Springfield teenager Bella Williams still missing after a week without leads

UPDATE: Springfield police reported late Friday that Reilly "Bella" Williams had been safely located.

More than a week after the Springfield Police Department released an endangered person advisory for Reilly Williams, also known as Bella, the 17-year-old is still missing. Williams was last seen at 7:30 a.m. on April 29 at the corner of West Glenwood Street and South Golden Avenue near Williams' home in southwest Springfield. That day, Williams was absent from school.

Williams, who is 5-foot-7 and weighs 190 pounds, has the mental capacity of a 10- to 12-year-old, according to the advisory from SPD. Williams was last seen wearing a purple romper-style jumpsuit and heels. There have been no significant leads in the investigation into Williams' disappearance.

Community members organized a search party Sunday at Nathanael Greene Park, less than a mile from where Williams disappeared. On Monday, another party searched the South Creek Greenway Trail area behind Sherwood Elementary School. Friends, family, and those looking for Williams have also been passing out flyers with a common goal: to bring Williams home.

Lindsey Hollis and Rachel Renkoski are the administrators behind the Bring Bella Back Facebook page, which has garnered more than 700 likes since it was created last week. Renkoski, one of Williams' former teachers at Parkview High School, created the page with Hollis to get the word out. Hollis has been posting daily Facebook updates, speaking with journalists, and building a network of advocates in the transgender and drag communities to assist in the search for Williams.

"Our goal is to get it nationwide," Hollis told the News-Leader. "We need to get it out from Springfield now. We need to move it to different states just to try and reach people."

TikTok user Jaclyn Brown posted a video about Bella to the site on Tuesday with the hashtag #BringBellaBack. Brown wrote on Facebook that it reached people in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Texas, Louisiana, and Missouri. As of Wednesday, the video had gained more than 4,000 views, 796 shares, and 673 likes. Users also took to the comment section to show their support.

Not everyone has been kind or helpful online, Hollis says. She has had to remind members of the Facebook group that Williams' personal life is not up for debate. The goal is to bring Williams home safely.

"I'm also making sure that our focus is going in the right direction. There is a lot of talk about wanting to talk about Bella's personal life and a lot of the pronoun things," Hollis said. "We're not going to get into politics on that page or get into arguments or fights about it. I've squashed a lot of that, because our focus is to bring Bella back."

According to Hollis, Williams' family has not gone public in the search for Williams as they are requesting privacy. SPD also said detectives are working closely with the family to locate Williams.

"There's members of the family helping us look," Hollis said. "The community and people on Facebook don't realize that these people are family to Bella."

On Wednesday, SPD released another photo of Williams from the morning of the disappearance, which shows the clothing Williams was wearing that day. The photo shows Williams standing at the front door to a school bus. To SPD's knowledge, Williams did not board the bus for school that morning.

"Currently, we have no immediate knowledge of Bella's location, and the circumstances of Bella's disappearance remain unexplained," said Cris Swaters, SPD public affairs officer.

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Hollis said she learned from speaking with family that Williams is very "set in her ways." She said the teen usually comes home, watches TV, and is in bed by 10 p.m. Williams, who has the decision-making capabilities of a 10- to 12-year-old, rarely had to be told it was bedtime.

"Which is why this is out of character with her being gone," Hollis said. "So our concern is that she's just been taken or got caught up in something online with someone. (That) someone is taking advantage of her."

Hollis has never met Williams, but she hopes to. Through family and the community, she has learned that Williams is a vibrant soul. She said Bella loves dresses and makes a point to be noticed — in a positive way.

"You will see Bella and you will know it's Bella," Hollis said.

If you see Williams or have any information about Williams' whereabouts, please call 911 or the Springfield Police Department at at (417) 864-1810. You can also make an anonymous tip to the Greater Springfield Area Crime Stoppers at (417) 869-8477.

Hollis added that when calling about Williams, you must use the legal name "Reilly" — not "Bella," as she prefers.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield teen still missing after a week without leads