JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville family’s week-long search for a missing loved one has come to an end after 28-year-old Jo’el Williams was found safe.
Williams had been missing since Sunday, April 12, when he was last seen around 8 p.m. leaving his sister’s home in a gray 2010 Toyota Camry. His family had described his disappearance as completely out of character and had appealed to the public for help in locating him.
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“It’s indescribable,” his father, Jeffrey Williams, said. “I’ve never gone a day without talking to my son.”
During the search, family members described Jo’el as active, spontaneous and adventurous — someone who loved his family and stayed in constant contact.
“He likes to dance. He love his family and he likes capturing the moments. He’s inspiring,” his sisters, Courtney and Brianna Williams, said.
Courtney Williams said she was the last person to see him before his disappearance, around 4 p.m. the same day, when he was helping with groceries and spending time at home.
“He was laughing, everything seemed normal,” she said.
Jeffrey Williams said he last spoke with his son later that night, around 9:30 p.m., and noticed something unusual.
“As a father, you know your son’s voice,” he said. “He was just talking, but I could hear a little worry… and I told him to go home son.”
Concern grew the following day when calls and messages went unanswered.
“Jo’el normally texts me twice a day and calls me at least three times,” his father said. “I didn’t get a respond. So I called his sister or brother. Matter of fact I called Brianna and told her, track your brother to see where he at. She said she couldn’t pick him up so I talked to my other son and he said he couldn’t pick him up and I talked to Courtney, and she couldn’t pick him up. So I got real concerned.”
The family said the days that followed were filled with anxiety and uncertainty.
“I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep,” Jeffrey Williams said. “It’s just pain not hearing from your son who you talk to every day.”
The family had filed a missing persons report and been in contact with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. However, they said investigators indicated Williams did not meet the criteria for an active search.
“There’s no active search for Joe,” a family member explained. “JSO says that he doesn’t fit the criteria. The criteria being elderly, a child or diagnosed with mental health. The only information we have is that the car that he was in was last picked up on a camera on I-95 and Airport Rd going Northbound.”
The emotional weight of the search was compounded by the family still grieving the loss of their mother in 2024.
“This feeling is familiar, and it’s not a good one,” Courtney Williams said. “We all are feeling it… we just want our brother home.”