Amber Alert Issued For Missing Benbrook Girl
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BENBROOK (CBSDFW.COM) - Police in Benbrook issued an Amber Alert early Tuesday for a 9-year-old child who went missing last Friday afternoon. Officials said that Caitlyn Elizabeth Williams last left her home at around 3:00 p.m. to spend the weekend with a nearby friend. She was supposed to return on Sunday, but never did.
Authorities are also looking for Jessie Nicholas Williams, the girl's uncle, in connection with her disappearance. He was last seen twice in Benbrook on Saturday with the missing girl -- once at a beauty salon along Bryant Irvin Road and at a motel along Alta Mesa Boulevard. The 24-year-old man's rental car was taken to the police station Tuesday morning.
The uncle has been described as a white male, 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing around 220 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes, and lives in Arlington. Police have issued a kidnapping warrant against the suspect.
The child's parents reported her missing on Monday. Her great-grandmother said that Williams was going to a slumber party at a friend's house on her bicycle, but never made it to the other home. "Somebody has that baby and they need to give her back," said great-grandmother Linda Bullard. "She's somewhere, got to be somewhere. We need her home."
Investigators do believe that Williams could be in danger. The FBI is also involved in the search.
"We believe that she may be in danger because the family has not been able to contact the uncle," said Sandy Eubanks with the Benbrook Police Department on Tuesday morning.
It is not clear why the girl's parents waited until Monday to report that their child was missing. Authorities are puzzled, and have many questions themselves, but do not suspect the parents in the 9-year-old girl's disappearance.
Williams has been described as 4 feet 4 inches tall, weighing 95 pounds. She has brown, wavy hair to the middle of her back. She was last wearing a yellow T-shirt with a Benbrook Field Day logo, jeans, and pink and black tennis shoes. She was also riding a pink, purple and white bike. "She is very adventurous," explained Bullard. "She rides her bike around the neighborhood with her friends and she normally goes right where she says she's going."
Police said Tuesday morning that the young girl may now look different. "We have reason to believe that her hair may have been cut short to alter her appearance," Eubanks said.
Officials spent Tuesday morning answering phone calls that might provide clues in this case. Anybody who might have additional information is urged to contact the Benbrook Police Department immediately.
"I just want to ask Jessie to bring Caitlyn home," said Bullard. "That's all I can say."