JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – On the second day of the search for a missing 5-year-old girl, Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams announced that Taylor Rose Williams' mother has stopped cooperating with investigators. He said that Brianna Williams is not in custody or under arrest, but stopped answering questions when detectives pointed out inconsistencies with her story.
As the last person to have seen Taylor alive, "We need her to cooperate," he said.
Recommended Videos
WJXT has learned from two sources that a cadaver dog alerted on the trunk of mother's car, which was towed away from Brentwood home on Wednesday afternoon.
Sheriff Williams said at 4 p.m. Thursday that the massive search for Taylor will continue and the Amber Alert remains in effect. He said hundreds of tips have come in and asked anyone who saw Brianna Williams and her daughter together in the last six months to call 904-630-0500.
"We're not going to stop ... there's not one theory that we're not exploring," the sheriff said. "My hope is that we find her alive."
The home where the 5-year-old Jacksonville girl was reportedly last seen around midnight Tuesday remained taped off Thursday. Police said Brianna Williams, who is a Navy petty officer, told them she saw her daughter in bed around midnight Wednesday in their home on Ivy Street, but when she woke the next morning, Taylor was gone and the back door of the home was standing open.
Since police got the call at 7:22 a.m. the Sheriff's Office said more than 300 officers have been involved in the search, along with K-9 teams, officers on horseback, the dive team and other assets. They have knocked on 600 doors and checked out numerous leads.
Officers continue to remove evidence bags Thursday from the home on Ivy Street where Taylor reportedly disappeared. Authorities previously said there was no sign of foul play in the house, and everything inside looked normal.
They have also searched an apartment complex on the Southside where Taylor's family used to live. At the complex, investigators looked in ponds and in trash from a dumpster taken from the complex.
The FDLE issued a missing child alert at 9:21 a.m. and an Amber Alert for Taylor went out about 11:30 a.m. on cellphones, billboards, Florida Department of Transportation message boards and to all law enforcement officers across the state.