4-year-old boy found safe after Amber Alert issued; mother's body found in Jacksonville apartment

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A 4-year-old boy who was the subject of an Amber Alert after his mother's body was found in an apartment in the 3800 block of University Blvd. S. has been found safe, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

JSO was called to the La Esperanza apartments at 3830 University Blvd. S. for a welfare check on Wednesday morning and the woman's body was found. Lt. Steve Gallaher said obvious foul play was evident in the woman's death. The woman has not yet been positively identified by JSO.

The woman's child, Norris Dail Jr., 4, and the woman's boyfriend, Norris Dail Sr., 26, were missing, as well as Dail Sr.'s car. Dail Sr. was seen at 10 p.m. Tuesday leaving the residence, JSO said, in a 2000 Mitsubishi Galant with a Maryland tag, 1BK9546. The license plate is a Baltimore Ravens specialty plate, FDLE said, and there is a Baltimore Ravens sticker on one of the windows.

An Amber Alert was then issued for the boy on Wednesday afternoon. No cell phone alert was sent out for the Amber Alert because just as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was about to instruct the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to send the alert, Norris was found.

Once an Amber Alert is issued, it takes time -- an hour or more -- to make the flyer and release the information to other law enforcement agencies and the media, FDLE said.

At 3:35 p.m. on Wednesday, Gallaher said family members from Maryland called, saying they had the boy and he was safe. Witnesses told police that Dail Sr. took the boy to Maryland the night before. Authorities are still searching for the Mitsubishi Galant and Dail Sr.

Dail Sr. is described by FDLE as Black, has black hair, brown eyes, is 6' and weighs 210 pounds. Dail Sr. could be in Maryland, but police are not sure. Lt. Gallaher said JSO will travel to Maryland to investigate.

WJZ, the CBS station in Baltimore, said the Baltimore City Police confirms they have been notified about this case and Dail Sr. because he has ties to the Baltimore area.

JSO is looking to question Dail Sr. in the homicide investigation into the woman's death. Anyone with any information on the whereabouts of Dail Sr. or his car is asked to contact JSO at (904) 630-0513 or 911.

INVESTIGATION TIMELINE:

-10 p.m. Tuesday: Norris Dail Sr. was seen leaving La Esperanza apartments on University Boulevard South.

-10:15 a.m. Wednesday: Officers conduct welfare check at La Esperanza apartments and find deceased female inside one of the apartments.

-2 p.m. Wednesday: Jacksonville Sheriff's Office alerts the public to be on the lookout for Norris and his son and reports that the woman has been found dead.

-2:38 p.m.: Action News Jax checks Florida Department of Law Enforcement website and sees Amber Alert has been issued for Norris Dail Jr.

-3:12 p.m.: Amber Alert digital billboards broadcast up the Interstate 95 corridor.

-3:35 p.m.: JSO learns that the child is OK and with family in Maryland. Norris Dail Sr. and his car are still unaccounted for.

-5:45 p.m.: Norris Dail Sr. listed as missing person

MARYLAND CUSTODY CASE INVOLVING DAIL SR.

Dail Sr. was the petitioner in a custody case against a woman from Dundalk, Md. Action News Jax is not using the woman's name because we also confirmed that the woman in that child custody case is the mother of Norris Dail Jr.

We spoke to the Jacksonville day care where the boy goes and they also confirmed his mother's name. According to Maryland court records, the couple was ordered into family mediation on Aug. 5, 2015. Ten days later, on Aug. 25, 2015, the court ordered Dail Sr. and the defendant would share physical custody and joint legal custody on a week-on, week-off basis.

We also checked the mother's Facebook page and found a 2015 post that said "In a relationship with Sirron Liad," which is "Norris Dail" spelled backwards. There's also a picture of her little boy, the same photo that was used by JSO to find the boy.

People we spoke with said the photo is about a year old and the boy has longer hair now.

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TEACHERS: NORRIS DAIL SR. SEEMED LIKE A VERY INVOLVED PARENT

Norris Dail Jr’s teachers say his father Norris Dail Sr. would drop the boy off and pick him up from Pre-K almost every day.

But teachers got concerned when Norris Jr. didn’t show up to Pre-K Wednesday morning and missed school for the second straight day. By Wednesday afternoon, teachers say they had seen the Amber Alert for the child and his father.

Nicole, one of Norris’s teachers, couldn't believe it when the Amber Alert was issued.

“Are you serious? Is that really the Norris I know? Is that the little boy that sits in my classroom every day?”

Norris Jr. has been going to Pre-K at the Prodigies Early Learning Center since the middle of August.

“He’s a good kid. Very quiet. He don’t really talk as much,” Nicole said.

But teachers tell Action News Jax this normally quiet boy would become excited and energetic when his dad Norris Dail Sr. would pick him up.

Another teacher at the school, Shernice said, “He gets loud. He wants to hug his dad and doesn’t seem like he’s afraid or anything like that. He seems like he loves his dad and his dad seemed like he loves him.”

Norris Jr.'s teachers said they never really saw his mother. Now they're just wishing the best for the little boy.

“Not only did he lose his mom. Now he got to sit here and possibly lose his dad. I hope he don’t have to go through another heartache and heartbreak like he’s going through now,” said Nicole.

Teachers tell Action News Jax Norris Dail Sr. was the one who enrolled Norris Jr. at the learning center and they never really saw Norris Dail Jr’s mother.

Cox Media Group