A 37-year-old Miami woman named Andrea Daniels has been missing since she was last seen near PortMiami on August 31, and her family says she has no cell phone and may be experiencing a mental health crisis that puts her safety at risk. Daniels, who goes by the nickname “Lady” among relatives, was reportedly seen walking toward the neighboring Brickell area, according to bulletins her family circulated publicly.
Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office deputies are asking the public for help locating Daniels, according to WSVN 7News. She is described as 5 feet 1 inch tall, weighing 150 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. Deputies say she was last seen wearing black sweatpants with two white stripes on the side, a gray shirt with “Miami” written on it, and an unknown style of shoes.
Family members circulating the missing-person bulletin on Facebook say Daniels' lack of a cell phone leaves her without an easy way to reach loved ones or call for help, compounding their worry about her mental state. Because PortMiami on Dodge Island connects directly into Downtown Miami and the Brickell financial district via the Port Boulevard and Biscayne Boulevard corridors, according to Hoodline, the area where she was last seen sits at the edge of one of the county's densest, most heavily trafficked urban zones — a factor that could complicate efforts to trace her on foot.
How Deputies Are Handling the Search
The case falls under the jurisdiction of the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office, the agency that took over as the county's primary police force in January 2025 when Miami-Dade Countyofficially transitioned away from the Miami-Dade Police Department under Florida's Constitutional Amendment 10, according to Miami-Dade County. The move, led by independently elected Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz, marked the first time in nearly 60 years the county operated under an elected sheriff, which is why current bulletins refer to Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office deputies rather than police officers.
Anyone with information about Daniels' whereabouts is asked to contact Deputy K. Fernandez-Roblin at 305-715-3300, or by email at [email protected]. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS (8477); Crime Stoppers of Miami-Dade & The Florida Keys offers cash rewards of up to $5,000 for tips that help solve cases or locate missing people, with tipster identities protected under Florida law, according to Crime Stoppers Miami.
What Florida Law Requires in Missing Adult Cases
Florida law does not allow any mandatory waiting period before a missing person report can be filed, and requires agencies to enter missing adult or child information into state and national crime databases within two hours of receipt, according to Uncovered Investigates. That database entry makes the information searchable for law enforcement but does not itself automatically push localized Be-On-the-Lookout alerts to patrol officers.
If Daniels is not located within 90 days, Florida Statute § 937.021(6) requires law enforcement to attempt collecting a biological DNA sample from family members or personal items for submission to national missing persons databases, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Those DNA profiles are ultimately submitted to national missing persons databases for long-term matching purposes.
Florida's Purple Alert system, created under Florida Statute § 937.0205, provides emergency public alerts specifically for missing adults with mental, cognitive, or intellectual disabilities who don't meet the 60-and-older threshold required for a Silver Alert, as Hoodline has previously reported. It remains unclear whether investigators have designated Daniels' case for a Purple Alert, though her family's stated concerns about her mental health and lack of a phone touch on the exact vulnerabilities the alert system was built to address.
A Statewide System Built for Cases Like This
Florida's Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse is another state missing-person resource. The number of people registered as missing or endangered statewide in the National Crime Information Center database is not specified, and FDLE issued 404 statewide missing person alerts in 2024 alone across its specialized notification categories.
The search for Daniels centers on PortMiami and Brickell, where her family hopes renewed public attention will help bring her home safely. Hoodline has previously reported on a different 25-year-old woman in Southwest Miami-Dade. Daniels' case adds another name to the list of missing-person cases receiving public attention, with her family hoping renewed public attention around PortMiami and Brickell will help bring her home safely.
