Cleveland, OH
Family desperate for answers two years after Cleveland teen Keshaun Williams vanished
The Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse serves as the central source for data and information on missing children in the state.
In its 2023report, it states that 22,374 people were reported missing in Ohio that year. Of those reported missing, 17,405 were children.
According to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, by the end of the year, 98 percent of the children had been found safe.
Keshaun Williams was not one of them. The 15-year-old vanished on June 17, 2023.
Two years later, his family is still fighting to bring him home.
Keshaun was born and raised in Cleveland. “Funny, got a sense of humor,” his maternal grandmother, Alona Miles, told Dateline. “Great kid. Great kid.”
“Very caring, very kind, compassionate person,” his paternal grandmother, Mary Williams, added. “Loving, loving person.”
His grandmothers say Keshaun is his mother’s only child but he has several siblings on his father’s side — and shares a tight bond with all of them. “Oh, very close,” Mary told Dateline.
At the time of his disappearance, Keshaun was living with his mother.
On Saturday, June 17, Mary Williams texted with her grandson. “He asked me was we gonna do anything tomorrow after church,” she recalled. Keshaun would usually ask to be picked up for church on Sundays, and they’d spend time together afterward. But Sunday, June 18, was different. “He didn’t call up for church,” she said.
Alona Miles says Keshaun had asked his mother’s permission to go to a party that Saturday. She braided her son’s hair, “and she let him go to the party,” Alona said.
Alona says she was also supposed to see her grandson that Sunday. “I kept calling my daughter because I was supposed to pick them up,” she said. She didn’t get a response. “No answer on Monday, so Tuesday morning, I called my daughter and said, ‘I been calling you and Keshaun.’”
Alona says her calls to Keshaun had been going straight to voicemail. “That’s when my daughter was like, ‘He ain’t come home,’” she recalled. “He never came home from the party.”
Mary Williams told Dateline she believes Keshaun’s mom may have initially thought he was just upset and had run away. “But that’s not the case,” she said.
Alona Miles says it’s extremely unlike Keshaun to just take off and not be in touch with his grandmothers. “Keshaun calls us every day all day,” she said. “Especially, he knew I was picking him up — and he don’t ever turn that down.”
Keshaun was reported missing on Tuesday, June 20.
The U.S. Marshals Service is investigating the case alongside the Cleveland Police Department. Dateline spoke with Deputy United States Marshal Vinny Picolli, who took over the case in November 2023.
He says Keshaun was seen on the evening of Saturday, June 17, 2023, at a house party on the 6000 block of Gertrude Avenue in Cleveland. “We had multiple reports from people — from juveniles in the area that saw him the night of the party — or at the party,” he said.
Witnesses said Keshaun had been kicked out of that party and was spotted walking along Gertrude Avenue around 10 p.m.
He later stopped by another party on the 6900 block of Gertrude Avenue. “And that’s the last known sighting of him,” Picolli said.
Alona Miles told Dateline that while she was at work that Saturday night, she got a call from her youngest daughter — Keshaun’s aunt — who said Keshaun had phoned her crying. It’s unclear what upset him, but “she told him to go home — but he never made it home,” Alona said.
Keshaun’s phone later pinged near East 93rd and Harris Avenue in Cleveland’s Fourth District, about a 10-minute drive from the party location. “That’s kind of the last location we know,” Picolli said.
Picolli says that one of the challenges of the investigation has been the lack of security footage to work with. “There was nothing pulled early on and then that was gone after 30 days,” he said.
About six days after Keshaun went missing, there was a possible sighting at a gas station. “They had reported Keshaun was in the back seat of a black Jeep Cherokee. It was beaten up,” Picolli said. “They ended up pulling gas station video and surveillance video from the surrounding area but personally, in my opinion, I don’t think it was Keshaun.”
Picolli describes the search efforts as extensive. “All over Cuyahoga County and Cleveland — in the general area of his last known location and then even outside of that,” he said. “With canines, drones, helicopters, you name it — we’ve done it.”
Keshaun’s family has also been scouring the Cleveland area. “We searched and we’re still searching,” Mary Williams told Dateline.
