Mark Anthony Degner

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Jacksonville Sheriffs Office (FL)

Missing From:

Jacksonville, Florida

Summary:

Mark Anthony Degner, a 12-year-old white male with brown hair and hazel eyes, disappeared on February 10, 2005, from Jacksonville, Florida. He and his best friend Bryan Hayes, both special education students at Paxon Middle School, ran out of the building after an argument with a teacher at 1:15 p.m. and disappeared. After weeks passed with no contact, authorities announced the boys were considered endangered and possibly met with foul play, though some agencies continue to classify them as runaways.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

Mark disappeared from Paxon Middle School in Jacksonville, Florida on February 10, 2005. He and his best friend, Bryan Hayes, were both special education students at the school. The boys ran out of the building after an argument with a teacher at 1:15 p.m. and disappeared. According to Mark's Aunt, Angie Campbell, "One made a disturbance so the other could get out of class and the two simply walked out of the school and out of the baseball grounds." Bryan was apparently seen getting into a car outside the school; it is unclear whether Mark was with him at the time. They took no extra clothes, money, or other belongings with them, not even their book bags or Bryan's coat. The day before they disappeared, school officials caught them trying to sneak away from the buses after school ended. Both children were relatively new students at Paxon Middle School and unfamiliar with the area. Mark had moved there from Indiana and Bryan from Port Orange, Florida. When Mark did not come home on February 10, 2005, his mother reported him missing.

Additional Details:

Mark has no history of runaway behavior. The boys had told friends of their plans to run away; a third boy was planning to go with them but did not. He was described as being developmentally delayed and as having the emotional development of a child around three to five years younger than his chronological age. He also suffers from bipolar disorder and requires daily medication. Both boys are in need of medication. The case has been featured on the television show America's Most Wanted, with tips coming into the show, however the tips resulted in no credible leads. The last publicly commented sighting of the two boys was in Holly Hill, Florida in April 2005 where they were sitting on the grass with bedrolls and fishing poles, and eating junk food, with investigators being "very confident" that the sighting was accurate. For 12 years the cold case unit has followed tip after tip in an attempt to locate Mark and Bryan. They even traced a reported sighting of one of the boys to South Florida. Detectives drove down but didn't pan out. With the recent arrest of Ron Hyde, who is charged with the 1994 murder of Fred Laster, came a tip. Hyde had worked at the Jax Beach Sanctuary and there was a connection there with the boys, but like the other tips, this one did not pan out either. After weeks passed and no one had heard from Bryan or Mark, and in light of the boys' medical problems, authorities announced that they were considered endangered and possibly met with foul play. There have been a few reported sightings of the boys throughout the years, but their cases remain unsolved. With no definitive proof on what may have happened, the family still holds onto hope that the two boys, now men, are alive and can be reunited. Mark's sister stated "I would love for him to meet my family and my kids that I have created and come back and be one with his family." The boys' families held a vigil in downtown Jacksonville marking 20 years since their disappearances.

Case Last Updated:

Nov 09, 2026