SARASOTA, Fla. — Almost a year and a half after Jabez Spann went missing from his Sarasota neighborhood, police say they have found the remains of the teenager.

  • Death investigation opened now after Jabez Spann remains found
  • Spann, 14, had been missing since Sept. 2017
  • Remains found in location west of I-75 in Manatee County

During a press conference Tuesday, Deputy Chief Pat Robinson said the remains were found in a rural location west of I-75 in Manatee County on Saturday, February 16. The exact location has not been revealed.

The skeletal remains were found by an individual working on a fence line.

The dental remains proved a match for Spann, who was last seen by his family on September 4, 2017. He was 14 at the time of his disappearance.

Police are being extra careful in protecting the scene, because even the smallest piece of evidence may lead police to maybe a killer, or an answer about what happened to this teen.

"This is when the painstaking criminalistics work will come in to play," said Sarasota police deputy chief Patrick Robinson. "Although this closes one chapter in this investigation, we are opening another chapter in the investigation which is a death investigation."

Police have no leads - but say they don’t believe Spann left Sarasota of his own free will prior to his death.

Local police and the FBI said in Nov. 2017 that Spann had witnessed the murder of Travis Combs, 31, in August of 2017. He vanished about a week after that. 

The death investigation is ongoing. 

Anyone with any information about this case can call the Sarasota Police Department at 941-316-1201 or Sarasota Crime Stoppers at 941-361-8477, or tips can be submitted at sarasotacrimestoppers.com.