Jacksonville Missing Adults Day at City Hall spotlights unsolved disappearances of two men missing since 2001 and 2005
Families renew public appeals as long-running Jacksonville disappearances remain unresolved
Families of missing adults gathered at Jacksonville City Hall on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, for the city’s 16th annual Missing Adults Day, an event intended to keep unresolved disappearance cases visible and to connect relatives navigating years of uncertainty. Yellow flowers were distributed during the program, names of missing people were read aloud, and attendees displayed photographs and age-progressed images.
The day’s central focus included two Jacksonville cases that have remained unsolved for decades: John Rowan Jr., missing since 2001, and Mark Degner, who disappeared in 2005 along with Bryan Hayes after leaving Paxon Middle School. Organizers and families used the City Hall gathering to encourage the public to share information that may seem minor but could help investigators reassess timelines, locations, or contacts.
Two Jacksonville cases that continue to drive Missing Adults Day
John Rowan Jr. was last seen in 2001. In the years since, his disappearance has been repeatedly cited as one of the cases that inspired Missing Adults Day in Jacksonville. Public reporting on the case has described his vehicle as being found about a month later in a parking lot near Orlando International Airport. He was declared legally dead in 2006, a legal step that does not resolve the underlying investigation.
Mark Degner and Bryan Hayes were last seen on Feb. 10, 2005, after leaving Paxon Middle School. They were 12 and 13 at the time. Their disappearance has been characterized for years as a case with limited confirmed answers beyond the last known sighting. Age-progressed images have been used to illustrate how they might look as adults, reflecting the passage of time and the continuing uncertainty about their whereabouts.
Missing Adults Day is designed to keep open cases from fading from public attention as years pass and leads become harder to generate.
Support, awareness, and the challenge of older cases
The event was hosted with the involvement of a Jacksonville-based nonprofit that publicizes cold cases and provides advocacy services to families while not conducting investigations itself. Speakers emphasized that older cases can be especially difficult to move forward when early evidence is limited, technologies have changed, or potential witnesses have relocated.
Families described Missing Adults Day as a rare opportunity to be in a room with others who understand “ambiguous loss,” a term used in missing-persons advocacy to describe grief without confirmation of what happened. For relatives, public recognition is often paired with a practical goal: prompting tips that may connect a person, a place, or a previously overlooked detail.
How missing-person cases are tracked and why tips still matter
Nationally, missing and unidentified-person case information is compiled through systems used by law enforcement and forensic professionals, including a federal clearinghouse supported by the National Institute of Justice. In Florida, statewide records are also maintained through a public-facing law enforcement database with data submitted by reporting agencies.
Organizers and law enforcement partners have consistently advised that anyone with information should report it directly to the appropriate authorities rather than attempting to investigate independently. Even in long-cold cases, new witness accounts, renewed attention, or advancements in forensic analysis can help cases be reassessed.