A 16-year-old St. Augustine boy walked away from his home on the 200 block of Whispering Woods Lane on Saturday, triggering an urgent search and a statewide Spectrum Alert from Florida authorities. Benjamin Adcock is described as a white male standing 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing 140 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a dark gray t-shirt with the word “Dimari” on it, black shorts, and flip-flops.
The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office confirmed Adcock left his residence in the Whispering Woods area on Saturday, according to Action News Jax. As News4JAX reports, the 200 block of Whispering Woods Lane is the site of Whispering Woods Apartments, an affordable housing community in St. Johns County. Deputies and state authorities are asking anyone who has seen Adcock to come forward immediately.
How the Spectrum Alert System Works
Florida officially launched the Spectrum Alert system on July 1, 2026, a tool created under House Bill 711 specifically to notify the public when a child under 18 with autism spectrum disorder goes missing, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. To activate the alert, investigators must determine that the child is reasonably believed to have autism spectrum disorder, that an active investigation shows the child is in danger of death or serious injury, and that a broadcastable description or photo is available before the recommending agency can request activation.
Under the same guidelines, an Enhanced Spectrum Alert can push wireless emergency notifications directly to mobile phones within a targeted radius when a missing child is judged to be in imminent danger. The state's dedicated missing-persons flyer system also lists Adcock's case, per a posting from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Why Officials Move So Fast for Autistic Youth
Legislative analysis behind the Spectrum Alert law found that drowning is the leading cause of death nationwide for children with autism spectrum disorder, with Florida ranking fifth in the country for autism-related drownings, according to the Florida Senate. A study from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health found that people with autism spectrum disorder are 160 times more likely to die from drowning than their neurotypical peers, per the National Autism Association.
Research published in the medical journal Pediatrics found that nearly 49 percent of children on the autism spectrum attempt to wander, or elope, from safe environments at least once after age 4, the National Autism Association notes. Florida's Spectrum Alert statute also requires state agencies to incorporate Crisis Intervention Team training for law enforcement, equipping officers with sensory de-escalation skills and specialized missing child response protocols, according to the Florida Senate analysis.
The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with information about Adcock's location to call its non-emergency dispatch line at 904-824-8304 or dial 911. It remains unclear whether an Enhanced Spectrum Alert pushing wireless notifications to nearby phones has been issued in Adcock's case, or whether he has a documented history of wandering.
Hoodline previously covered the alert's July launch, and reported on similar searches for a missing non-verbal 5-year-old in Tampa and a missing teen in West Park. The Adcock case marks another test of the state's year-old alert system as search efforts continue in St. Augustine.
