Authorities say new leads in the decades-old disappearance of a Southwest Florida toddler may redirect them across the country.
Fort Myers Police on May 21 said then-28-day-old Bryan Dos Santos Gomes was abducted Dec. 1, 2006.
A woman driving a dark SUV approached Dos Santos Gomes’ mother and asked for directions before forcing her out of the vehicle at knifepoint and fleeing with the infant. Bryan has not been seen since, authorities said.
According to Fort Myers Police, recent investigative leads suggest Dos Santos Gomes could be living in Washington state, possibly unaware of what happened to him as a baby.
Police said investigators are not ruling anything out and want to remind the public that “Baby Bryan” or the woman believed to have abducted him could be anywhere in the country.
“We have never stopped searching for answers,” Fort Myers Police Chief Jason Fields said in 2025 as they released updated information in the investigation. “This case has always mattered, and it still matters today.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Fort Myers Police Department at 239-321-7700 or National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678.
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@usatodayco.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran, Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews and Bluesky @tomasfrodriguez.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: FMPD believes child who disappeared in 2006 could be across the country
Reporting by Tomas Rodriguez, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
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