Bravo
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Good night. Let's hope for good news in the morning. I'm heading off soon as well. Busy social week.
Found Safe FL - Braxton, 6, & Bri’ya Williams, 5, seen playing in yard, Jacksonville, 15 Dec 2019
- Thread starter GuyfromCanada
- Start date
And these are only the ones known to us who have been convicted and placed on the registry! So heartbreaking in many ways! God Bless the children!30 sexual predators/offenders in 2 mile radius of missing children's home.30 sex offenders, predators in 2-mile radius of mobile home park where 2 children last seen
imstilla.grandma
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They check the garbage cans for the bodies and it’s really scary because I have a little brother, and anything can happen and we’re living in the neighborhood where it’s happening at,” Dennis said.
“It scares me a lot because it could be my cousin, or someone related to me,” Hutchings said.
.
As the search continues in wooded areas near the home, Ashley Palmer brought her 6-year-old daughter Alaya to the scene to teach her a valuable lesson.
“I brought her out here because I have tried to explain her numerous times that there are mean and evil people out here and they’re out here harming our little ones and for her to listen when I say ‘Don’t go anywhere. Don’t take off.’ She has a really bad tendency to want to take off,” said mother Ashley Palmer.
Alaya even spoke to officers who repeated what her mother was teaching.
For Palmer, the visual of the massive search effort is déjà vu. Although she doesn’t live in the community where Braxton and Bri’ya Williams were reported missing, she said she’s lived in other communities where there were high-profile searches for missing children.
“I went through this with Jennifer Medernach that happened in 2000. And I also went through this with Somer Thompson. So, it’s very sad. I don’t know what more we can do to protect our little ones,” Palmer said.
Salina Hutchings said she never met or knew her missing neighbors, but said news of what happened in her community was a topic of discussion in her 5th-grade class. She said her classmates were speculating on whether or not her neighbors were abducted.
“They were saying that’s wrong and how people should do that because they don’t know them or may have, but it’s still wrong to do that," she said.
One mile up the road inside the Walkers Hamlet subdivision, large groups of police went door-to-door handing out flyers with pictures of the missing children. Neighbors like Michelle Rodriguez said officers were also checking behind homes and even searching a retention pond.
“I’m devastated, scared, hoping they are found safe and come back home,” Rodriguez said. "I have kids of my own so I can just imagine what’s going through the family’s mind and how they are responding to this.”
Parents, kids scared after Westside brother, sister go missing
“It scares me a lot because it could be my cousin, or someone related to me,” Hutchings said.
.
As the search continues in wooded areas near the home, Ashley Palmer brought her 6-year-old daughter Alaya to the scene to teach her a valuable lesson.
“I brought her out here because I have tried to explain her numerous times that there are mean and evil people out here and they’re out here harming our little ones and for her to listen when I say ‘Don’t go anywhere. Don’t take off.’ She has a really bad tendency to want to take off,” said mother Ashley Palmer.
Alaya even spoke to officers who repeated what her mother was teaching.
For Palmer, the visual of the massive search effort is déjà vu. Although she doesn’t live in the community where Braxton and Bri’ya Williams were reported missing, she said she’s lived in other communities where there were high-profile searches for missing children.
“I went through this with Jennifer Medernach that happened in 2000. And I also went through this with Somer Thompson. So, it’s very sad. I don’t know what more we can do to protect our little ones,” Palmer said.
Salina Hutchings said she never met or knew her missing neighbors, but said news of what happened in her community was a topic of discussion in her 5th-grade class. She said her classmates were speculating on whether or not her neighbors were abducted.
“They were saying that’s wrong and how people should do that because they don’t know them or may have, but it’s still wrong to do that," she said.
One mile up the road inside the Walkers Hamlet subdivision, large groups of police went door-to-door handing out flyers with pictures of the missing children. Neighbors like Michelle Rodriguez said officers were also checking behind homes and even searching a retention pond.
“I’m devastated, scared, hoping they are found safe and come back home,” Rodriguez said. "I have kids of my own so I can just imagine what’s going through the family’s mind and how they are responding to this.”
Parents, kids scared after Westside brother, sister go missing
mickey2942
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The time line has a lot of gaps in it. But, perhaps these parents are advocates of "Free Range" parenting, letting children just wander around. The opposite of "helicopter parenting", where parents schedule, and monitor their children 100% of the time.
