Woman says she helped missing girl's mother move, never saw child

Tiffani Nicole says she was hired to help Brianna Williams move

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville police are working every lead possible in the case of missing 5-year-old Taylor Rose Williams, including speaking with people who the girl's mother may have encountered this week.

Tiffani Nicole says she was hired by Brianna Williams, Taylor's mother, to help Williams move. She said she and her fiancé packed up several items in the Southside apartment on Sunday afternoon during a move to the Ivy Road address where police said Taylor was last seen. Officers were seen outside the apartment complex on Wednesday during the search.

According to Nicole, Williams' house was messy, and the child's mother was behaving strangely.

"It honestly looked like she had been recently evicted or something because it was not well lived-in if there was a child there," Nicole said. "There was old food all over the floor, underneath the couches. There was trash everywhere."

Nicole said she never saw the 5-year-old girl, which she said she found strange. One of the items Nicole said she helped move was a toddler bed.

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"We never saw a child. We never heard a child. Nothing," Nicole said. "I was assuming the kid was in day care, or the child was with a friend, so she can get her apartment cleaned out."

Nicole told News4Jax the car that was seen being towed from the Ivy Road address looked like the car Williams was driving, which she followed during the move.

Nicole said she and her fiance' unloaded Williams' items into the house, and she said Williams overpaid. She added that the mom appeared to be in no rush to go back to the house, where she said her daughter was earlier in the day.

"It just doesn't really make sense with me," Nicole said.

T.K. Waters, chief of investigations at the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, said Williams was being questioned by detectives. He said Williams and the family have been cooperative.

Anyone who might have seen Taylor or might know where she is should call the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office immediately at 904-630-0500.


About the Authors:

Tarik anchors the 4, 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. weekday newscasts and reports with the I-TEAM.

Corley Peel is a Texas native and Texas Tech graduate who covered big stories in Joplin, Missouri, Tulsa, Oklahoma and Jacksonville, Florida before returning to the Lone Star State. When not reporting, Corley enjoys hot yoga, Tech Football, and finding the best tacos in town.