After a nearly three-week search for a 5-year-old Florida girl, authorities say her body has been positively identified in Alabama.
According to CNN, Taylor Rose Williams was initially reported missing by her mother Brianna Shontae Williams on November 6. Days later skeletal human remains were found in Alabama. A DNA analysis disclosed on Monday that they are that of Taylor.
An investigation into what exactly happened to the young girl is still ongoing, but the Amber Alert issued for her by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has been canceled. Taylor’s mother has been arrested and charged with child neglect and providing false information to investigators.
Williams allegedly told investigators that she drove to Alabama in October to pick the child up from her grandparent’s house, but the grandparents contend that they had not seen Taylor in over a year. The daycare center that the 5-year-old attended also claimed to not have seen her since April.
According to a woman who helped Williams move from the southside of Jacksonville to the Brentwood area of town around the time of Taylor’s disappearance, the young girl was likely deceased before the relocation. In an interview with News4Jax, Tiffani Nicole says that Williams paid her $250 to help move her things. During that time Williams said her daughter was inside the bathroom, although Nicole and her fiance never saw the child.
Once the items from Williams’ previous residence were moved to her new residence, Nicole says the 27-year-old mother started acting “really weird.” With new information on the case coming to light, Nicole believes that she was hired along with her fiance to act as an alibi in the case.
The latest reports indicate that Williams is not cooperating with authorities and is being treated at a Florida hospital for an apparent overdose, according to Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams. According to News4Jax, Williams is due in court on December 4.