Florida authorities issued a statewide Missing Child Alert Saturday for six children last seen in the 100 block of South Ridgewood Avenue in Daytona Beach, warning that the group may be traveling through or toward Georgia. The children, ranging in age from 4 to 13, were ordered by a court to be removed from the custody of Joia Shepard and Pervis Sylvester, and police believe the two adults are now traveling with all six kids in a silver SUV.
The Daytona Beach Police Department first sought the public's help locating Shepard and Sylvester in connection with the missing and endangered children investigation, according to FOX 35 Orlando. Officials say the six children are believed to be in danger. Anyone with information on their whereabouts is urged to call the Daytona Beach Police Department at 386-671-5100, per the department.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement's alert named the missing children as Pervis Sylvester, 4; Logan Laws, 7; Jayloni Laws, 9; Lorenzo Laws, 10; Alayla Laws, 11; and Onzerel Laws, 13, according to the official FDLE flyer cited by Tampa Free Press. Five of the six children share the surname Laws. Lorenzo is described as 4 feet 2 inches tall with a vertical scar on his forehead and cold sores, a detail investigators hope will help the public identify him.
Descriptions of the Adults Sought by Police
FDLE physical descriptions list Joia Shepard as a 5-foot-tall, 130-pound woman with a freckle below her right eye, the Tampa Free Press reports. Pervis Sylvester, the adult male being sought, is described as 6 feet tall and 200 pounds with dreadlocks — and notably shares his first and last name with the missing 4-year-old.
The 100 block of South Ridgewood Avenue sits along U.S. Route 1, a commercial corridor that connects directly to Interstate 95 heading north toward the Georgia state line, according to the same report. That geography helps explain how the group could have moved quickly from local Daytona Beach streets onto a major interstate route out of the state.
Why a Statewide Alert Instead of an AMBER Alert
Florida's Missing Child Alert system, created in 2003, is activated when a child is missing and believed to be in life-threatening danger but there is no clear evidence of an abduction — a lower threshold than a full AMBER Alert, which requires reasonable belief that a kidnapping occurred, per the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The agency can upgrade the case to an AMBER Alert if the investigation turns up proof of abduction.
Under Florida Statute § 787.03, knowingly or recklessly taking or enticing a minor away from a lawful custodian following a court-ordered custody removal constitutes interference with custody — a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison per count, according to the Florida Senate. With six children involved, that statute could carry significant exposure for whoever is found responsible for removing them from state custody.
A Broader Pattern of Cases Across Florida
Florida law also addresses how local police handle missing child reports. The state has also publicized missing-child recovery efforts.
National missing children data provides broader context, but no ranking or safe-recovery rate is given here. Volusia County has seen this kind of case before — deputies and U.S. Marshals tracked a missing DeLand toddler to the U.S.-Mexico border and arrested her mother on outstanding warrants after the state Department of Children and Families obtained a court order removing the child from parental custody.
It remains unclear which court or agency ordered the removal of the six Laws and Sylvester children, or what specific conditions prompted that order. Investigators have not said whether license plate tracking data along Interstate 95 or other northbound corridors has yielded leads on the silver SUV's route.
