Miss. law enforcement agencies arrest man in connection to Tenn. Amber Alert

William Usry, 19,  of Knoxville, Tenn.
William Usry, 19, of Knoxville, Tenn.(Jones County Sheriff's Department)
Published: Feb. 24, 2023 at 11:55 AM CST
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JONES COUNTY, Miss. (WDAM) - The Jones County Sheriff’s Department, assisted by the Mississippi Highway Patrol and Laurel Police Department, captured a man overnight named in an Amber Alert issued by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation regarding a missing 16-year-old believed to have been kidnapped.

JCSD Interdiction Sgt. Jeff Monk, assisted by JCSD Patrol Squad A units and LPD units, using information provided by MHP, took 19-year-old William Usry of Knoxville, Tenn., into custody shortly after midnight on Interstate 59 near 16th Avenue in Laurel.

The 16-year-old, who was the subject of the Tennessee Amber Alert, was in the vehicle and is safe.

The incident causing the Amber Alert is under investigation by Tennessee authorities with assistance from JCSD investigators.

Usry is being held at the Jones County Adult Detention Facility by Tennessee authorities.

“Great job by JCSD Sgt. Jeff Monk who located the vehicle on Interstate 59 and made the felony stop based on intelligence provided to JCSD by the Mississippi Highway Patrol on the whereabouts of the vehicle William Usry was operating,” said Jones County Sheriff Joe Berlin.

Berlin said the suspect was driving a white Dodge van with a switched license plate.

“This arrest is the result of outstanding interagency cooperation between law enforcement agencies across state lines and jurisdictions,” Berlin said.

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