Is it better to keep children in the house watching tv, glued to their I-Pads, or outside playing...not monitored by adults every second...debatable.
momrids6
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They spent 90 minutes looking.This MH park has 431 spaces, and is large. There is a decent playground as well that could be an enticement. Kids should be able to play in their own front yard at 1130 in the morning on a Sunday. It should not have been an issue with him walking in the house for a few.
imstilla.grandma
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Christy Davis works with the Florida chapter of the Community United Effort Center for Missing Children.
Even though her son was 26-years-old when he went missing 12 years ago, she says no matter the age of a missing child, the pain a parent experience is immense.
“They’re going through the worst nightmare a parent could go through, and they deserve prayers and support from the community, every eye open, paying attention, reporting what might have been seen,” Davis said.
“We might be involved but we might not,” Porter said. “We just want to make sure because we want these kids to get home safe."
Neighbors, parents of other missing children concerned for Braxton, Bri'Ya Williams
Even though her son was 26-years-old when he went missing 12 years ago, she says no matter the age of a missing child, the pain a parent experience is immense.
“They’re going through the worst nightmare a parent could go through, and they deserve prayers and support from the community, every eye open, paying attention, reporting what might have been seen,” Davis said.
“We might be involved but we might not,” Porter said. “We just want to make sure because we want these kids to get home safe."
Neighbors, parents of other missing children concerned for Braxton, Bri'Ya Williams
It sure in the heck needs to be said 1M times again, to call the police and not waste 1 1/2 hours trying to find your children, call asap and search for them when you hang up. jmo Or 1 1/2 hours trying to come up with a story to tell why they are missing. I'd call within 5 to 10 minutes at the latest.
MsPooh
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For some reason this reminds me of the case that brought me here in '05, Jessica Lunsford.
Mobile home community, sexual predators ..She was right there the entire time inside a closet ALIVE and they didn't know until they found her body. I hope they are scouring each and every trailer there, inside and out.
Mobile home community, sexual predators ..She was right there the entire time inside a closet ALIVE and they didn't know until they found her body. I hope they are scouring each and every trailer there, inside and out.
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This information about their father being outside with them is only coming from the father’s mother.
I’m sure police are questioning neighbors to determine the truth, but it’s entirely possible the kids weren’t being supervised nearly as closely as is being stated by the family.
The grandmother had to verify with the grandfather the amount of older siblings these two have. That’s weird. Sorry, but it is. What grandmother doesn’t know how many children her son and his girlfriend have between them? Clearly either the grandmother isn’t close to the family or the other children live elsewhere.
My gut feeling on this one is that they were unsupervised longer than is being reported and they wandered off to explore and ended up in trouble. I hope they’re out in those woods somewhere lost and will be found before it’s too late.
LadyL
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no kidding - what an irresponsible thing to do - what if they found those children deceased?!
Steelslady
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That case still haunts me to this day. Poor Jessica. That was just awful.
sleuther0192837465
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More lil ones missing?????
imstilla.grandma
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I've had counseling through some of the stuff that I've been through in my career and it's helpful," he told First Coast News. "It's helpful to sit down with someone who understands what you're going through."
Wilkie played an active role in the search for Cherish Perrywinkle and Lonzie Barton – two recent and separate high profile missing children's cases. Their cases ended tragically with Wilkie finding both of their bodies.
"The first couple of weeks after Cherish were absolutely horrendous, absolutely horrendous," he remembered.
For some, it's the second time in about a month they're searching for missing children. Taylor Williams was reported missing by her mother in early November. Her body was found in Alabama and her mother Brianna Williams was charged with child neglect and lying to law enforcement.
"The one who actually finds the remains or the body, it does take its toll on you, I think," Wilkie said.
Knowing Christmas is a little more than a week away, the timing of a child's disappearance is something not only felt by loved ones but those in law enforcement, too.
"It's a time of family, reflection for what you're thankful for and how your life is progressing and how the kids are coming along," he said. " Now all of a sudden, this. It's something psychological for the officers."
Former Florida officer talks emotional toll of finding missing children
Wilkie played an active role in the search for Cherish Perrywinkle and Lonzie Barton – two recent and separate high profile missing children's cases. Their cases ended tragically with Wilkie finding both of their bodies.
"The first couple of weeks after Cherish were absolutely horrendous, absolutely horrendous," he remembered.