Picolli says foul play is suspected in Keshaun’s disappearance. “We had information early on that he was kidnapped and there was some kind of retaliation,” he said. “Over the course of the investigation, I would absolutely say that foul play is involved.”
According to Picolli, authorities are currently following up on a recent lead. “We received a tip and information over the last month that we believe is pretty credible that aligns with all the information we have to date so far,” he told Dateline. “So there are persons of interest.”
Keshaun’s grandmothers believe that if he was alive, he would have contacted them. “If he was running away or doing anything like that, he would have came to us,” Mary said. “He would never just up and leave and disappear. That’s not him.”
Still, they have hope that they will bring him home. “We pray that somebody have a heart and do what’s right by reporting any small thing that they may have seen or heard,” Mary said.
“The not knowing what happened to your child, your grandchild, your loved one, it’s the not knowing that hurts,” Alona Miles added.
“We love our grandson, and we want people to support us in getting this solved,” Mary Williams said.
He’s 5’6”, 125 lbs., and was last seen wearing cream-colored jogging pants with white and blue lettering and red and gray Jordan tennis shoes. He would be 17 years old today.
The Cleveland Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service are offering a $27,500 reward for any information leading to Keshaun’s whereabouts.
Anyone with information is asked to call U.S. Marshals at 1-866-4-WANTED (1-866-492-6833).
As we move closer to the 2026 NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers will begin to put together their roster structure for the 2026-2027 season.
As the Cavaliers weigh their options with the 29th selection in this year’s draft, the future draft capital of the Cavs is pretty thin.
Although the Cleveland Cavaliers have consistently been drafting at the end of the first round, and in last year’s case, just having a second-round pick, they have shown a strong ability to draft well in the post-LeBron era.
Players like Collin Sexton and Darius Garland may no longer be with the organization. They have both shown the ability to be high-level NBA Players. Evan Mobley has been the Cavs ultimate draft selection since he’s been on the roster, winning Defensive Player of the Year in 2025, also being named to an All-Star Game, Second Team All-NBA, and All-Defensive team.
Even Ochai Agbaji, who never played a game for the Cavaliers, helped Koby Altman and staff secure Donovan Mitchell in a trade with the Utah Jazz.
With the Cavs being all-in on chasing an NBA Championship since getting Mitchell in a trade, the Cavs have made a lot of trades to limit their draft capital. We will dive into how things look for the future and what it means for the Cavs.
2026: 1st Round Pick (29th overall)
The Cavaliers currently own the San Antonio Spurs pick in the 2026 NBA Draft due to the first DeAndre Hunter trade when the Cavs acquired him from the Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta originally had the Spurs pick when they traded it to the Cavs, and it ended up being a pick swap where the Cavs received the lowest pick for the 3 teams.
The Cavaliers do not have their second round pick in this years draft as they attached it to Darius Garland in the Los Angeles Clippers trade for James Harden this past January.
2027: No picks
The Cavaliers do not own their 2027 pick, and it has been moved since they traded it. The Memphis Grizzlies will receive the most favorable pick in this draft between the Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Utah Jazz, while the second most favorable pick will go to the Phoenix Suns. The Cavs 2027 Second-Round pick goes to the Chicago Bulls.
2028: First Round Pick
In 2028, the Cavs hold their first-rounder. They will receive the least favorable pick between themselves, the Utah Jazz, and the Atlanta Hawks. Utah will receive the more favorable pick between themselves and the Cavs, while Atlanta will get the more favorable pick if it is their own or the least favorable pick of Cleveland and Utah. The Cavs 2028 second-rounder goes to the Utah Jazz from the Donovan Mitchell trade.
2029: No Picks
The Cavs 2029 first-round pick gets a little confusing. Utah will get the most favorable pick between Cleveland, Minnesota (Top 5 Protected), and the Jazz pick to Utah, the second most favorable pick will go to Charlotte. The Cavs do not own their second-round pick in 2029; it will go to the Atlanta Hawks.
2030-2032: First Round Pick
The Cavs own their first-round pick outright between 2030-32. They do not own any of their second-rounders as 2030 goes to San Antonio, 2031 goes to either the Boston Celtics or Utah, and the least favorable goes to Boston. Their 2032 second goes to Utah.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – A man was shot in Cleveland’s Cudell neighborhood Tuesday night.
