St. Augustine Police Search for Missing 14-Year-Old Paislee Bella Sapp

A 14-year-old girl has been missing from St. Augustine for more than a week, and police are asking the public for help finding her. Paislee Bella Sapp was last seen in the Masters Drive area on August 19, according to a bulletin issued by St. Augustine police, who are classifying her as a runaway juvenile.

The St. Augustine Police Department shared the missing/runaway notice on Facebook, identifying Sapp and asking anyone with information about her whereabouts to come forward. The department has not released details about the circumstances of her disappearance or where she might have gone. Anyone with information is asked to call SAPD at (904) 825-1070.

Where She Was Last Seen

Masters Drive sits in St. Augustine's Ravenswood neighborhood, a mixed residential and commercial corridor off State Road 16 roughly five miles east of Interstate 95, according to Realtor.com. The area is home to a blend of historic single-family houses, multi-family units, and local businesses, giving investigators a fairly broad stretch of neighborhood to canvass as they try to trace Sapp's movements since she was last spotted there.

Florida law enforcement agencies operate under a strict clock when a child is reported missing. Under Florida Statute 937.021, agencies that receive a missing child report must enter the record into the Florida Crime Information Center and National Crime Information Center databases within two hours, per the Florida Senate. That rapid entry requirement is designed to push a case like Sapp's into statewide and national law enforcement systems almost immediately.

What Runaway Classification Means

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse defines a runaway as an unemancipated minor who disappeared voluntarily, a category distinct from involuntary or endangered missing child cases. That classification shapes how police pursue the search, though it does not make the case any less urgent for investigators or family members hoping for Sapp's safe return.

Florida law also places obligations on anyone who might take in a runaway minor. Under Florida Statute 984.085, it is a first-degree misdemeanor for an unauthorized individual to knowingly shelter or provide aid to an unmarried runaway minor for more than 24 hours without parental consent or notification to law enforcement, according to FindLaw. Before a case like this can officially close, Florida Administrative Code Rule 65C-30.019 requires formal review with FDLE's clearinghouse to ensure closure criteria are met.

A Common but Serious Pattern

Runaway cases make up the overwhelming majority of missing child reports nationally. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children found that endangered runaways accounted for roughly 90 percent of the more than 32,000 missing child cases reported to the organization in 2025, and that 90 percent of missing children overall were recovered that year, per MissingKids.org. Research from the National Conference of State Legislatures estimates that between 1.6 million and 2.8 million youth run away from home annually in the United States, with family conflict cited as the leading driver, and most episodes are impulsive and keep minors within 50 miles of home.

Florida itself sees a significant share of these cases. Missing Children Global Network data show 2,646 children were reported missing in the state in 2023, placing Florida among the top states nationally for missing child reports alongside California and Texas.

St. Johns County has seen a string of missing juvenile cases resolve safely in recent months. Hoodline previously reported on the safe recovery of missing teen Adan Turner in January and on two missing brothers who were located safely in November 2025. Local authorities have also leaned on public appeals and multi-agency ground searches in cases like that of a Vilano Beach woman found safe last week after her belongings turned up on shore. No new details about Sapp's case have been released beyond the initial bulletin, and her current whereabouts remain unknown.