Nearly 20 days after an Amber Alert was issued for missing 5-year-old Taylor Williams, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office confirmed on Monday that the child remains found in a wooded area in Alabama are, in fact, hers.
"It's important to clarify that confirmation adds yet another layer to the vast scale of this investigation that's been underway since Taylor was reported missing," said JSO chief of investigations, T.K. Waters.
Waters didn't reveal her cause of death. FDLE canceled the Amber Alert.
Taylor Williams was reported missing on Nov. 6 by her mother, 27-year-old Brianna Williams. She told police that she was last seen at their home in the Brentwood area of Jacksonville in the 600 block of Ivy Street.
A multi-state search involving multiple agencies, including JSO, the FBI, NCIS and FDLE, was launched for Taylor Williams. The search led police near Linden and Demopolis, Alabama where they found the remains on Nov. 12.
The same day authorities announced they found a child's remains, Sheriff Mike Williams said Brianna Williams was hospitalized in serious condition from an apparent overdose. A friend of Brianna Williams told First Coast News that she overdosed while police were on their way to arrest her. Family members said she was put in a medically-induced coma.
Mike Williams said she refused to cooperate with police shortly after her daughter's disappearance. Despite being hospitalized, Brianna Williams was arrested on charges of child neglect and giving false information to police.
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After she awoke from her coma, Brianna Williams was transported to the Duval County Jail on Thursday, Nov. 21. She was booked on a $1 million bond.
During the announcement of her arrest, Mike Williams said there were "indications [the body] may be Taylor Williams" and that investigators were waiting on forensic testing.
With confirmation that the remains are of Taylor Williams, JSO said it and the State Attorney's Office will continue efforts in this criminal investigation.
"We remain committed to working to bring justice for her," Waters said.
Brianna Williams continues to remain uncooperative with police, he said.