For some, it's the second time in about a month they're searching for missing children. Taylor Williams was reported missing by her mother in early November. Her body was found in Alabama and her mother Brianna Williams was charged with child neglect and lying to law enforcement.
"The one who actually finds the remains or the body, it does take its toll on you, I think," Wilkie said.
Knowing Christmas is a little more than a week away, the timing of a child's disappearance is something not only felt by loved ones but those in law enforcement, too.
"It's a time of family, reflection for what you're thankful for and how your life is progressing and how the kids are coming along," he said. " Now all of a sudden, this. It's something psychological for the officers."
Former Florida officer talks emotional toll of finding missing children
imstilla.grandma
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In one sense, Callahan Walsh has carried the tragedy of a loved one going missing since before he was born. He never met his brother Adam Walsh, who was abducted and murdered in 1981 at just six years old.
“Well, my first thoughts are, time is of the essence,” he told First Coast News Monday evening, discussing the disappearance of 6-year-old Braxton Williams and his 5-year-old sister Bri’ya Williams. The siblings were last seen playing together near their home on Jacksonville’s Westside Sunday morning
“It’s critical when these children go missing, to recover them as quickly as possible and reunited them with their families,” Callahan Walsh said.
Callahan Walsh and Adam Walsh’s father, John Walsh, co-created and hosted the show America’s Most Wanted after Adam Walsh's death. Today, Callahan Walsh works with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. He acknowledged that it’s still unclear whether Braxton Williams and Bri’ya Williams were abducted or wandered off. But in the case of abductions, he delivered a grim statistic.
“With a stranger abduction, if the child is not recovered within the first three hours, there’s a 70 to 80 percent chance that that child is deceased,” he said.
Despite that he says, the NCMEC has assisted in the recovery of 311,000 missing children, Walsh pointed out a rarity in the case of Braxton and Bri’ya Williams.
“The fact that these two children were together and both have gone missing is very shocking," he said. "It’s not something that we see every day.”
“Unfortunately, with this case, these two children were together – not something that we see very often, where two children are abducted together,” Callahan Walsh reiterated, “but for older kids that is always great, to travel in groups. It’s so much better, so much safer that way.”
Another piece of advice from Callahan Walsh: "Check first.”
“Any time a child accepts something from another adult, goes anywhere, they need to check first with a parent or a guardian,” he urged.
“Number three is, tell people ‘no,’” he said. “Many children are told to be polite to adults. But they have the right to be safe and to feel safe, and anything that makes them feel sad, scared, confused or uncomfortable – anybody tries to grab them or touch them inappropriately – they have the right to say ‘no’ and they should do so sternly.”
To back that up, Walsh offered a statistic favoring kids who fight back.
“Eighty percent of the time when children are able to get away from their would-be abductor, it’s because of something that they did that was proactive: kicking, screaming, yelling ‘No!’” he said.
He also insisted on the importance of what parents should encourage kids to do if someone tries to hurt them:
“If something happens – someone touches you inappropriately or tries to abduct you, tell a parent or guardian right away,” he said.
But it didn’t stop there. Callahan Walsh said it’s a good idea for parents to establish code words known only by trusted adults in a child’s life, so the child can challenge an adult who tries to trick them into trusting.
Finally, he implored parents to complete child identification kits, available free of charge at www.missingkids.org as well as many law enforcement agencies.
“Those ID kits, however, need to be updated fairly regularly, because your children are growing fast,” he cautioned. “You need to update height, weight, all those sorts of things.”
Including photos, especially because children’s appearances change – often dramatically – much more quickly than adults.’
“The most important tool when it comes to the recovery of a missing child is a photo of that child," he said. "But it needs to be an accurate photo that you can hand over to law enforcement and they can send out to the media and try to get as many eyeballs on that image as possible.”
How to keep your children safe from abduction, predators
“Well, my first thoughts are, time is of the essence,” he told First Coast News Monday evening, discussing the disappearance of 6-year-old Braxton Williams and his 5-year-old sister Bri’ya Williams. The siblings were last seen playing together near their home on Jacksonville’s Westside Sunday morning
“It’s critical when these children go missing, to recover them as quickly as possible and reunited them with their families,” Callahan Walsh said.
