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Community bands together in search of missing 5-year-old Taylor Rose Williams

The Jacksonville community is banding together in the massive search of missing 5-year-old Taylor Rose Williams.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Law enforcement, first reponders, neighbors and even a councilman all came together Wednesday in the massive search for a missing 5-year-old Jacksonville girl.

Councilman Reggie Gaffney joined first responders in handing out flyers and asked the community to pray for the safe return of Taylor Rose Williams, who was reported missing in his district in the Brentwood area.

"It's a very unfortunate situation," Gaffney said. "As a leader, one, I ask the community to pray, and second, if you see anything suspicious please let somebody know."

Neighbors helped make copies of the flyers for the councilman and firefighters with the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department to pass out.

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Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry posted to Twitter asking for the public to pray for Taylor Williams, first responders and those in the community joining the search.

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Taylor Williams was reported missing at 7:22 a.m. after she was last seen at around midnight in her home in the 600 block of Ivy Street, according to police.

Taylor Williams' mother, Brianna Williams, told police she woke up to find her back door open and when she went to check on her daughter, she was nowhere to be found.

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An Amber Alert was later issued and more than 100 Jacksonville Sheriff's officers initiated a massive search of the Brentwood area as well as the Southside area, where Taylor Williams used to live.

RELATED: Search for 5-year-old Taylor Rose Williams expands to Southside, crews searching woods, water

During a media address at 5:15 p.m., JSO Chief T.K. Williams said 120 officers were involved in the search in the Brentwood area alone and 64 officers were out at the Paradise Island Apartments on the Southside.

"Taylor is the most important thing here right now," JSO Chief T. K. Waters said. "We are very concerned, but we are going to search and we will continue to search throughout the night in hopes of finding Taylor."

JSO deployed mounted units in their search as well as a dive team to search a retention pond near the Southside apartments. No apparent clues were found in the waist-deep search of the pond.

JSO said Taylor Williams' mother is cooperating with law enforcement.

RELATED: AMBER ALERT: Hundreds searching for missing 5-year-old Jacksonville girl

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