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It has been nearly two months since Zelig Williams went missing from the Midlands region of South Carolina…
Williams was last seen leaving his mother’s home in the Lower Richland community on the morning of October 3, 2024. Shortly after he departed, friends in New York City received an SOS alert from his phone that seemed to indicate a potential car accident. Family members contacted authorities on October 4 and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD) took a missing persons report. Hours later, Williams’ car was found abandoned in a parking lot along the Palmetto Trail. Despite the accident alert, there was no sign of damage to indicate involvement in a wreck – and no sign of Williams.
No one has seen or heard from him since…
At 28 years of age, Williams stands six feet tall and weighs 150 pounds. He is black with a light complexion, brown eyes, black hair. Yet this missing poster description only scratches the surface of who he is as a human being.
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Williams is a talented performer. Born and raised in South Carolina, he learned to dance at Columbia-area studios. Over the past seven years, he has been living his dream of being a professional dancer. Williams made his Broadway debut in Hamilton, toured with Hugh Jackman and won the role of Marlon in the original cast of MJ the Musical.
Friends, mentors and family members recently joined me for a conversation about Zelig Williams – his passion for his art and dedication to his loved ones. You can find the video here. Additionally, more than a dozen of his friends contributed stories about Williams for a second video to celebrate the inspiration he continues to be to those who know him and to engage the public in the search for him.
The project is the brainchild of Troy Styles – founder of Blunt Force Media. Styles wanted to find a way to learn and share much more about the missing Broadway star than a missing persons poster.
“A two-dimensional poster with some basic descriptors cannot possibly convey the most important information about someone – information that might help locate a person who is missing,” Styles said. “A poster can’t tell you who that person really is.”
The hope is that these videos will generate additional interest in Zelig’s case – while simultaneously generating new leads in the hopes of bringing him home.
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Joining the conversation is Kathy Williams – Zelig’s mother – relatives Christine Barber, Aaliyah Skinner and Niani Peoples and dance teachers Caroline Lewis Jones and Jenny Davidson.
“We all know that Zelig was born to do what he does,” said Lewis Jones. “Zelig is dance. Zelig is music.”
Peoples shared what it was like to grow up with Zelig – as schoolmates and dance students with Broadway aspirations.
“It just was the two of us all the time, sharing moments in the car, doing shows together in school, and really he is a person that I kind of dreamed up the life that I’m now living with,” Peoples said. “We would sit and talk about the things that we wanted to do, the kind of dancers that we wanted to be, the kind of performers we wanted to be, ending up in New York, working in the Broadway community. And like, how we were going to make that happen, and how we were going to support each other to get there.”
Calling him their “light” and an inspiration, the panelists all shared their reflections and memories – and their shared hope that he will soon return home.
FITSNews reached out to RCSD for an update on the investigation but have yet to receive a response.
If you see Zelig Williams or have any information that could help locate him, please contact the Richland County Sheriff’s office, submit a tip at SCCrimestoppers.com, or call 1-888-CRIME-SC.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Callie Lyons is a relentless investigative journalist, researcher, and author known for exposing hard truths with heart and precision. As a journalist for FITSNews, she dives into high-profile and murky cases—like that of Mica Francis Miller— with fearless resolve and a sharp eye for detail, whether it’s tracking white-collar crime, uncovering religious abuse, or examining the often-bizarre behavior of those who believe they’re above the law.
Callie made waves with her groundbreaking 2007 book Stain-Resistant, Nonstick, Waterproof and Lethal, the first to reveal the dangers of forever chemicals, a story that helped inspire the film Dark Waters and influenced global scientific dialogue. Her work has appeared in numerous documentaries, including Toxic Soup, National Geographic’s Parched: Toxic Waters, and more recently Citizen Sleuth, which examines the complexities of true crime podcasting.
Whether she’s navigating environmental disasters or the darker corners of society, Lyons operates with one guiding belief: “Truth never damages a cause that is just.”
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4 comments
“FITSNews reached out to RCSD for an update on the investigation but have yet to receive a response.”
Unfortunately, I have long had the feeling that when it comes to missing persons, RCSD just doesn’t really give a shit. My worst nightmare would be to have a family member or friend go missing, and they were last seen in Richland County.
I sincerely hope that by some miracle, Mr Williams will be found alive and well. It is so sad that his mother, who has been through so much already, has to endure this.
I Pray that he is found Safe . God Bless Him, His Mom and All Who Love Him
Do they have any leads? Did he have any enemies? Did he owe money to anyone? It’s always odd to me that people can drop off the face of the earth.
Kathy, I am praying for you and your family. May our Lord strengthen you and give you peace during this extremely difficult season in your life.