A Florida love story. I'm Jason Horton.

I'm Rebecca Leeb.

And this is Ghost Town.

Mike Williams disappeared on a hunting trip in December of 2000.

The common belief was that he was eaten by an alligator.

But just last year, law enforcement discovered new information that challenged this theory.

This man was murdered and they blamed it on alligators for 17 years.

On December 16, 2000, Mike Williams, a 31-year-old real estate appraiser,

was reported missing where he didn't come home from a duck hunting trip to Lake Seminole,

a picturesque reservoir just outside of Tallahassee, Florida.

As the days passed, he was presumed dead, likely drowned in a careless lake accident.

But the truth involved a tangled and perplexing mix of alligators, sex, kidnapping,

multiple betrayals, and sister Hazel.

Today, we're talking about the very Florida, very twisted murder of Mike Williams.

Jerry Michael Williams, called Mike, grew up with his parents and older brother Nick

in a trailer outside of Tallahassee, Florida.

Instead of building a house, the Williams parents saved their money so that both boys,

who had part-time jobs helping the family at a supermarket, could go to North Florida Christian

high school. Abusier private high school in both boys did really well there, especially Mike,

who played football, was active in the key club, and served as student council president.

He was voted best personality by his class too, but really, there are only two other

noteworthy things that happen to Mike while at North Florida Christian that you need to remember.

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