A 17-year-old Palm Harbor University High School senior vanished without his phone during an evening run along Dunedin's waterfront on Sunday, September 27, setting off a three-day search that stretched across the Tampa Bay region before he was found safe. Amari Santana had been dropped off at Edgewater Park at around 8:15 p.m. to go for a run, and he never returned.
According to the Palm Harbor-Dunedin Beacon, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office handled the initial missing person investigation, with public outreach supported by the advocacy group A Voice For The Voiceless, Inc. Tampa Police ultimately located Santana safe shortly after 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, September 30, closing out a search that had stretched across the Tampa Bay region. As Tampa Bay 28 reported, his family received the news Wednesday evening after nearly three days apart, with his mother, Mercedes Santana, saying simply, “Hi bud, I love you,” upon their reunion.
A Runner's Range Forced the Search to Widen
Santana is a long-distance runner known to log five to 10 miles per outing, and that conditioning became central to how organizers approached the case. Because he could cover so much ground on foot, family members and search organizers urged residents across Palm Harbor, Dunedin, Ozona, Countryside, Clearwater, Safety Harbor and Tarpon Springs to check home security and Ring camera footage rather than focusing only on the park where he was last seen, the same outlet reported.
Per the Beacon's reporting, volunteer coordinators tailored their flyer distribution and social media appeals toward runners and cyclists, mariners, fishing communities, and ride-share drivers who might have crossed paths with Santana.
Hundreds Joined the Search by Foot, Bike, Car and Boat
Tampa Bay 28 reported that hundreds of volunteers joined the search over multiple days, combing streets, waterways and neighborhoods on foot, by bicycle, by car and by boat. Tiffany Lubke, who organized part of the search, told the outlet she stepped in because Santana's situation affected her personally and she felt it lacked visibility. Mercedes Santana had asked the community for help getting the word out and distributing flyers, and family members kept urging people to share information as the search stretched into its third day.
The search drew a large crowd of supporters from across the Tampa Bay area, per the station's report, even as the specific circumstances of how Santana made his way from Dunedin to Tampa without his phone or a vehicle remain unclear, and what leads ultimately pointed Tampa Police to his location have not been detailed publicly.
Part of a Larger Pattern in Florida
Santana's case lands amid a broader statewide push on missing children. In August, state and federal agencies completed Operation Statewide Shield, a five-day initiative that recovered 163 missing children across Florida, including 46 within the Tampa Bay region, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The agency's data shows Tampa Bay has been a focal point for juvenile recovery efforts statewide.
The scale of the issue is significant statewide: the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children recorded more than 2,600 missing child cases in Florida that same year.
Santana's safe recovery follows a similar case earlier in September, when 17-year-old Jaylee Santiago was found safe; Pembroke Pines police had sought public help in her case. Santana's search also drew community participation, while his family asked people to share information.
