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Community hosts a candle light vigil for missing 5-year-old Taylor Williams

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Saturday, people from all over Northeast Florida came together to host a vigil for little Taylor Rose Williams.

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Although she has not been found, many said they won't give up hope that the truth will come out one day about what really happened to her.

Her mother, Brianna Williams, was listed as a person of interest in her disappearance and has since been arrested on charges of child neglect and lying to the police.

Williams is being held on a $1.1 million bond, but many people at the vigil said they're still praying for her and praying that the truth comes out.

Several people who attended the vigil said it hits home for them, because they too have had those close to them go missing.

Dwight Johnson was one of those people. He said he has a loved one who disappeared, and he has a 5-year-old granddaughter so this situation hits home for him.

"We are here to support Taylor. We didn't know her, but it touched our heart. I had a cousin that went missing, Whitney Sanders. She went missing about 6 1/2 years ago. We never found her," Johnson said.

During the vigil, people from the community came together to light a candle in Taylor's honor, to let her know she is still loved and not forgotten.

Organizers like Amanda Simpson said even though they don't know Brianna Williams or little Taylor they still felt compelled to show their support.

"Looking at this situation with little Ms.Taylor Rose Williams, I think it's touched all of us in some way, and as a community we want answers, and we want to know what happened," Simpson said.

They even organized a toy drive, called Toys for Taylor, to donate to other children in need.

More than 800,000 children go missing each year, according to National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

That's why organizers of the vigil are hoping this story urges people to hug their loved ones a little tighter.

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