Broadway performer reported missing, car found at park

RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C. (WIS/Gray News) - The search for a Broadway performer who was last seen Thursday morning continues.

Zelig Williams, 28, was seen leaving his South Carolina home Thursday around 9:45 a.m. and has not been heard from since.

On Friday around 11 p.m., his car was found by a deputy in the Palmetto Trail parking lot off Bluff Road in Wateree, South Carolina.

Investigators said the deputy was patrolling the area when he saw the car and ran the plates.

Family, friends, community members and investigators with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department have searched for Williams at the trail since.

Family members have been using boats to search the Congaree River just 10 minutes away from where Williams’s car was found.

His family said they are devastated by his disappearance.

His aunt, Christine Barbara, said it is not like Williams to go days without speaking to family and friends, especially his mother.

“We love you, Z. We hope you come home soon,” his cousin Aaliyah Corbin said.

His family said it is their mission to find him.

“We can’t describe it, its devastation,” said his cousin, Mieoki Corbin-Jacobs. “It’s devastation for someone who is so close to his family to just disappear like that, there’s no way to describe it.”

Jacobs described Williams as a pillar of light, filled with love and a tremendous amount of talent.

“In 6th grade, he started dancing with Southern Strut, and that speared off into Dreher High School. He was doing theater and dance there as well,” she said. “That of course led him to Broadway, which a lot of people know him for as well.”

Jacobs said he came back home to Richland County, South Carolina, a few months ago and was preparing to teach a dance class later this month.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has also helped in the search.

On Monday, crews flew helicopters over the Congaree River and searched the waterways by boat.

“We’ve searched on foot in the air of various locations,” Lott said. “Other investigative techniques that we will use involving cell phones and some other things that I don’t want to discuss at this point.”

Lott said they are investigating this as a missing person that could involve foul play.

His family said Williams needs his medication.

Williams appeared in “Hamilton” in 2016 and in “MJ: The Musical” throughout 2022 and 2023. He also worked on Hugh Jackman’s world tour.

If you have any information on where Williams may be, you are asked to contact RCSD at (803) 576-3000 or Crime Stoppers at 1-888-CrimeSC.

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