On the afternoon of Tuesday May 28, 2013 - Chief Kevin Williams had car trouble. His wife, Vanessa Williams, picked him up after dropping his car off at the dealership to get it repaired. They went to the Avenues Mall to buy a dress for their daughter, Journi, who was being awarded for being in the top 5% for grades in Duval County at the University of North Florida. They had a disagreement (like
most married people). Vanessa said she was annoyed and just wanted to go on into the mall by herself. She said Chief Williams did not seems mad, he called after her "babe, babe" twice as she walked away. She went on into the mall at around 2;20 pm, leaving Chief Williams standing by the car with his set of keys to the car. Vanessa returned to the car 20 minutes later, but Chief Williams was not there. She knew his personal cell phone was dead, so she called his government issued cell phone and left a message for him. She made him aware of the fact that they were going to be late picking their daughter up and she needed to know where to get him. Once inside the car she heard the voicemail notification sound for his government issued cell phone. She found the phone in between the seats. She assumed Chief Williams had walked back to the dealership where his car was being repaired. She left the mall to pick Journi up at school (which is 30 mins from the mall) and returned to the mall immediately to find Chief Williams. While she was looking she called his job to see if they had seen or heard from him. They said no. She filled them in on the situation and asked them to tell Kevin to call if he showed up. Other Navy chief and one other sailor decide since it had already been an hour and Vanessa or them were not able to get in contact with Chief Williams, they were going to go to the mall area and look for him, as they felt even an hour not hearing form him was not like him to not make contact. She took Journi home and got her ready for her big night. She knew that if Chief Williams did not come home before the ceremony he would meet them at UNF. Once there Vanessa did not see her husband - but she kept looking for him in the audience. Once Journi had received her award and Kevin had not arrived, she knew something was terribly wrong. She then called the police and filed a missing persons report around 8:30 pm. In the initial investigation the police learned that Vanessa did indeed enter the mall and exited 20 minutes later carrying her purchase. Vanessa found a purchase was made with the use of Kevin's debit card on their bank records ($15.58). The police learned it was for a Kangaroo gas station located on Phillips Hwy, a little less than a mile away from the mall, next to the dealership where his car was. The clerk at the gas station told police that it was in fact Chief Williams who walked in and purchased an energy drink and a sandwich. A witness reported seeing Chief Williams walk over to a cab which was getting gas and talked to the driver for a few minutes then got into the cab and left the gas station. The police said the cab driver told them Chief Williams got into the car and asked to be taken to 4295 Sunbeam Rd - after paying the cab driver ($15.00, according to the cab it was cash) Kevin got out of the cab, in full NWU's (Blue Camo) and walked toward the apartment complex. No one at the complex saw Chief Williams or anyone else in uniform that day. If someone did see him they have yet to come forward and talk to the police. According to Vanessa - Kevin knew no one there and if he had a recruit in the area, she was not aware. After two days of passing out fliers and asking questions of residents in the complex, Vanessa is still no closer to getting an answer as to why (according to the cab driver) Chief Williams was dropped off there. The police are still reporting no foul play is suspected, although they have gone through the Williams home with homicide detectives looking through everything and taking items, including a home computer and Kevin's cell phone. All of this without a warrant - which Vanessa has never asked for, because all she wants is her husband found. They police have not officially question the cab driver. They Navy is not actively searching for Chief Williams. They have informed Vanessa that on the 30th day of Kevin missing they will classify him as a deserter and her family will lose all benefits and pay. We ask that the public start demanding more answers on this case. A tip that Kevin was seen in NC, was denied by the detective on the case - stating that the tip did not come from JSO - when in fact it was released by Melissa Bujeda a public affairs officer at JSO. Vanessa was informed by the police to not listen to "rumors" about the case. Between JSO and the Navy this family is being pulled apart. Rumors and slanderous remarks are being posted on different sites and pages on Facebook about this family, which add to the stress of not knowing where their love one is. Update: Two years later and Chief Williams is still missing. NCIS has now informed Vanessa that the cab driver said he do not think he picked Chief Williams up. JSO has made this case inactive and NCIS has not be helpful to this case. We are asking the public to please demand more answers to this case from officials. If you know any information please contact JSO at 904-630-0500 or Jacksonville NRD Command at 904-524-3723
