, allowing automated real-time alerts whenever a vehicle tied to a reported missing person or wanted suspect passes an active camera. The city says the system relies on objective license plate matching and does not collect personal demographic data. It's the kind of infrastructure that can extend a local search well beyond city limits when leads on a vehicle emerge.
State-level data offers some broader context for families facing a case like Barnett's. The Tennessee Department of Children's Services reported in its Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Report that the total number of runaway youth returned to and from Tennessee dropped by 21 percent compared to Fiscal Year 2022, with cases managed under the Interstate Compact for Juveniles. The state also runs a specialized DCS Absconder Unit split across Middle, East, and West Tennessee that works with local police, the TBI's Missing Children of Tennessee unit, and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to locate and recover missing and runaway youth.
Nationally, roughly 800,000 children are reported missing each year across the United States, according to law enforcement public safety guidance citing National Center for Missing & Exploited Children estimates. Encouragingly, NCMEC data from 2024 showed that 91 percent of missing children reported to the organization were safely recovered, as Hoodline reported in coverage of a separate missing-teen case in Cordova this week. Federal agencies emphasize that rapid reporting remains critical to safe outcomes.
For now, investigators have not disclosed whether they believe Barnett remains in the Tri-Cities area or whether any vehicle or destination leads have surfaced since her disappearance two weeks ago. Anyone with information is urged to contact the TBI or the Johnson City Police Department using the numbers listed above.
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