Summary
Overview
This episode covers the mysterious disappearance of Zelig Williams, a 28-year-old Broadway performer who vanished on October 3, 2024, after leaving his mother's South Carolina home. An SOS crash alert was sent from his phone, but no crash scene was found. His car was later discovered at a trailhead parking lot with his clothes neatly folded inside, and a witness reported seeing him acting erratically and stripping naked on the trail. The case involves puzzling phone data, unexplained behavior, and questions about his mental health struggles and involvement with churches promoting conversion therapy and faith healing.
The Initial Disappearance and SOS Alert
On October 3, 2024, Kathy Williams received a call from her son Zelig's friend in New York asking if he was okay after an SOS crash notification was sent from his phone. Zelig had just left home 20 minutes earlier to make copies of his headshots. The SOS ping came from near Angel's Diner, 20 minutes from home, but when Kathy arrived, there was no crash scene, no sign of Zelig, and his phone calls went unanswered. Police initially dismissed her concerns, suggesting he was just celebrating his birthday, but she reported him missing the next day.
- Zelig Williams, 28-year-old Broadway star, left home at 9:52 AM on October 3, 2024, dressed casually in t-shirt and slides
- Friends in New York received SOS crash notification around 10 AM, but no crash scene was found
- Zelig had recently moved back to South Carolina after his grandmother passed, previously worked on Hamilton, MJ the Musical, and Hugh Jackman's World Tour
- Police initially refused to take the report, dismissing it as birthday celebrations despite his birthday being in September
" The only alert that something is wrong is an SOS crash alert sent from his phone. Except there is no crash scene. His phone is nowhere to be found. And neither is he. "
Discovery of the Abandoned Vehicle
Police found Kathy's red Ford Escape at the Palmetto Trail parking lot around 11 PM on October 4th, approximately 30 minutes from home and on a route passing Angel's Diner. The trailhead was not a place Zelig was known to visit, and the trail was in poor condition due to Hurricane Helene flooding. Inside the vehicle, police discovered Zelig's shoes on the driver's side floorboard and his clothes folded neatly on the driver's seat, raising questions about what happened.
- Car found abandoned at Palmetto Trail parking lot, 30 minutes from home, at 11 PM on October 4th
- Trail was in poor condition with flooding and downed trees from Hurricane Helene
- Zelig's shoes found on driver's side floorboard and clothes folded neatly on driver's seat
- Location wasn't a place Zelig was known to visit for hiking
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