Hundreds of law enforcement officers are scouring a Jacksonville neighborhood and surrounding areas, in hopes of finding two children that vanished from a Jacksonville yard on Sunday.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Braxton Williams, 6, and Bri’ya Williams, 5, vanished from the 10200 block of West Beaver Street at around 11:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, at the Paradise Village trailer park complex. The children were reported missing a few hours later, police said.
During a Monday afternoon press conference, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said that anything is possible at this time. The children may have wandered off alone, or foul play could be involved.
“Foul play could be a factor….we don’t know,” Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Christian Hancock said. “Right now everything is an option. We are working multiple scenarios.”
Hancock said authorities have no indication that anyone known to the children are involved in their disappearance. There are no persons of interest at this time.
Hancock also said the children’s parents are being fully cooperative with the investigation.
AMBER Alert UpdateSheriff Williams speaks regarding missing children Braxton and Bri’ya Williams who were last seen yesterday in the area of 10200 West Beaver Street.
Posted by Jacksonville Sheriff's Office on Monday, December 16, 2019
Every car that leaves the neighborhood is being searched thoroughly, Action News Jax reports. According to Hancock, nothing has been found so far.
Meanwhile, authorities have already searched through several bodies of water, trash cans, woods, and in abandoned areas. Along with 100 patrol officers, around 150 investigators and 40 recruits are assisting in the search. Neighborhood volunteers, K9 and dive teams are also assisting.
One neighbor told Action News Jax that he saw a woman speeding away in a car with a young boy inside, around the time the siblings vanished.
“It was just a passing moment and I wasn’t paying attention,” neighbor Bobby Hutchinson said. “I remember that the car was a dark grey color. I mean, even it’s a useless clue, you know, it’s something they can look into.”
“We haven’t slept. We haven’t eaten. We are worried about our babies,” the children’s paternal grandmother, Roxanne Lloyd, told Action News Jax. “We want everybody to be praying and if anybody sees them please contact JSO.”
Lloyd explained that both children disappeared within a matter of minutes. The worried grandmother said that the children have never wandered away before, according to News 4 Jax.
“My son told me that they was fixing to get ready to have a barbecue and the kids was right outside the door, which is probably only steps away from the kitchen. You know, he could look out the kitchen window and see the kids, and he said that he went in the house briefly to get the meat, and when he came back out, they was gone just that quick.”
According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, at least 13 convicted sex offenders live within a 5-mile radius of the children’s home. Hancock said all convicted sex offenders in the area are being questioned.
“We’re asking for everybody’s assistance in looking,” Hancock added. “We want them to pay attention, look at these children, look at their faces in the pictures, and if you see something, please call us and say something.”
Anyone with any information is urged to contact the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at 904-630-0500.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Here is a related episode.
[Feature Photo: Braxton and Bri’ya Williams/Police Handout]
