Former Hamilton Dancer Missing After Suspicious SOS Alert as Authorities Find His Abandoned Car

Mar. 15, 2025

Zelig Williams.Photo:Aurora Rose/WWD/Penske Media via Getty

Aurora Rose/WWD/Penske Media via Getty

Williams, 28, was reported missing on Friday, Oct. 4, after he was last seen on Oct. 3 in his Columbia, S.C., home, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

His family claimed he had not been heard from for a whole day, which was “out of character” for him, per the statement.

Williams was spotted driving around the Congaree National Park in central S.C., police say, and his car has since been recovered on the Palmetto Trail, a 500-mile stretch that runs across the state. It wasn’t immediately clear how far from the national park police located Williams' vehicle.

Zelig Williams (left); and a MISSING flyer for Zelig Williams.Bruce Glikas/WireImage; Richland County Sheriff’s Office

Bruce Glikas/WireImage; Richland County Sheriff’s Office

Williams’ family says they knew something was wrong almost immediately after he left home that day.

His aunt Christine McLaughlin Barber says the family was made aware of an SOS alert from his phone within ten minutes of him leaving the house, the sheriff’s department confirms to PEOPLE.

They received the ping through a friend in New York, she says, adding that the alert indicated a crash.

The family did not find any evidence of the crash, she told the outlet, and the family grew even more worried when Williams did not return home that night.

His car was later located near the park, police said in their press statement.

While police are investigating his disappearance as a missing persons case, they believe it’s possible foul play is involved, Sheriff Leon Lott has said, his office confirms to PEOPLE.

The sheriff’s office did not respond to PEOPLE’s requests for further information.

Zelig Williams.Bruce Glikas/Getty

Bruce Glikas/Getty

Williams, who recently starred in Broadway’sMJ Musical, also performed in the hit musicalHamiltona few years ago.

His theater career dates back to when he was in fourth grade, when he performed in his school’s production ofThe Wizard of Oz, according toa profileof him inDramatics, a publication of the International Thespian Society, an honor society for high school and middle school theatre students.

To his family, he is a “beacon of light,” according to FOX 57, who spoke to his aunt. He also left an impression on his educators.

“Every time I needed someone to add energy to the stage, I would turn to him and say, ‘We have to come up with something,’” his former theater teacher Jennifer Bjorn toldDramatics.

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Williams has short, black hair, a birthmark on his throat and skin pigmentation on his hands and legs, police said in their incident report.

Anyone who may have seen Williams or anyone with information is urged to call the Richland County Sheriff’s Department at (803)576-3000 or contact Crime Stoppers atcrimesc.com.

source: people.com