DNA testing confirmed that human remains found earlier this month are those of a missing 5-year-old girl from Jacksonville, Florida, authorities announced Monday.
An Amber Alert was issued on Nov. 6 for Taylor Rose Williams. Her mother, Brianna Williams, told police the 5-year-old was not in her room when she checked on her that morning, and that she found the back door to her home unlocked.
The investigation led authorities to search for Taylor in the areas surrounding Demopolis, Alabama, about 60 miles south of Tuscaloosa, but officials did not say what prompted them to start searching in another state.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office announced on Nov. 12 that remains had been found in a wooded area between Linden and Demopolis.
Shortly after the remains were found, Brianna Williams, 27, was arrested on felony charges of child neglect and providing false information to police.
Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said Brianna Williams had stopped cooperating with investigators after they had pointed out some "inconsistencies in her statement" about her missing daughter.
Williams is still not cooperating with police, T.K. Waters, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office chief of investigations, said Monday. He said the charges had not been upgraded.
"This confirmation adds yet another layer to the vast scale of this investigation that's been underway since Taylor was reported missing," Waters said. "The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and State Attorney will continue efforts in this active criminal investigation."
Waters would not release the girl's cause of death in the midst of the investigation.
Williams, a petty officer first class at the Tactical Operations Center at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, was originally absentee booked after being hospitalized for an apparent overdose, police said.
She has since been released from the hospital and is being held on $1,100,009 bond, according to jail records.
