The family of a missing Broadway dancer is pleading with their South Carolina community to share any information about his disappearance with law enforcement as the search for the 28-year-old grows desperate.
Zelig Williams was last seen on October 3 at his home in Columbia, according to a statement from the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. The family filed a missing person report the following day after he failed to contact them, the department said.
At an emotional news conference Wednesday, Williams’ cousin, Mieoki Corbett-Jacobs, begged the public to alert authorities to anyone matching his description.
“Our plea and our ask is to pay attention, look at his face on the flyers, on the pictures, he might have facial hair he might not,” Corbett-Jacobs said through tears. “We beg you to please pay attention and bring him home.”
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said his deputies “have used every means of manpower and technology that’s available” to try to locate Williams. Now, he said, they’re also turning to the public.
“We feel confident there’s people out in the community who may know something that could help us and just not realize that they have that last key to the puzzle,” Lott said.
The Broadway performer – whose credits include “Hamilton” and “MJ The Musical” – has been missing for nearly two weeks. Without any solid leads, the family – who are no strangers to tragedy – has hired private investigator Chandra Cleveland to assist in their search.
Cleveland told CNN she believes Williams’ case is an example of “missing while Black syndrome,” where the disappearances of Black men and women receive little to no attention.
“I like to tell everyone that even you can go an hour and not speak to a person, but when you know that’s not their pattern, something needs to be done, and you need to call law enforcement immediately and report that,” she said. “That’s what this family did.”
‘He did not wander off,’ family says
Williams’ mother saw him leave home just before 10 a.m. on October 3, according to an incident report from the sheriff’s department. Minutes later, Williams’ friends in New York received a concerning message from his iPhone, Corbett-Jacobs said.
“At 10:10, three of his friends received an SOS ping from his cell phone, which is not a lot of time after leaving the house,” Corbett-Jacobs said. Those friends reached out to Williams’ mother to share their concerns.
An iPhone can be programmed to contact emergency services or a list of emergency contacts if an Emergency SOS is triggered. The device can also alert emergency contacts if it detects a hard fall or car crash, according to Apple.
Williams was “spotted driving in the area of the Congaree National Park,” the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said in its news release. The following day, a sheriff’s deputy located the vehicle Williams was driving more than 20 miles away from his home in a parking lot for the Palmetto Trail, a hiking route that bisects the state.
“(The lot) where the car was parked had only been there a little over a year, we weren’t even familiar with the space,” Corbett-Jacobs said.
Given Williams had been in Columbia for only a few months, Corbett-Jacobs said the family feels it’s unlikely he would have known the location of the lot or trailhead.
Corbett-Jacobs said the car deputies located did not show signs of a crash that could trigger the SOS message, which adds to the family’s suspicions.
“He didn’t wander off. This is definitely a missing persons (case) with suspected foul play,” she said.
The sheriff’s department told CNN its deputies are investigating the potential of foul play and are “following up on all leads and all information” in the case.
‘He’s all I got,’ his mother says
At the news conference Wednesday, Corbett-Jacobs said the family believes at the time of his disappearance Williams had stopped taking medication. She later told CNN the prescription is for his mental health.
“That would put him in a situation that he would be very, very vulnerable because he might appear to be in distress or maybe even in a trance-like state,” she said through tears.
Corbett-Jacobs also revealed that Williams is his mother’s last surviving child, after she lost both her daughters in a car accident in 2004. She said Zelig’s passion for dance began with his sisters.
“That’s how it all started. That’s why it’s so special when you see him perform because he’s dancing with his sisters in his heart.”
On Monday, family and friends paused for a moment of silence at 9:52 a.m., to mark the last time Williams was seen.
“We had a moment just of prayer, just to let him know that we are still here, we want him home,” Corbett-Jacobs told CNN.
Williams’ family later piled into a car with Cleveland to begin retracing Zelig’s last known movements.
“We’re getting all the camera footage that possibly had him coming that way to confirm his directions of travel,” Cleveland told CNN.
As a private investigator, Cleveland said she specializes in cases involving missing Black women and men. News of Williams’ disappearance gained traction after his colleagues on Broadway began sharing his story, Cleveland said. Actor Hugh Jackman, who previously worked with Williams, also posted a plea on Instagram for his safe return.
Williams’ dance coach, Caroline Lewis-Jones, said Wednesday that the dance community has been reeling since his disappearance.
“He truly is the most talented individual I’ve ever met in my entire life,” she said. “He’s just the epitome of a friend and a talent and a creative… We love you Zee, we see you, and we want you home.”
Williams’ mother, Kathy, broke down crying during the news conference and was only able to repeat a single phrase: “He’s all I got.”
CNN’s Rebecca Wright and Alli Rosenbloom contributed to this report.