Mystery remains after wife’s call with missing husband abruptly ends, Florida cops say

A call between a husband and wife that ended abruptly led to a search for a missing man and a shootout between sheriff’s deputies and the man’s son.

A woman was talking to her husband on the phone while he was in Deltona with their 18-year-old son on Sunday, July 10, according to a statement from the Volusia Sheriff’s Office. The woman, who was calling from New York, could hear her husband arguing with their son before she heard a loud noise and the call was dropped, she told sheriff’s deputies.

When she didn’t hear from her husband again, she decided to call police later that night.

Deputies went to the Deltona house to investigate but found no one home, according to the sheriff’s office. Deltona is about 30 miles north of Orlando.

The son’s vehicle was later seen in nearby DeBary, but when deputies pursued, the driver fled, according to investigators. Law enforcement officers in Sanford, about 10 miles south of Deltona, also reported seeing the vehicle but said the driver fled from them when they tried to follow.

Authorities issued a “be on the lookout” alert for the vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office.

Just before 5 p.m. on Monday, detectives saw the vehicle in Lake County and started to follow it before it sped away and crashed into a synagogue in Mount Dora, about 40 miles west of Deltona.

The driver, later identified as the missing man’s son, Johnny Santiago, started to shoot at deputies and was injured when they returned fire, the sheriff’s office said.

First responders took Santiago to a hospital for treatment of multiple gunshot wounds.

As of Tuesday afternoon, authorities had not found or contacted Santiago’s father, 52-year-old Juan Santiago, according to the sheriff’s office.

“The investigation is active and ongoing, and updates will be provided as they become available,” deputies said.

This story was originally published July 12, 2022 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Mystery remains after wife’s call with missing husband abruptly ends, Florida cops say."