The father of a 2-year-old boy who went missing during a custody visit last month may have told the boy’s mother at knifepoint that he threw their son into the Bronx River, according to law enforcement sources.
Arius Williams, 20, the father of Montrell Williams, who has been missing since May 10, allegedly pulled a knife on the boy’s 17-year-old mother when they crossed paths on the street Sunday, according to sources.
According to sources, the armed father claimed during the confrontation that he threw the couple’s son off the Bruckner Bridge.
Surveillance footage from that night, which allegedly shows Arius throwing a black bag into the river, could support that claim, according to the sources.
According to sources, the NYPD dispatched dive teams to comb the area Monday night but found nothing, and they were still searching Tuesday.
Arius was ordered held without bail on a custodial interference warrant Monday after refusing to tell a family court judge about his son’s whereabouts, according to police and sources.
While in custody for contempt of court, the father is also facing charges in connection with the knifepoint incident, according to sources.
The disturbing incident occurred on May 10 when Montrell, who had been dropped off by his mother the day before for a custody visit, was at his father’s Hunts Point Avenue home for a Mother’s Day celebration, according to sources.
According to a source, Arius got into a fight with his own father at the gathering and fled with Montrell around 10 p.m.
According to sources, Arius, who has custody and visitation rights over Montrell, then fled with the boy.
He was then seen without his son around 12:30 a.m. at a cousin’s house on Brook Avenue, according to sources.
Over the next few days, the boy’s concerned mother called the cops, who appeared to tell her that they could not intervene because her son was on a regular visit, according to sources.
According to sources, a judge issued a warrant for the elusive father after the mother appeared in family court on May 30 and stated that she had no idea where her young son or ex-partner were.
Now, the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau is looking into the department’s investigative work in Montrell’s case, specifically whether the boy’s disappearance should have been investigated as a custodial interference case rather than a missing person search.
Anyone with information on his disappearance should call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
