Missing Fayetteville Family Found Dead in Georgia

Relatives reported the family missing on December 24. Fayetteville Police investigators had determined the family left on their own.

"She did communicate with her best friend and her mother, stating she did leave and she'd contact them sometime in the future," says Sgt. Roberto Rivera of the Fayetteville Police Department. "We were hoping that communication would come soon. Unfortunately, it did not."

The call that eventually came was not from Williams, but from officials with the Walton County Sheriff's Office in Monroe, Georgia.

Williams and the three children were found dead Sunday afternoon.

Walton County Sheriff Al Yarborough says it appears the family pulled into the garage of a vacant home to spend the night. Williams apparently left the car running to keep the children warm.

Laura and her children, Karrisa, Karlie and Andrew, all died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

"It affects everyone from the deputies to the investigators to the sheriff when you see something like this," says Yarborough.

In Fayetteville Monday, police talked with family members at the home of Laura Williams' mother.

Williams was separated from her husband, Roger Williams, an Army recruiter in Whiteville.

Relatives say Laura left with the children because of a custody dispute.