TAVARES, Fla.—The two Tavares men reported missing have been found, according to Tavares Police Department.
Richard Weis, 85, and his brother-in-law Charles Constable, 67, were located in Miami and are alive and safe, TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan told Inside Lake.
MOUNT DORA, Fla.—Multiple law enforcement agencies could be seen Friday searching multiple bodies of water in the neighborhood where Mount Dora mom Nicole Baldwin was reported missing in November 2023.
Dive teams from several Central Florida sheriff’s offices converged on Lancaster at Loch Leven beginning around 8 a.m. Friday and searched multiple bodies of water and retention ponds near Strathmore Circle where Baldwin was reported missing by her daughter Alisha Baldwin in early November 2023, Mount Dora Police Department Spokesperson Misty Sommer told Inside Lake Friday. Dive teams from Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, Groveland Fire Department, and Search and Rescue of Central Florida, according to LCSO.
Courtesy photo
Numerous residents reached out to Inside Lake Friday morning concerned about the large law enforcement presence in their neighborhood. This search comes less than week after another large-scale ground search was conducted Saturday in east Eustis, also with multiple agencies, Sommer told Inside Lake last week.
Baldwin, 41, who has been missing for nearly six months, is described as 5 feet, 5 inches tall, 135 pounds, with brown and dyed blonde hair and hazel eyes. If you have information on Baldwin’s disappearance, call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS. Crimeline callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.
Update: Richard Weis, 85, and his brother-in-law Charles Constable, 67, were located in Miami and are alive and safe.
TAVARES, Fla.—Tavares Police Department is searching for two men who were last seen in Altamonte Springs around 1:30 p.m. Thursday, according to TPD Spokesperson Courtney Sullivan
Tavares residents Richard Weis, 85, and his brother-in-law Charles Constable, 67, are believed to be traveling in a grey 2019 Jeep Cherokee Limited with license plate Z7XKE and dark tinted windows and a “Sheriffs 2024” sticker on the driver side rear window.
Weis has undiagnosed dementia and is described as 5 feet, 8 inches tall, 185 pounds and was wearing a green plaid shirt and possibly grey shorts.
Constable has been diagnosed with dementia and is also described as 5 feet, 8 inches tall, 185 pounds and was wearing a black sweatshirt with blue plaid pajama pants.
If you see Weis or Constable, call 911, or you have non-emergency information, call the Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 352-343-2101, option 4.
EUSTIS, Fla.—Only Inside Lake was on the scene as a large search was conducted Saturday by multiple law enforcement agencies for Mount Dora missing mom Nicole Baldwin.
Law enforcement officers and volunteers searched areas near the east side of Eustis for Baldwin, who has been missing since early November 2023. Inside Lake witnessed searchers on foot, along with additional searchers on ATVs and horses. The search spanned several hours and ended early in the afternoon Saturday.
PHOTO: Marilyn M. Aciego/Inside Lake
The search was planned for at least several weeks and a search of that magnitude involves a lot of preparation to coordinate with multiple agencies and units, MDPD Spokesperson Misty Sommer told Inside Lake.
“At this point in the investigation, Mount Dora Police Department is looking into all possible scenarios related to the search of Nicole Baldwin. This included a search, with our partner agencies, of nearby vacant lands that are in close proximity to her last known residence,” Sommer said.
Baldwin was last seen Nov. 2, 2023, at her Strathmore Circle home in Mount Dora and reported missing on Nov. 5, 2023. She was originally classified as “missing and endangered,” but a search warrant later stated police were looking for evidence in a second-degree murder investigation.
PHOTO: Marilyn M. Aciego/Inside Lake
This is the latest in a case that has seen many twists and turns; Baldwin’s husband, Brett, was arrested Dec.14, 2023 on federal child pornography charges and has been held on no bond in the Marion County Jail since his arrest. In January, investigators with MDPD and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement executed an electronics search warrant at the home of Terri Rogers, a volunteer and missing persons advocate who led several public searches for Baldwin. Rogers, who spoke exclusively with Inside Lake following the search, said investigators seized her phone, home security cameras, laptops and Amazon Alexa devices, among other electronics. Rogers has never been charged with a crime in this case.
Baldwin, 41, is described as a white female, 5 feet, 5 inches tall, 135 pounds with brown and dyed blonde hair, and hazel eyes. If you have information on Baldwin’s disappearance, call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS. Crimeline callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.
Update: Bernard Jeanty has been found in Volusia County.
SORRENTO, Fla.—The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a man who was last seen Thursday at his home in Sorrento.
According to an LCSO social media post, Bernard Jeanty, 51, left his home sometime during the day in his black 2019 Nissan Pathfinder, along with his dog.
