Mom arrested in disappearance of 5-year-old daughter after remains found in Alabama
The mother of 5-year-old Taylor Rose Williams has been arrested and charged in connection with the girl's disappearance, authorities said Tuesday. Hours before police announced the arrest, investigators found remains that they believe to be Taylor in rural Alabama.
Brianna Williams has been charged with felony child neglect and making false statements to police, Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said Tuesday. Brianna is currently in the hospital in serious condition after an apparent overdose, Williams added.
Earlier Tuesday, police in Demopolis, Alabama, released a statement saying that the team searching for Taylor had found human remains. CBS affiliate WJAX-TV reports there were blue tents set up where the remains were believed to have been found.
We found the site that looks to be where remains were found. There are three blue tents off of a dirt road. It is miles off of a main road . @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/yTnwyAWe3X
— Bridgette Matter (@bridgetteANjax) November 12, 2019
The remains were located in a wooded area between two towns in Marengo County, located about 100 miles west of Montgomery, police said.
Sheriff Williams said that while authorities believe the remains are Taylor's, it hasn't been officially confirmed by DNA testing — and many questions haven't been answered.
"We are nowhere near done in this investigation," Williams said.
The child was reported missing from her Jacksonville, Florida, home last Wednesday. Williams previously said that Brianna hadn't spoken with investigators since that day.
Authorities from Alabama and Florida assisted in the search.
Brianna Williams originally told investigators that her daughter was gone when she woke up November 6. But authorities said that it's been weeks since Taylor was last seen, and that there were inconsistencies in Brianna's story, CBS News correspondent Mireya Villarreal reported.