Sources say two missing Jacksonville children have been found safe

December 17, 2019

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (WJAX) — Three sources have told Action News Jax that both Braxton and Bri'ya Williams have been found safe in the woods.

The two had been missing since Sunday morning, or three days ago.

Family of the children and the Mayor of Jacksonville have confirmed they were found safe. They were found in Whitehouse, which is on the city's west side.

Over 150 investigators had been searching for the children. Police searched more than 20 bodies of water, 400 homes and neighbors surveillance videos.

A woman who says she is the mother’s cousin said she was at the scene where the children were found. She told Action News Jax reporter Elizabeth Pace that she saw searchers celebrating and when she asked them what was happening they told her that the children were found safe. She said that she didn’t get to see the children, but search and rescue told her the children were safe.

Earlier Tuesday, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said it was looking for a white, four-door car, with an older white man as the driver. The sheriff's office said kids music was blaring from the car.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued an Amber Alert for the two children on Sunday. Before they went missing, 5-year-old Bri’ya Williams and 6-year-old Braxton Williams were last seen in the 10200 block of West Beaver Street Sunday morning playing in their front yard.

Police are asking the public to be on the lookout for an older, white 4-door car possibly being driven by an older white male. The car was blasting SpongeBob SquarePants music.

Anyone who sees either child or knows where they could be should immediately call JSO at 904-630-0500 or 911.

December 17, 2019

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (CBS NEWS) - The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office says it is looking for a vehicle and person of interest in connection to the two children who went missing on Sunday.

TK Walters of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office says they're looking for an older model white four-door vehicle with a white man possibly behind the wheel. He says that the vehicle has been playing loud children's music.

JSO says it doesn't know if there is a threat to the community.

Police say the family of 5-year-old Bri’ya Williams and 6-year-old Braxton Williams is fully cooperating with the investigation. They also tell us at least 150 investigators were searching nearby wooded areas and properties.

Jacksonville Police is also working to obtain local surveillance video anyone in the are might have.

“Right now everything is an option. We are working multiple scenarios,” Sheriff Mike Williams said.

We will continue to update this story online and on-air as new information becomes available.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (CBS NEWS) - The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said family members were inside a house when two young children went missing while playing in their front yard in the 10200 block of West Beaver Street Sunday.

JSO said a family member called police when they realized 5-year-old Bri’ya Williams and 6-year-old Braxton Williams were missing from the yard. K-9 teams, drones and drive teams from JSO as well as other agencies are searching for the children.

Police are asking for everyone in the area to be on the lookout and to call JSO at 904-630-0500 or 911 if they have information about where the children could be.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (CBS NEWS) - The Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued an Amber Alert for 2 missing children.

5-year-old Bri’ya Williams and 6-year-old Braxton Williams were last seen in the 10200 block of West Beaver Street.

JSO said the children were playing in front of their house and were last seen around 11:30 a.m.

6-year-old Braxton Williams is said to be on the autism spectrum but will communicate with others. He was wearing a red sweater and blue jeans when he went missing.

5-year-old Bri’ya Williams was wearing a gray sweater with multicolored writing on it.

Anyone who sees either children or knows where they could be should immediately call JSO at 904-630-0500 or 911.

A search on FDLE’s Sexual Offenders and Predators Search shows three sex offenders and one sex predator within one mile of where the children were last seen. When the search is expanded to a 5-mile radius, 13 sex offenders and five sex predators were found.