TAMPA, Fla. — Florida law enforcement officials are asking the public for help to solve the mystery of a missing person's case from 8 years ago.
Samantha Fiddler was last seen in Bartow in November 2016 just seven months after relocating from Canada with dreams to become a wrestler. She was 29 years old, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
She was arrested by law enforcement in Polk County on a failure to appear warrant stemming from a trespassing charge and hasn't been seen since she was released from jail. Officials said even her messages on Facebook to other people stopped the day she was arrested.
While living in Florida, she spent time in Polk, Orange, Miami-Dade, Brevard, Broward, Osceola and Seminole counties. FDLE started investigating her disappearance in 2020 at the request of the Bartow Police Department.
Officials say they believe people who knew Fiddler while she lived in Florida may have information that could help the investigation.
“Eight years have passed, and we’re still as committed to finding answers as ever. She left three children and her parents behind in Canada, and they deserve to know the truth. We are asking anyone who knew her and might have helpful information to contact us," FDLE Special Agent Mark Brutnell said in a statement.
FDLE officials said she has not started a new bank account or been on social media "which is a big indicator for us due to her large social media footprint."
Special Agent Chris Leconte said from her Facebook messages, he could tell that Fiddler's children were her number one priority.
"It really touches you to the fact that she went above and beyond and took that extra step to come to America to try to make it so she could help her children," he said.
In all of the interviews investigators have done, people have said how nice Fiddler was and how she had a bubbly and exuberant personality, Leconte said.
“We literally don’t know,” her father Robin Fiddler previously said to 10 Tampa Bay. “That’s the agony of this whole situation, we don’t have a clue. Our imagination can’t drum up what happened to our daughter.”
Fiddler has a scar on her lip and several tattoos including one on her foot and another on her back shoulder. Officials said acquaintances may know her as Lucy Morningstar, Samantha Steele or Samantha Lloyd.
“We’re asking the public and Samantha’s friends and acquaintances to help us find her. She’s out there and she needs to be reunited with her family,” Brutnell said.