Amari Santana, the 17-year-old Palm Harbor teen with autism who had been missing since Sunday, Sept. 27, was found safe Wednesday, Sept. 30, in Tampa.

Tampa police officers located Santana shortly after 5:30 p.m. at Peter O. Knight Airport on Davis Islands, Tampa Bay 28 reported. He was disoriented, dehydrated, hungry and exhausted but was expected to recover, according to WFLA.

Santana, approximately 6 feet tall and 150 pounds, was dropped off at Dunedin's Edgewater Park at about 8:15 p.m. Sept. 27 to go for a run and did not return. He did not have his phone with him.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office handled the missing-person investigation as volunteers organized an extensive community search. Hundreds of volunteers searched streets, waterways and neighborhoods on foot, by bicycle, by car and by boat, according to Tampa Bay 28.

How Santana traveled from Pinellas County to Hillsborough County remained unclear, WFLA reported. A passerby spotted him near the University of Tampa campus after recognizing him from social media posts circulated during the search. Tampa police subsequently located him at nearby Peter O. Knight Airport on Davis Islands.

Tiffany Lubke, who helped organize volunteer search teams through mutual connections with Santana's family, said the case needed greater visibility.

"This boy is 17, and it just hit me hard," Lubke told Tampa Bay 28. "We have mutual friends with the family, and I felt that there was not enough visibility on this, so I decided to put it together."

Santana's mother, Mercedes Santana, learned her son had been found safe during an emotional FaceTime call Wednesday evening.

"Hi bud, I love you," she said during the call, according to Tampa Bay 28.

The family thanked the community members who helped search for Santana and spread information about his disappearance, WFLA reported.

The Beacon covered the search earlier in the week. Residents with information about missing-person cases can contact the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office at 727-582-6200.