Cleveland Police 1st District officers responded to the 10100 block of Madison Ave around 9:00 P.M.
A man approximately 45 years of age was found with a gunshot wound.
EMS took the victim to MetroHealth Hospital. This incident remains under investigation.
There is no information on any suspects or arrests.
Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.
CLEVELAND — Ahead of her Third Annual Housing Expo this Saturday at Tri-C Corporate College East, Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH) rolled out her Safe and Affordable Housing Agenda on Tuesday. It’s a series of four bills aimed at lowering home costs while strengthening lead paint and pipe abatement.
“We wanted to bring something forward that would improve the living conditions, to make things more affordable and more accessible for not only the constituents of Ohio’s 11th Congressional District but those who are experiencing the same challenge across the country,” Brown told News 5.
The Housing Supply Fund Act is legislation that encourages the building of more affordable housing by filling financing gaps that are holding back construction. The legislation would establish a competitive program within the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund to address financing gaps that prevent otherwise viable housing projects from moving forward.
“We want to make sure we do not give up on affordable housing; we want to make sure that it is more accessible,” Brown said.
There is also the Affordable Housing Preservation and Protection Act, which is legislation to maintain and preserve existing HUD-assisted housing. This legislation establishes a new HUD preservation authority to provide targeted financing and intervention tools for distressed HUD-assisted multifamily properties at risk of deterioration, foreclosure, or loss of affordability.
The bill is designed to help preserve affordable housing, facilitate responsible ownership transitions, and protect existing federal housing investments serving seniors, working families, and vulnerable residents.
The other two bills introduced deal with the issue of lead abatement. The GET THE LEAD OUT Act of 2026 would create a new federal grant program to replace lead pipes, fixtures, and taps. The legislation would create a broad federal framework to address lead in drinking water and housing by funding removal of lead-based pipe and tap hazards, establishing training and certification requirements, directing federal standards and state programs, and integrating lead plumbing remediation into major housing programs. Brown’s legislation creates new authorities and financing mechanisms to drive national action on residential lead plumbing hazards.
The Removing Existing Pipes with Lead and Advancing Clean Environments (or REPLACE) Act improves existing lead paint and lead pipe removal programs within the federal government. This legislation would amend existing HUD and Safe Drinking Water Act authorities to strengthen lead-paint hazard remediation in housing, improve local implementation capacity, and better coordinate paint and pipe removal efforts.
“We know that this has been a longstanding issue in the City of Cleveland,” she said. “What we’re doing is trying to supplement and amplify the opportunities to be able to address these issues that have long-standing impacts in our community.”
Brown’s announcement comes on the heels of the Bibb administration’s announcement of the creation of the Housing Innovation District, a 1,500-acre swath of land covering St. Clair, Superior and Hough where efforts will begin this summer to repopulate streets that have lost more than half of their homes in recent decades with new housing starting on East 67th south of St. Clair, where ten homes will go up later this year.
A recent New York Times piece cited that among the barriers to building more housing are restrictive zoning and permitting, something the city addresses in this district.
“One of the big things that we’re doing is eliminating permit fees for single-family home construction, which is again a real sort of barrier to this sort of work,” said Tom McNair, Mayor Justin Bibb’s Chief of Integrated Development.
They also established what they call a “Pattern Book,” where they’ve pre-approved designs for certain types of homes in this district to speed up the process.
“When there’s a vacant lot that the city owns, it will be like this is the home you want, this is the lot you want to build on, here’s your permit,” he said.
Congresswoman Brown sees their efforts helping citizens towards the same goal.
“Our legislation would dovetail perfectly into what the mayor is putting forth as well,” she said. “People are doing all of the right things, they’re working hard, but they’re still having trouble getting ahead, and we want to be able to again address that gap as it relates to the opportunity to build wealth in our community, and this legislation will certainly help put people on a pathway to do that.”
Part of that pathway includes Brown’s Housing Expo for constituents of the 11th Congressional District. “It’s a one-stop shop for everything housing, so whether you are a renter or whether you are a first-time home buyer, whether you are looking to renovate, whether you are a senior that’s aging in place. We wanted to bring every aspect of the housing industry under one umbrella, and so we will do that.”
Constituents can register for the free event here.
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