EFFINGHAM CO.—Official charges have been filed against a young man in connection with the death of his niece, as of this afternoon (Tuesday, September 10, 2013).
Justin Dale DeRyke, 22, brother of Ciara DeRyke, who is the mother of Willow Long, the little girl who went missing Sunday, was taken in to the Effingham County Jail, as of 5:55 a.m. this morning.
The official charges involve First Degree Murder of Willow Long.
There was an autopsy to have been conducted by Effingham County’s coroner this afternoon, and there will be more to report after this happens. Jade is in constant contact with the coroner and we’ve been assured that when more is learned, they’ll email it to us.
Our reporter on the ground in Watson advised that when she was there earlier this afternoon, she personally viewed a man being taken out of Willow Long’s house in handcuffs. Since DeRyke was already in jail, it’s unclear who the other person would have been. We have NOT been told there is anyone else in custody at this time other than DeRyke. That doesn’t mean no one is; that just means that there is no other arrest to report.
We do NOT know the whereabouts of Ciara DeRyke, however, we have two people in the area working the situation at this time.
Please be patient; deliveries of the new print version are underway and we will be bringing you updates, as we get them, between these deliveries.
