Missing teen found safe, suspect in custody

Officials with the Knoxville Police Department requested an AMBER Alert for a missing teen.
Published: Feb. 22, 2023 at 5:41 PM EST|Updated: Feb. 22, 2023 at 11:36 PM EST
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - A missing teen out of Knoxville at the center of an AMBER Alert has been found safe.

TBI officials announced early Friday morning 16-year-old Holly Piper was found safe in Mississippi.

The man she was believed to be with, 18-year-old William “Dylan” Usry is in police custody.

The Knoxville Police Department said Piper and Usry were both found around 1:00 a.m. Friday morning by Mississippi Highway Patrol, Laurel Police Department, and the Jones County Sheriff’s office.

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Holly Piper, 16, and her sister came to Knoxville on Feb. 18 to visit a friend, according to police. At around 3 a.m., Piper, her sister and her friend went to Cook Out when Piper’s boyfriend, William “Dylan” Usry, 18, showed up, officials said.

Police said Piper jumped into Usry’s car, a 1999 white Dodge Caravan with rust spots on the roof with the Tennessee tag BMM5038.

She was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt ad blue sweatpants.

KPD confirmed to WVLT News that Piper’s address on the report is Oliver Springs.

“Usry has an extensive criminal history to include DUI, multiple counts of aggravated assault, evading arrest and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony from an incident in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Usry has a court date on those charges on March 2, and it is believed that he is actively fleeing to avoid his court date and that he has possibly coerced Holly into leaving against her will.”

KPD Spokesperson