Tara McIntyre Missing From Spring Hill, Pasco Deputies Say

Pasco County deputies are searching for 38-year-old Tara McIntyre, who was last seen around noon on June 13 in the Tulsa Avenue area of Spring Hill — but the public did not learn she was missing until 73 days later, when the sheriff's office issued an alert Tuesday. McIntyre is described as 5-foot-6, about 130 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. It is unknown what she was last wearing.

The Pasco Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday that deputies are actively searching for McIntyre, more than two months after she disappeared. Tulsa Avenue sits in the Pasco County portion of Spring Hill near the Hernando County line, an area covered by the sheriff's office's District 1, according to Pasco Sheriff's Office community reporting. District 1 stretches across roughly 140 square miles of northwest Pasco County, running west of U.S. Highway 41 and north of Ridge Road to the Hernando County border, spanning 10 patrol zones.

A 73-Day Gap Between Disappearance and Public Alert

The lag between McIntyre's last known sighting in mid-June and this week's public bulletin raises questions about how missing-person cases involving adults are handled in Florida. State law, Florida Statute § 937.021, bars law enforcement agencies from imposing a mandatory waiting period before accepting a missing person report and requires prompt investigation along with entry into state and national missing-person databases, according to Florida's official statutes portal, Online Sunshine. That means investigators are not supposed to sit on a case before logging it — but a public-facing alert is a separate matter.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse only accepts missing adult cases for people 26 or older when law enforcement suspects the person is endangered or has been a victim of criminal activity, per the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. That criteria helps explain why a public alert for an adult can trail the initial report by weeks or months if investigators do not immediately flag endangerment. The sheriff's office has not detailed why McIntyre's case did not generate an earlier public bulletin.

A DNA Deadline Approaches in Mid-September

As McIntyre's case nears the 90-day mark from her last known sighting, a new legal requirement kicks in. Under Florida Statute § 937.021, once a missing person remains unlocated after 90 days, the investigating agency is required to attempt to obtain a biological specimen for DNA analysis, according to a document published by the City of New Smyrna Beach. That threshold falls in mid-September, meaning investigators would soon be statutorily obligated to seek DNA material — whether from family members or personal items — that could help match McIntyre to unidentified remains or future leads if she has not been located by then.

McIntyre's case is one of thousands active across the state. Florida Department of Law Enforcement records show more than 3,200 people are currently registered as missing or endangered in the National Crime Information Center database, per a report cited by the Citrus County Sheriff's Office. Nationally, adults 18 and older make up roughly a quarter of active missing-person cases in the NCIC system.

How to Report a Sighting or Tip

The sheriff's office is accepting digital tips through an online form at PascoSheriff.com/tips, and the department's non-emergency line can be reached at 727-847-8102, option 7. Residents who prefer to remain anonymous can also contact Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay's 24-hour hotline at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477), which covers Pasco and Hillsborough counties and offers cash rewards for information leading to arrests or case clearances, according to Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay.

District 1 deputies remain a visible presence in Spring Hill, having responded to other major incidents in the area this month, including an August murder-suicide on Platinum Drive, according to the Pasco Sheriff's Office. For now, McIntyre's whereabouts remain unknown, and investigators are relying on the public to help fill in the gap left by her disappearance.