Family of Missing Broadway Dancer Zelig Williams Hires Private Investigator to Assist in Search

The Richard Rodgers Theatre advertises the musical "Hamilton" on June 6, 2019. Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images

The search has intensified for Zelig Williams, a Broadway dancer known for his performances in “Hamilton” and “MJ The Musical,” who disappeared after leaving his mother’s home in Columbia, South Carolina, on the morning of Oct. 3.

Williams’s family has enlisted the help of local private investigator Chandra Cleveland to aid in the search for the missing 28-year-old.

“Yes we have brought in a private investigator to aid us in the search,” a Facebook post confirmed on Monday. The information was shared by Mieoki Corbett-Jacobs, a relative of the dancer.

Cleveland told The Epoch Times that she is working in conjunction with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department to help locate Williams.

“I want to bring in my team to do a thorough search with the sheriff’s department down in the area where he went missing,” she said.

“If anyone knows anything, please step forward. South Carolina is not that big. I’m sure someone knows something, and we need them to come forth.”

According to police, Williams was last seen on Oct. 3 driving in the vicinity of Congaree State Park, a nearly 27,000-acre national park located in central South Carolina.

“RCSD was contacted by a family member on Oct. 04, 2024, and stated that Williams had not been heard from by any family member since Oct. 03,” the department said in a news release shared with The Epoch Times via email.

“This is out of character for Williams to go without contact.”

The department said Williams “is in need of prescribed medication.”

The Broadway star’s vehicle was later located by a deputy in Congaree National Park’s Palmetto Trail parking lot at around 11 p.m. on Oct. 4.

“Investigators are asking that if you have seen Williams, or have any information to call RCSD at [phone] or contact Crime Stoppers,” the department said.

Pleas for a Safe Return

Corbett-Jacobs told NBC News on Sunday that the entire ordeal has been “very, very difficult” for the entire family.

“It is a struggle,” she said. “But they are holding close to the belief that Zelig will return home.”

Williams’s friends and Broadway colleagues have taken to social media to plead for his safe return.

“Please ... if anyone has any information as to the whereabouts of Zelig Williams please reach out to your local authorities,” Hugh Jackman wrote on Oct. 10 in a since-expired Instagram Story, according to People magazine. Jackman shared People’s Oct. 9 story about the dancer’s disappearance.

Williams worked with Jackman in 2019, performing in the Australian actor’s concert tour “The Man. The Music. The Show.”

“Zelig we love you and are praying for your safe return,” the award-winning actor wrote. “Please pass this message on!!!”

Mishay Petronelli, an actress and dancer who teaches at the Broadway Dance Center in New York City, appealed to her followers on X for help in locating the missing Broadway performer.

“Please pray, share and spread the word,” she wrote on Oct. 10.

A GoFundMe page to raise money for search expenses had raised more than $11,300 by Tuesday afternoon.

Williams, who has now been missing for almost two weeks, shared an Instagram post on Sept. 11 to commemorate his birthday.

“28 only feels like a new thing because 27 I gave my full yes to Christ. This yes is a daily yes. Yes, I’ll follow you. Yes, I’ll stop following my old ways. Yes, I’ll praise you. Yes, I’ll change this and that. Yes, I’ll listen. Yes, I’ll let go,” he wrote.

“I only say yes because of His goodness and love for me. He is unmatched. Thank you, Jesus for being good to me this year and keeping me in all my ways.”