© 2026 ABC News

Depaul also said a key for investigators is likely their \"tight circle of friends.\"

\"They're traveling, they gotta be communicating somehow,\" he said of the teen and coach. \"Somebody's got a device.\"

\"PHOTO:
Courtesy Columbia County Sheriffs Office
PHOTO: Caitlyn Frisina is seen in this undated photo.
>

ABC News chief legal analyst Dan Abrams added, \"They're going to need money. ... Either people are going to help them, which means you've got more potential witnesses, or they're going to have to try and get money, which will lead to more possible evidence to find them.\"

The two are believed to be headed north, Columbia County Sheriff Mark Hunter said Wednesday. Frisina has family in New York and Rodriguez has family in Canada and possibly Pennsylvania, Murray Smith, public information officer for the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, said Tuesday.

As for the potential consequences, Abrams said, \"Authorities have been very careful not to say he's being charged with a crime. Why? They want him to turn himself in. ... Because as of right now, we don't know if there was a physical relationship between them.\"

Authorities said it appeared \"a potential relationship\" was blossoming between Frisina and Rodriguez.

Although authorities say the teen left voluntarily, \"if there was [a physical relationship between Frisina and Rodriguez,] that would be a crime in the state of Florida based on their ages,\" Abrams said. \"Age of consent in Florida is 18. There are exceptions if you're under the age of 24, which he's not.\"

As the teen and adult \"go state to state, he also may be committing crimes in each of those states depending on what the state laws are as well,\" Abrams said.

\"PHOTO:
Courtesy Columbia County Sheriffs Office
PHOTO: An undated photo of 27-year-old Rian Rodriguez.
>

He went on, \"The fact that he's the coach at the school poses all sorts of additional moral and legal problems for him and the school.\"

Rodriguez has been working as a boys' soccer coach at Fort White High School, but has been suspended pending the investigation, according to a statement from Lex Carswell, superintendent of Columbia County Schools.

Frisina has played soccer at Fort White High School, according to an online roster published by Next College Student Athlete.

Rodriguez and the teen had been around each other \"at sports events, but they've never been alone at all,\" Smith said.

\"PHOTO:
Courtesy Columbia County Sheriffs Office
PHOTO: Undated photos of Caitlyn Frisina, 17, and Rian Rodriguez, 27, who had been reported missing.
>

As the search intensifies, Depaul said, \"We know one thing for sure -- Caitlyn and Rian are still together.\"

Abrams added, \"I'm confident that they're going to find them pretty quickly.\"

Frisina is described as having brown hair and brown eyes. She is 5 foot 7 inches tall and weighs 135 pounds, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said.

Rodriguez is described as having black hair and brown eyes. He’s 5 foot 10 inches tall and weighs 220 pounds, the agency said.

They may be traveling north in a 2001 red Mercury Sable with Florida tag Z04CSC, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said.

The Columbia County Sheriff's Office has asked anyone with information on her whereabouts to call the authorities at (386) 719-2005.

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