Aberdeen family seeks help
in finding missing relative
By clare MARie celano
Staff Writer
Dominic Williams
FREEHOLD — The Freehold Borough Police Department is aiding the family of a man who has been reported missing from Aberdeen Township since Jan. 11.
According to Detective Sgt. Chuck Ward, Dominic Williams, 27, is diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and has been without his medication for months.
The young man, originally from Virginia, came to stay with his uncle, George Williams, in Aberdeen in December. After a confrontation with his uncle on Jan. 6, the young man packed a bag and left the house stating he was gong to New York City to sell lyrics to a rap singer. From the moment the young man left, Williams has been trying, unsuccessfully, to track down his nephew.
Desperate to find his nephew, Williams has visited numerous police stations, concentrating his search in Asbury Park and Neptune where, Williams said, he received phone calls from Dominic in January.
According to Williams, the trail took him from Aberdeen to the neighboring Matawan Police Department, where he learned that Dominic did, in fact, come in to the police station to ask for help.
Williams learned that the police referred his nephew to the Check-Mate homeless shelter at Fort Monmouth, Eatontown. He said he contacted the director of the shelter, Arlene Austin, who told Williams that she took his nephew to the welfare department in Neptune to see if she could secure him some benefits. According to Williams, Austin said Dominic refused to go back to the shelter in Eatontown.
Williams then contacted the Neptune Police Department to see if he could obtain any information about his nephew. He found that Dominic has also come into the Neptune headquarters to ask for help. The police took him back to the shelter in Eatontown. Williams said he again contacted Austin at the shelter, but was told his nephew was no longer there.
Next, Williams made a trip to Oceanport, near Eatontown, where he again reported Dominic missing. Here, he was told that because of the subject’s age the only thing police could do was make sure he was all right. They would not be able to detain him for any reason.
Dominic Williams is described as a 5-foot-9-inch tall black male who weighs about 140 pounds and has short black hair and black eyes. He has the tattoo "God" on his upper right arm. At the time of his disappearance Dominic was wearing a gray "South Pole" sweat suit, an Allen Iverson Philadelphia 76ers basketball jersey, a Jets cap, tennis shoes and a black bomber jacket. He was reported to have been carrying a red and black leather jacket.
According to a police report from Aberdeen, Dominic is noncompliant with his medication [Haldol and Cogentin] and has been without that medication for seven months. His symptoms include delusions of someone trying to kill him and constantly walking and talking to himself. He is known to have been verbally abusive with relatives. The police report said this is very uncharacteristic of him normally.
The last contact Williams had with his nephew was a telephone call he received late at night on Jan. 6. Dominic said he was calling from a McDonald’s in Freehold. He was also recently sighted at Sears in Ocean Township and the train station in Asbury Park on April 13. Williams also has reports that he was placed at a store in Asbury Park on April 14 and at Convention Hall in Asbury Park on April 15.
Williams said his nephew, who may use the name Numsamen [Johnson] has no money, no car and no knowledge of this area.
After making driving excursions with Dominic’s father, Harvey, through Aberdeen, Matawan, Asbury Park, Neptune, Long Branch, Oceanport and other surrounding areas and placing fliers with photos and a description of Dominick, Williams contacted Freehold Borough police for help.
He told Greater Media Newspapers that everyone is worried about Dominic and fears that something terrible may have befallen him. He added that any help the town can offer would be greatly appreciated.
Ward said that on meeting George Williams, he and Patrolman Chris Otlowski felt a strong need to help him.
"I felt so much compassion for this man and everything he and his family were going through. We’ll do whatever we can do to help the family," Ward said.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Dominic Williams is asked to contact George Williams at (732) 207-4418 or the Freehold Borough Police Department at (732) 462-1233.