A Florida Amber Alert for two missing girls led to their successful recovery on Interstate 20 in Ruston Friday, according to the Lake County, Florida Sheriff’s Office.
Tillie Claire Williams, 5, and Natalia Williams, 1, were reported missing Thursday out of Sorrento, Florida where they were last seen. An Amber Alert was issued by Florida authorities.
Dixie Williams, 41, the biological mother of the girls, is accused of taking the children from their foster home. She was arrested on a Florida warrant on Interstate 20 near the Tarbutton Road exit by several local law enforcement agencies.
The arrest was effected by Louisiana State Police with assistance from the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office, according to Sheriff Stephen Williams.
On Thursday, a foster parent contacted the Lake County Sheriff’s Office about 7 a.m. to report two of her foster children were missing from the residence located in Sorrento. The two girls were last seen about 11 p.m. Wednesday night by the foster parent.
According to a probable cause affidavit for a kidnapping arrest warrant, Dixie Williams recently borrowed the foster parents’ vehicle and they later noticed the pass to enter their neighborhood was missing. They believed Dixie Williams or Cody Williams, the girls’ biological father, possibly used the pass to enter the neighborhood and take the girls.
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, “AMBER Alerts are activated in the most serious child abduction cases. The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the community to assist in the search for and safe recovery of a missing child. These alerts are broadcast through radio, TV, road signs, cellphones, and other data-enabled devices. The AMBER Alert system is being used in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Indian country, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 27 other countries.”
Sorrento, where the children lived, is located about 40 minutes north of Orlando. Driving time to Ruston is approximately 12 hours.
This is a developing story and more information will be forthcoming when local officials are available to comment.
