Family of missing Broadway dancer hires private investigator to assist in desperate search

The family of a Broadway dancer who's been missing for nearly two weeks has hired a private investigator to assist in their desperate search to find him and bring him home.

Zelig Williams was last seen on October 3 at his home in Columbia, South Carolina, according to a statement from the Richland County Sheriff's Department. The family filed a missing person report the following day after the 28-year-old failed to contact them, the department said.

As the search for the Broadway performer - whose credits include "Hamilton" and "MJ The Musical" - entered its second week, family and friends paused for a moment of silence at 9:52 a.m. Monday, to mark the last time he was seen.

"We had a moment just of prayer, just to let him know that we are still here, we want him home," Williams' cousin, Mieoki Corbett-Jacobs told CNN Monday.

Chandra Cleveland, the private investigator hired by the family to help locate Williams, said she believes his case is an example of "missing while Black syndrome," where the disappearances of Black men and women receive little to no attention.

"I like to tell everyone that even you can go an hour and not speak to a person, but when you know that's not their pattern, something needs to be done, and you need to call law enforcement immediately and report that," she said. "That's what this family did."

'He did not wander off,' family says

Williams' mother saw him leave home just before 10 a.m. on October 3, according to an incident report from the sheriff's department. Minutes later, Williams' friends in New York received a concerning message from his iPhone, Corbett-Jacobs said.

"At 10:10, three of his friends received an SOS ping from his cell phone, which is not a lot of time after leaving the house," Corbett-Jacobs said. Those friends reached out to Williams' mother to share their concerns.

An iPhone can be programmed to contact emergency services or a list of emergency contacts if an Emergency SOS is triggered. The device can also alert emergency contacts if it detects a hard fall or car crash, according to Apple.

Williams was "spotted driving in the area of the Congaree National Park," the Richland County Sheriff's Department said in its news release. A sheriff's deputy later located the vehicle Williams was driving more than 20 miles away from his home in a parking lot for the Palmetto Trail, a hiking route that bisects the state.

"(The lot) where the car was parked had only been there a little over a year, we weren't even familiar with the space," Corbett-Jacobs said.

Given Williams had only been in Columbia for a few months, Corbett-Jacobs said the family feels it's unlikely he would have known the location of the lot or trailhead.

Corbett-Jacobs said the car deputies located did not show signs of a crash that could trigger the SOS message, which adds to the family's suspicions.

"He didn't wander off. This is definitely a missing persons (case) with suspected foul play."

CNN has reached out to the sheriff's department for further comment on the investigation.

A 'remarkable' talent

On Monday, Williams' family piled into a car with Cleveland to begin retracing Zelig's last known movements.

"We're getting all the camera footage that possibly had him coming that way to confirm his directions of travel," Cleveland told CNN.

As a private investigator, Cleveland said she specializes in cases involving missing Black women and men. News of Williams' disappearance gained traction after his colleagues on Broadway began sharing his story, Cleveland said. Actor Hugh Jackman, who previously worked with Williams, also posted a plea for his safe return to his Instagram story.

Williams' dance coach, Caroline Lewis-Jones, said the dance community has been reeling since his disappearance.

"He's the epitome of the student that you want," she said. "Immediately, I knew, the natural talent in his body was just remarkable."

Lewis-Jones credits Williams with helping her restart her dance company, Unbound Dance Company, after the pandemic, she said.

"When he walks into a space you just, you want to be better because of him," she said.

Williams' mother, Kathy, described her son as a very happy person, with a lifelong passion for dancing and performing.

"I just want my child back home," she told CNN.

CNN's Rebecca Wright and Alli Rosenbloom contributed to this report.