Fourteen-year-old Sa'nyla Burris-Garcia Morales has been found safe and returned home, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office announced. She was reported missing and found the same day, after being last seen walking toward the Village of Fairport.
A Quick Resolution After a Tense Day
The teen, who lives in Perinton, was reported missing after leaving her residence around 1 p.m. Friday and heading toward Fairport, according to deputies cited by Newport Dispatch. She was described as 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing about 170 pounds, with medium-length black hair, and she was last seen wearing all black clothing while carrying a pink purse. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office confirmed in a Facebook post that she had been located safely with assistance from the Rochester Police Department.
Why Monroe County Deputies Led the Search
Perinton does not maintain its own town police department, so primary police protection falls to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office Zone A substation in Pittsford, a role the agency has held in the town since 1821, according to the Town of Perinton. The teen was last seen heading toward the Village of Fairport. Rochester police assisted in locating her.
Fairport itself keeps its own municipal police force even though Perinton relies on county deputies for general patrol. In Sa'nyla's case, the sheriff's office received assistance from the Rochester Police Department.
Part of a Larger Pattern in Eastern Monroe County
This case follows closely on the heels of two other missing-teen alerts the sheriff's office issued in late September for neighboring Penfield, involving 17-year-old Amya Hester and 15-year-old Nyliana Banks, both reported missing within days of each other. Statewide, the numbers suggest these cases, while alarming to families and neighbors, tend to resolve favorably. New York police agencies logged 10,629 reports of missing children under 18 in 2025, and state data indicates roughly 94% of those cases involved youth who had run away, according to the Hudson Valley Post, which cited figures from the state's Division of Criminal Justice Services.
Nationally, more than 32,000 children were reported missing in 2025, and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reported a 90% resolution rate. New York also has a Missing Persons Clearinghouse and a hotline, 1-800-346-3543.
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office has confirmed the teen is home, closing the book on the search.
