Tampa Police are asking for the public's help finding 35-year-old Braden Burgess, who was last seen earlier yesterday wearing a tan shirt and tan shorts near West Kennedy Boulevard and North Hesperides Street. Officers have issued a local Purple Alert for Burgess, a designation reserved for missing adults with certain disabilities who are believed to be in immediate danger.
According to a post from the Tampa Police Department, anyone with information is asked to call the department's non-emergency line at 813-231-6130 and reference case number 26-487301. The department noted that its social media account is not monitored around the clock, so tips should go directly to the phone line rather than through comments or messages. Callers should dial 911 for emergencies, per the department.
Help us locate 35 y.o. Braden Burgess.
— Tampa Police Department (@TampaPD) August 18, 2026
A local purple alert has been issued.
He was last seen earlier today wearing a tan shirt and tan shorts near W Kennedy Blvd & N Hesperides St.
Anyone with information should call 813-231-6130 and reference 26-487301. pic.twitter.com/64vtwn8cPQ
What a Purple Alert Actually Means
Florida's Purple Alert system is built specifically for missing adults who don't fit the criteria of other alert programs. Under Florida Statute 937.0205, a missing adult must be at least 18 years old, have a non-substance-related physical, mental, emotional, cognitive, or developmental disability or brain injury, and be considered in immediate danger requiring law enforcement intervention, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Tampa Police have not disclosed the specific nature of Burgess's disability, consistent with the privacy protections built into the statute.
The program is distinct from Florida's Silver Alert, which applies only to adults 60 and older with irreversible cognitive decline such as Alzheimer's disease or dementia. Purple Alerts explicitly exclude Alzheimer's cases, focusing instead on adults with other developmental, intellectual, or cognitive disabilities, the state agency notes. Florida became the first state to launch such a program when Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 184 into law in July 2021, with the alert network officially going live on July 1, 2022, according to WTSP.
Local Versus Statewide Activation
Tampa's alert for Burgess was issued at the local level rather than as a statewide highway alert, a distinction created under Florida House Bill 937, which took effect in July 2024. That law established two separate activation tiers — local and statewide — and requires municipal police departments to follow local dissemination policies when a missing person is on foot or in an unidentified vehicle, per an analysis from the Florida Senate. Because Burgess was reportedly on foot, the local activation path applies.
Even at the local level, state guidelines require officers to enter the missing person into the Florida Crime Information Center database, alert nearby law enforcement agencies, and broadcast information to regional media outlets, according to FDLE. Those steps are meant to widen the search radius quickly without triggering the more resource-intensive statewide network reserved for cases involving vehicles or highway travel.
Where Burgess Was Last Seen
The intersection of West Kennedy Boulevard and North Hesperides Street sits in Tampa's Westshore Palms neighborhood, a mixed commercial and residential corridor near the Westshore business district, International Plaza, and Tampa International Airport, according to the City of Tampa's GeoHub mapping data. The area sees heavy vehicle and foot traffic throughout the day, which could complicate efforts to track Burgess's movements on foot.
Since its launch, Florida's Purple Alert system has helped law enforcement recover 453 missing individuals statewide between July 2022 and July 2025, per FDLE data. The state remains one of just five nationwide — alongside Maryland, Mississippi, Kansas, and Connecticut — with a statewide Purple Alert program tailored to adults with cognitive or developmental disabilities, according to Special Needs Answers.
Tampa Police have not released additional details about the search effort for Burgess, including whether K-9 units have been deployed in the area or whether regional transit authorities have been notified. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to call the department's non-emergency dispatch line and reference the case number tied to his disappearance.
