kali9/iStock(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) — An Amber Alert has been issued in Florida for a 5-year-old girl who disappeared early Wednesday morning.
Taylor Rose Williams was last seen in her home in Jacksonville’s Brentwood neighborhood when her mother put her to bed around midnight on Wednesday. When the mother woke up later that morning, around 7 a.m., she noticed the back door to their home was unlocked and Taylor wasn’t in her room, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
The mother immediately called 911, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued an Amber Alert for the little girl later that morning.
“Taylor is the most important thing here right now,” T.K. Waters, chief of investigations for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, told reporters Wednesday afternoon. “We are very concerned.”
Various local, state and federal agencies are assisting in the search for Taylor. Nearly 200 officers have scoured the surrounding area, going door-to-door to hundreds of neighboring homes, checking vehicles and even looking through dumpsters in hopes of finding the little girl. Authorities are also checking any nearby bodies of water, as “children are unfortunately drawn toward water,” according to the the sheriff’s investigations chief.
Florida AMBER ALERT – Please Share This Post!
The Missing Child Alert for 5-year-old Taylor Williams has been upgraded to a Florida AMBER Alert. #FLAMBER
If you have any information about this child, please call Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at 904-630-0500 or 911. pic.twitter.com/sZRYSqJboy— FDLE (@fdlepio) November 6, 2019
“We’re being thorough in our investigation,” Waters said. “We still consider her a missing person.”
Investigators are looking at “all angles” and won’t “rule anything out,” he added.
“We approach these investigations in a manner that would help us to be able to determine whether it is foul play in the long run,” Waters told reporters. “As it stands right now, because of her age and we have not found her, we are concerned but we are going to continue to look because she’s missing and we think she may be somewhere alone. We want to make sure we try to find her.”
Taylor’s mother, along with the rest of her family, have been cooperating with the investigation so far. Authorities have also been in contact with the girl’s father, who lives out of state, according to Waters.
Taylor was last seen wearing a purple shirt and pink pajama pants at bedtime. She’s described as being 3 feet tall, weighing 50 pounds and having brown eyes and black hair.
Authorities are asking for the public’s help in locating the little girl. Anyone who has seen Taylor or may have information on her whereabouts is urged to contact Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office immediately at 904-630-0500.
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