Jeanty is described as a black male, 5 feet 11 inches tall and approximately 150 to 200 pounds. He was last seen wearing pink sweatpants and a black shirt.
If you have information on Jeanty’s whereabouts, call LCSO Det. VanBuskirk at 352-343-9529 or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS.
Update: Linda Billig was found in Winter Springs, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
SORRENTO, Fla.—The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s assistance with locating an 80-year-old Sorrento woman reported missing Monday morning.
Linda Derr Billig, 80, was reported missing from her home on PGA Drive in Sorrento shortly before 8:45 a.m. and suffers from dementia, LCSO Public Information Officer Chanel Martin said.
A Silvert Alert has been issued for Billig, and she is described as a white female, 5 feet, 6 inches tall, with gray hair, brown eyes and weighs approximately 175 pounds. She is believed to be driving a 2004 white Toyota Highlander with a specialty tag, “Helping Sea Turtles Survive” RLM259 and may be wearing pajamas.
If you see Billig or know her whereabouts, call LCSO 352-343-2101.
LINCOLN PARISH, La.—The mom accused of kidnapping her two daughters from a Lake County foster home fled from Louisiana State Police (LSP) when they attempted stop her Friday and is now facing additional charges.
LSP troopers received information from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office that Dixie Williams, 41, may be traveling on Interstate 20 in a silver Nissan Rogue and troopers spotted the Nissan and initiated a traffic stop, just before 12:15 p.m. local time. Williams came to a brief stop on Interstate 20 westbound, east of LA-145 and then fled from troopers, according to LSP.
After a brief pursuit by LSP and Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies, a “tire deflation device” was deployed and Williams came to a stop, LSP said.
Williams was taken into custody and Tilli, 5, and Natalia, 18 months, who were not in child safety seats, were safely recovered by law enforcement. They were turned over to the Louisiana Department of Child and Family Services.
Williams is now facing two counts of kidnapping in Lake County, and numerous charges in Louisiana, including aggravated flight from an officer, operating a vehicle with a suspended license, resisting an officer, two counts of no child passenger restraint system and no seat belt use.
LOUISIANA—A pair of sisters kidnapped from a Sorrento foster home have been found safe in Louisiana, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Louisiana authorities found Tilli, 5, and Natalia, 18 months, with their biological mother, Dixie Williams, who is now in custody on a warrant for kidnapping, LCSO Lt. John Herrell said Friday afternoon.
EUSTIS, Fla.—Inside Lake has obtained body cam video from the 2022 arrest of a woman suspected of taking her children from a Sorrento foster home.
Dixie Williams, 41, was arrested Dec. 4, 2022, by Eustis Police Department after a sergeant spotted her not wearing a seatbelt and pulled her over. After stopping Williams, EPD found she did not have a driver license and she claimed she did not need one because she was ”traveling” and not “driving.” The Michigan license plate attached to the maroon Chevy truck she was driving was not registered and as officers took Williams into custody, she threw herself to the ground and resisted arrest.
EPD body cam footage of Dixie Williams’ 2022 arrest. VIDEO: Eustis Police Department
Williams was arrested for no valid driver license, no motor vehicle registration, attaching license plate not assigned, refusal to sign a summons and resisting arrest. She was transported to the Lake County Jail and released the following day on her own recognizance. The case is still open.
Williams is suspected of taking Tilli, 5, and Natalia, 18 months, from their Sorrento foster home late Thursday. At press time there was an active Amber Alert for the two girls. If you have information on their whereabouts, call 911.
SORRENTO, Fla.—An Amber Alert has been issued for two children missing from Sorrento.
At 7 a.m. Thursday, the foster mother of Tilli and Natalia Williams reported the girls missing from her home at 23419 Companero Drive in Sorrento. She told the Lake County Sheriff’s Office she last saw the girls at 11 p.m. Wednesday, according to LCSO Lt. John Herrell.
According to the Amber Alert, the girls may be in the company of Dixie Williams, 41. Williams is described as a white female, 5 feet, 2 inches tall, with brown hair and brown eyes, and weighs approximately 200 pounds. She is also known to use the last name “Stumpner.”
Tilli Claire Williams
Tilli is 5 years old, 3 feet, 5 inches tall, approximately 45 pounds, with long, straight brown hair and was last seen wearing gray or navy-blue pajamas with multi-colored hearts.
Natalia Williams
Natalia is 18 months old, 2 feet, 5 inches tall, approximately 30 pounds, with short, brown curly hair and was last seen wearing a pink pajama gown and pink pants with hearts.
If you have information on the girls’ whereabouts, call 911.
