Missing Teen's Mother: 'Don't Write My Baby Off Yet'

SARASOTA, FL -- The District 12 Medical Examiner's Office, working with a forensic odontologist, has determined through dental records that the human remains found Monday, April 17, in the 1900 block of Gillespie Ave., Sarasota, are not those of 14-year-old Jabez Spann.

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Soon after the remains were discovered, people began to speculate on social media whether they belonged to the missing teen and discussing who would claim the $25,000 reward being offered for information leading to Jabez Spann's whereabouts.

This prompted Jabez Spann's mother, Tawana, to post an angry response on her Facebook page.

"Don't write my baby off yet because there's still hope he might be alive," she said. "Give us time to get ourselves together before you blast this (news that the remains belong to Spann)."

To give the Spann family answers as quickly as possible, the medical examiner's office did the dental comparison immediately, and concluded it was not a match.

Jabez Spann has been missing since Sept. 4, 2017.

Tawana Spann believes her son was kidnapped on the way to his grandmother's house because he witnessed the fatal shooting of Travis Combs on Aug. 28. Reginald Parker, who claimed to be a witness to Combs' shooting, told Tawana Spann that her son was coming from a friend's house and saw the shooting as well.

When police questioned Parker, however, he denied witnessing Combs' shooting.

That doesn't mean the cases aren't connected, said Genevieve Judge, spokeswoman for the Sarasota Police Department. Combs' shooting, like Spann's disappearance, remains unsolved.

She said the police are working with the FBI and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to discover what happened to Jabez Spann.

“Unfortunately, at this point, they have not come up with anything of significance," she said.

A forensic anthropologist with the medical examiner's office is now trying to identify the remains discovered by children playing in the area on Monday. The remains include a skull and femur bone. Officials say it could take several weeks before they have answers.

Anyone with information on the identity of the remains or the whereabouts of Jabez Spann is asked to call Sarasota Crime Stoppers at (941) 366-TIPS.

Image via Spann family