A 63-year-old Clermont woman has been missing since Thursday morning, prompting the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to issue a statewide Purple Alert seeking the public's help finding her. Deborah Swietarski was last seen leaving her residence at 8:53 a.m. on September 17, driving a 2017 gray Subaru Legacy with Florida tag CU02RA. FDLE canceled the Purple Alert on September 18, while WFTV was still seeking help locating her on September 20.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office opened Case #260099312 following her disappearance, according to the agency's Lake County Sheriff's Office Facebook page. Deputies describe Swietarski as a white female standing 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 200 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes, according to state missing person flyers cited by Boca Post. Local station WFTV Channel 9 Orlando reports she was last seen wearing a black tank top and camp spandex pants.
Why State Officials Skipped a Silver Alert
The case raises an important distinction in Florida's missing-person alert system. Silver Alerts and Purple Alerts are separate categories in the state's alert system, per reporting from WTSP.
The specific vehicle description and license plate were among the details circulated in the search. The statewide alert sought the public's help locating Swietarski, whose vehicle was identified as a 2017 gray Subaru Legacy with Florida tag CU02RA.
A Track Record of Finding People
The alert system has helped locate missing individuals since its launch, according to WTSP's reporting on the initiative closing what state lawmakers called a notification gap for adults who don't qualify for Silver Alerts.
Anyone with information about Swietarski's whereabouts is asked to contact Lake County Sheriff's Office non-emergency dispatch at 352-343-2101. Deputies have not said whether she was traveling in a particular direction when she left Windy Mount Circle.
Searching Lake County
The search unfolds across Lake County in Central Florida. Clermont itself, where Swietarski lived, is west of Orlando.
Swietarski and her husband, Robert, sold a Palm Coast home for $785,000 in late 2023, according to Observer Local News. It is not the first time the Lake County Sheriff's Office has turned to the public for help finding a vulnerable adult out of Clermont; Hoodline previously covered a Silver Alert issued for a missing 73-year-old man from the same area last year.
