BRADENTON, Fla. — Nearly two years after Caitlyn “Katie” Sandt disappeared from this Gulf Coast city at age 18, the FBI has added her case to its national ViCAP missing persons database, and her family and local police are renewing their plea for anyone with information to come forward, according to the Bradenton Police Department and the FBI.
Sandt was reported missing in November 2024. Her family last had contact with her in October of that year, and she was last seen in Bradenton in early November 2024, according to Bradenton police. Detectives say they have investigated numerous leads since then, but none has led to Sandt or to any of her personal belongings, and investigators have not been able to determine where she is or whether she remains in Florida. Authorities have not publicly confirmed whether foul play was involved.
The FBI issued its ViCAP missing person alert on October 19, 2026, seeking the public’s help, according to police. ViCAP — the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program — is designed to give a local case national visibility, particularly if the missing person may be located outside her home state. Sandt’s information was previously entered into the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse, police said.
Police describe Sandt as approximately 5 feet 2 inches tall and 125 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. She has a scar between her eyes, scars on both thighs, and a strawberry birthmark near the bottom of her neck, and when she was reported missing her ears and navel were pierced, according to the FBI and Bradenton police. Detective Brian Gates said Sandt was known to frequent the area of the 1400 block of 18th Street West in Bradenton, and told local reporters the department is “seeking as much information as we can to put the missing pieces together and bring the family closure.”
For the family, the second anniversary has brought the loss back into public view without bringing answers. Her grandmother, Tina Nunes, has spoken to local television about the toll of not knowing what happened to her granddaughter, whom she described as a young woman who loved her family and cared deeply about those around her, according to local reporting.
What happens next: the investigation remains active under Bradenton Police Department case number 2024-009710. Anyone with information about Sandt’s whereabouts or disappearance is asked to contact Detective Brian Gates at 941-932-9300. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Manatee County Crime Stoppers, and information that leads to Sandt’s recovery may be eligible for a reward, police said.
Read the primary sources: the FBI ViCAP alert and the Bradenton Police Department release.
