North Carolina authorities on Thursday arrested a man in connection with the disappearance and murder of 25-year-old Fayetteville woman Heather Williams.

Williams was reported missing on Jan. 4, when she was last seen getting into a light-colored, four-door sedan just before 10 p.m. in the area of Berkshire Road, according to the Fayetteville Police Department (FPD).

The FPD Homicide Unit, with assistance from the department’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team, arrested and charged Tyrell Jaquez Siermons, 30, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, with first-degree murder in connection with Williams’ death.

Authorities located the 25-year-old woman dead in “a wooded area near Newark Ave. and State Ave.” on Jan. 10, six days after she was reported missing.

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The suspect has a lengthy criminal history in Cumberland County, court records show. He is also facing an out-of-state probation charge from Jan. 16 — the same day he was charged with first-degree murder — meaning he was on probation in North Carolina when he was accused of a crime in another state.

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His other priors, dating back to 2011, include charges of attempted first-degree murder, attempted kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon, felony possession of a firearm, being a habitual felon, common law robbery, robbery with a dangerous weapon, felony probation violation, breaking or entering and larceny.

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Fayetteville, North Carolina, authorities have charged Tyrell Siermons, 30, with first-degree murder in connection wtih 25-year-old Heather Williams’ death. (Fayetteville PD)

The FPD did not comment on any kind of relationship between the suspect and the victim but did say the vehicle that Williams was last seen getting into on Jan. 4 is ultimately what led them to Siermons.

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Police said Williams had a cognitive impairment, which her family said was the result of being hit by a car in 2015, local outlet WRAL reported.

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Heather’s sister, Mary Williams, told WRAL that she contacted a man listed on Heather’s phone log around the same time she left home on Jan. 4. She asked the man what kind of car he drove and if he had picked up Heather that evening.

Authorities located Heather Williams’ body in “a wooded area near Newark Ave. and State Ave.” on Jan 10, six days after she was reported missing. (Facebook)

“He said he met her on Facebook, either through Facebook Dating or Messenger, he couldn’t remember which. He said he hung out with her one night, but he wasn’t sure if it was Saturday night,” Mary told the outlet.

Mary added that she followed up with the man later, who told her, “Yes, the car that picked her up was that car.” She believes Siermons is the same man she contacted from Heather’s phone, according to WRAL.

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Siermons is currently being held at the Cumberland County Detention Center without bond. 

Fayetteville police are asking anyone with information to contact Detective E. Alrafai at (910) 723-0327 or Crimestoppers at (910) 483-TIPS (8477).

A group of more than 30 migrants, most of them Chinese citizens, was found inside a U-Haul truck Friday after a report of an alleged abduction, Florida authorities said. 

The discovery began when a security guard for a homeowners association in the Miami suburb of Coral Gables reported seeing an abduction around 9:35 a.m., Coral Gables Police Chief Edward James Hudak Jr. told reporters. 

The guard reported seeing a Toyota and a U-Haul truck involved in the incident and immediately alerted a patrol officer, the chief said. The officer then issued a BOLO, a be on the lookout alert, for the vehicles. 

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The vehicles were stopped by officers, and the woman who was allegedly abducted was taken from the Toyota. Officers then began investigating the U-Haul truck, which had 16 Chinese females, 15 Chinese males, one male from Cuba and a female from Ecuador, according to police.

“Officers opened the back of the truck, which revealed 21 predominantly Chinese nationals,” Hudak said.

In addition to the migrants in the Toyota were a Cuban man, a Brazilian woman and a man from Ecuador, police said.

“We do believe these individuals were brought here by the water,” the chief said. “They were probably dropped off, we’re assuming somewhere around the southern end of Coral Gables and approached on foot to the van where they were loaded into.”

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A U-Haul van where Chinese migrants were found is towed from the scene in Coral Gables, Florida on Friday.  (WSVN-TV)

Investigators were looking into whether the woman who was possibly being abducted was trying to escape her alleged smugglers. The Coral Gables Fire Department responded to provide medical care to the migrants, who were “tired” but in good condition, police said. 

“Today’s event is a prime example of why FDLE is supportive of the governor’s proposed special session to tackle illegal immigration immediately,” Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass said. “The actions of law enforcement are an integral part in preventing these smuggling ventures that happen too frequently on our southern border.”

The migrants were handed over to the U.S. Border Patrol, and four others were taken into police custody related to the incident. 

“This started off as a crime,” Hudak said. “The police department responded to that alleged crime by a very alert citizen. By that, I mean I think we’ve saved some lives.”

Authorities patrolling the waters near the city stopped several vessels but have not identified the boat in which the migrants were transported, authorities said. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the police and U.S. Border Patrol. 

A Florida children’s author – known for penning stories about friendship – was charged alongside her husband for abusing and neglecting their adopted children, authorities said.

Jennifer Wolfthal, the author of “A Real Friend,” and her husband, Joseph Wolfthal, an engineer for Lockheed Martin, pleaded guilty on Jan. 13 to aggravated child abuse and neglect of a child with great bodily harm, according to plea agreements obtained by Fox News Digital.

Jennifer Wolfthal will be sentenced to 12 years in prison, while her husband will be sentenced to 10 years behind bars, according to the plea agreement.

“This plea and sentencing agreement ensures that the Wolfthals will spend significant time in prison while it protects the already-traumatized victims from the stress of having to testify,” a spokesperson for the State Attorney’s Office in Florida’s 18th judicial circuit said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The State Attorney’s office made sure law enforcement and the children’s new guardian supported this sentence before it agreed to it.”

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Joseph and Jennifer Wolfthal pleaded guilty to aggravated child abuse and neglect of a child with great bodily harm on Jan. 13. (Seminole County Sheriff’s Office)

The investigation into the couple was launched in 2021 after their then 8-year-old adopted daughter was brought to the hospital with organ failure, unconscious and covered in injuries. The couple also had two other adopted children – a 9-year-old and 11-year-old. 

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“Due to the height and weight of [the girl], it is not likely the swollen bruise on the back of her head and the laceration on her lip and broken tooth were caused by off balance falls,” the police report reads.

READ JENNIFER WOLFTHAL’S PLEA AGREEMENT: APP USERS CLICK HERE

READ JOSEPH WOLFTHAL’S PLEA AGREEMENT: APP USERS CLICK HERE

While the girl was in the hospital, investigators visited the family home and said they found two other children with “symptoms of malnourishment, bruises and lack of care.”

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Police said the children’s bedrooms had their doorknobs installed backwards, with the locks on the outside.

During additional searches of the home, authorities found more than 1,100 written paragraphs reading: “My body stays flat on the bed at all times. I was never given permission to move or say anything. Now I get to write about this along with everything else. I am a fool.”

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Jennifer Wolfthal, the author of a children’s book titled “A Real Friend,” is set to be sentenced to 12 years in prison. Her husband faces a 10-year sentence. (Amazon.com)

The book is still for sale on Amazon, but reviewers have been filling the comments with links to news articles about the allegations against the author.

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Authorities also shared that all three of the Wolfthals’ adopted children were subject to other horrifying tales of abuse. Following the investigation, the children were moved to live with another family.

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Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.