Callahan Walsh and Adam Walsh’s father, John Walsh, co-created and hosted the show America’s Most Wanted after Adam Walsh's death. Today, Callahan Walsh works with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. He acknowledged that it’s still unclear whether Braxton Williams and Bri’ya Williams were abducted or wandered off. But in the case of abductions, he delivered a grim statistic.
“With a stranger abduction, if the child is not recovered within the first three hours, there’s a 70 to 80 percent chance that that child is deceased,” he said.
Despite that he says, the NCMEC has assisted in the recovery of 311,000 missing children, Walsh pointed out a rarity in the case of Braxton and Bri’ya Williams.
“The fact that these two children were together and both have gone missing is very shocking," he said. "It’s not something that we see every day.”
“Unfortunately, with this case, these two children were together – not something that we see very often, where two children are abducted together,” Callahan Walsh reiterated, “but for older kids that is always great, to travel in groups. It’s so much better, so much safer that way.”
Another piece of advice from Callahan Walsh: "Check first.”
“Any time a child accepts something from another adult, goes anywhere, they need to check first with a parent or a guardian,” he urged.
“Number three is, tell people ‘no,’” he said. “Many children are told to be polite to adults. But they have the right to be safe and to feel safe, and anything that makes them feel sad, scared, confused or uncomfortable – anybody tries to grab them or touch them inappropriately – they have the right to say ‘no’ and they should do so sternly.”
To back that up, Walsh offered a statistic favoring kids who fight back.
“Eighty percent of the time when children are able to get away from their would-be abductor, it’s because of something that they did that was proactive: kicking, screaming, yelling ‘No!’” he said.
He also insisted on the importance of what parents should encourage kids to do if someone tries to hurt them:
“If something happens – someone touches you inappropriately or tries to abduct you, tell a parent or guardian right away,” he said.
But it didn’t stop there. Callahan Walsh said it’s a good idea for parents to establish code words known only by trusted adults in a child’s life, so the child can challenge an adult who tries to trick them into trusting.
Finally, he implored parents to complete child identification kits, available free of charge at www.missingkids.org as well as many law enforcement agencies.
“Those ID kits, however, need to be updated fairly regularly, because your children are growing fast,” he cautioned. “You need to update height, weight, all those sorts of things.”
Including photos, especially because children’s appearances change – often dramatically – much more quickly than adults.’
“The most important tool when it comes to the recovery of a missing child is a photo of that child," he said. "But it needs to be an accurate photo that you can hand over to law enforcement and they can send out to the media and try to get as many eyeballs on that image as possible.”
How to keep your children safe from abduction, predators
VanillaRose
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I keep thinking of Hania’s case, though she was older... disappearing from a relatively isolated mobile home park in the morning hours...
Also her sister was a witness in that case, poor girl Praying this case has a happier ending.
Also her sister was a witness in that case, poor girl
Praying this case has a happier ending.
VanillaRose
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In a FB group about this case, it was said that the lady in the speeding car was ruled out? Does anyone have a link for that? It seemed pretty suspicious given the timing...
HayLouise
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THE SEARCH CONTINUES: As day two comes to an end in the search for Braxton & Bri’ya Williams, @JSOPIO continues to have several resources out where they were last seen.
The command center is on the other side of this crime scene tape. @ActionNewsJax
(video)
Dani Bozzini on Twitter
The command center is on the other side of this crime scene tape. @ActionNewsJax
(video)
Dani Bozzini on Twitter
MsFacetious
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It is very ballsy but we’ve seen front porch and front yard abductions before.
I keep thinking of Hania’s case, though she was older... disappearing from a relatively isolated mobile home park in the morning hours...
Also her sister was a witness in that case, poor girl
Also the Groene’s with two kids being abducted....
Definintely debatable and it is tough. For me it would a good balance between the two, HOWEVER, knowing all of the dangers that are out there I struggle to take my eyes off of my own daughter for any amount of time. She is 6 and has high-functioning autism. When outside I will usually watch her from the side lines and allow her to feel that she has a certain amount of freedom, but if she wanders too far or is anywhere near anything that might be dangerous then I will step in. I couldn't just leave her outside playing with nobody watching at her age. It isn't worth the risk in my eyes.
I don't know where I'm going with this, I'm not meaning to point the finger at at anyone, just replying to your comment I guess. I do worry that these two have been taken by an opportunistic predator, although that would be rare. I had hoped it was a custody issue because that way there is some hope that they are safe somewhere. MOO
