A nine-year-old St. Petersburg boy who went missing has been found safe. Jianni Roberson's case prompted a search that ended with word he was okay.
The St. Petersburg Police Department shared a Facebook post about Jianni Roberson. Before he was located, police described him as four feet five inches tall, weighing 70 pounds, with a short ponytail, last seen wearing a black jacket, a yellow shirt, tan shorts, and black shoes. The case had been logged under missing person case number 2026-033577.
According to the initial report, Jianni was last seen leaving school at 3 p.m., with the campus address listed as 3801 74th Street North. That address corresponds to Seventy-Fourth Street Elementary School, according to Pinellas County Schools.
How Supervision Shifts at Dismissal
Pinellas County School Board policy specifies that official campus supervision extends 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after school hours, after which responsibility for a student's travel and departure shifts to parents and guardians, according to policy posted by the district. That window places Jianni's 3 p.m. departure near the edge of that supervised period before he set out on his bicycle.
Pinellas County also runs Move Safe Pinellas, a collaborative program with local school districts and law enforcement that distributes safety equipment, according to Pinellas County Government.
Mandatory Steps Once a Child Is Reported Missing
Under Florida Statute Section 937.021, law enforcement agencies that receive a missing child report are required to immediately alert all on-duty officers, share details with adjacent jurisdictions within the county, and enter the case into the Florida Crime Information Center database within two hours, according to the Florida Senate. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement also maintains the Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse.
St. Petersburg police have also expanded their technology toolkit for searches like this one. Earlier that year, the department launched a “Drone Hive” system operated out of its Real Time Intelligence Center, giving officers aerial thermal search capabilities intended to speed up perimeters and search responses when children go missing, as reported by FOX 13 Tampa Bay.
Part of a Broader Statewide Push
In August 2026, state and local authorities announced the recovery of 163 missing children statewide, including 46 in the Tampa Bay area, during what officials called Operation Statewide Shield — described as the largest multi-agency child recovery initiative in Florida history, according to the Florida Attorney General's Office.
Jianni Roberson's case resolved quickly and safely.
Anyone with information related to Jianni Roberson's case can contact the St. Petersburg Police Department at 727-893-7780, or call 911 in an emergency.
