Editor’s note: This report distinguishes the public account attributed to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office from details appearing in an online flyer. The flyer is not being treated as an official alert, and Freedom News Media has not published it as evidence.
What is confirmed
Michael Anthony Debevec II, an Oklahoma visitor, is the subject of an active missing-person search in the Stuart area, according to local reporting that attributes the information to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.
The reported agency account says Debevec disappeared Aug. 26 while visiting family in the area. He had gone to Chastain Beach—known locally as “the rocks”—and his vehicle was later found nearby. His family had not heard from him, the reports said.
Local reporting describes Debevec as 5 feet 7 inches tall with blue eyes. One report says the Sheriff’s Office believes he may be experiencing an emotional breakdown. That is an agency concern reported by local media, not a confirmed explanation for why he is missing or what occurred after he went to the beach.
The latest reporting reviewed by Freedom News still asks the public for information. We found no credible public report that Debevec had been located as of publication of this draft.
The flyer’s claims are much broader
A widely circulated graphic describes Debevec as having an orange kayak, says his wallet washed ashore near the House of Refuge, and says authorities are searching the ocean, Intracoastal Waterway and nearby mangrove islands. It also says he was last known to be watching the sunrise and that a camera recorded his vehicle arriving at 3 a.m.
Those are serious and potentially consequential claims. But Freedom News did not find public confirmation of them in the Sheriff’s Office account carried by local outlets, nor in current official Martin County or Coast Guard information reviewed for this story.
That does not establish that each claim is false. Details can originate with family members, witnesses, or active investigators before they appear in a public release. It does mean they should not be restated as established facts without an identifiable source who can confirm them.
The timeline needs careful wording
The strongest discrepancy concerns timing. Treasure Coast Today, reporting the Sheriff’s Office account, says Debevec was last seen during the afternoon of Aug. 26. The flyer describes a sunrise sighting and a 3 a.m. vehicle-camera time.
Those facts are not necessarily mutually exclusive: a vehicle might be recorded arriving at one time and the person might be seen later. But the flyer does not identify the camera, the person who supplied the sunrise account, or an investigator who confirmed either detail. Without that context, publishing a specific early-morning timeline would be more likely to mislead readers than help them understand the search.
Why the water-search narrative caught on
Chastain Beach is a small county-maintained facility on South Hutchinson Island. Martin County’s own visitor information says the site has parking, restrooms, beach access and an unimproved trail to a shoreline area used to launch canoes and kayaks. That geography makes online water-related speculation sound plausible.
Plausible is not confirmed. Freedom News has not found an official public statement saying Debevec entered the water, that a kayak belonging to him was recovered, or that the Coast Guard is participating in an ocean search.
Do not rely on the flyer’s Coast Guard number
The flyer tells readers to call a number it identifies as the U.S. Coast Guard. Freedom News could not verify that number as an official Coast Guard contact. The Coast Guard’s public guidance says people in an emergency who need Coast Guard assistance should use VHF-FM Channel 16 or call 911.
For non-emergency information about Debevec’s whereabouts, the contact number published in the local report citing the Martin County Sheriff’s Office is 772-220-7170.
What remains unknown
- Whether Debevec had an orange kayak with him.
- Whether any wallet or other personal property was recovered near the House of Refuge.
- Whether an ocean, Intracoastal Waterway or mangrove-island search is currently underway.
- Whether the 3 a.m. camera time and sunrise account are accurate, and how they relate to the Sheriff’s Office’s reported afternoon last-seen time.
- What occurred after Debevec went to Chastain Beach.
Why accuracy matters in an active search
The instinct to share a missing-person alert is understandable. But adding source-free details can create a false timeline, steer tips to an unverified contact number, and cause the public to assume an event—such as a water emergency—has already been established.
The public can still help without repeating speculation: contact law enforcement with firsthand information, preserve any relevant photos or video, and use official emergency channels if someone is in immediate danger. Readers should avoid spreading claims about a person’s condition, location or possessions unless those claims are clearly attributed to investigators or an authorized family representative.