Amber Alert Canceled After Missing Boy Returned by Unknown Person

Boy's father in custody

An Amber Alert for a missing 3-year-old Virginia boy has been canceled after an unknown person returned the toddler to his family. The boy's father was taken into custody early Thursday afternoon.

A stranger brought Zion Williams to his paternal grandmother's house Thursday, the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office said. He is now with his mother and grandmother. 

The little boy's father, 28-year-old Joshua Christopher Williams, was found about 1 p.m. at a home in the 11800 block of Falcon Drive in Spotsylvania County. Authorities said they didn't know to whom the house belongs.

It's unclear how Zion Williams came to be under the care of the unknown person who returned him. 

Police began their frantic search for Zion Williams Wednesday night, after his father assaulted the toddler's mother and put him in a car wearing only a diaper, authorities said. The two disappeared around 7 p.m. Wednesday on Cleveland Court in Spotsylvania. 

The toddler's mother was hospitalized for a short time after the assault.

Investigators believed Zion Williams was in extreme danger because Joshua Williams had threatened the child's life in the past.

"He's made threats against the child -- to either harm or kill -- in the past," said Captain Jeffery Pearce with the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office.

Authorities said they planned to charge Joshua Williams with abduction and malicious wounding.

Joshua Williams was arrested through a cooperative effort between the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office, the Secret Service and Virginia State Police. They conducted surveillance on the house and found him.

Zion Williams, his mother and maternal grandmother were at the sheriff's office Thursday afternoon speaking with investigators. 

Contact Us