If you’ve spent any time falling down a true crime rabbit hole, you know the name Cheryl Williams. She is the Florida mother who spent nearly two decades shouting into the void, refusing to believe her son, Mike Williams, was eaten by alligators. Most people who search "is Cheryl Williams still alive" are looking for her. They want to know if the woman who wrote over 1,500 letters to the governor lived to see the final, messy bit of justice she fought so hard for.
Honestly, the story is heartbreaking. Cheryl didn't just lose a son; she lost years of her life to a search that everyone else—including the police and her daughter-in-law—told her was a waste of time.
The Current Status of Cheryl Williams in 2026
To answer the big question: As of early 2026, Cheryl Williams is still alive. She's living in the Tallahassee area, though she’s much more private these days. You have to remember, she’s in her 80s now. When she appeared at the 2018 trial of Denise Williams, she had to be wheeled into the courtroom. Time and the sheer stress of an 18-year investigation took a massive toll on her physically.
She isn't the same woman who stood on street corners with those homemade "Where is Mike?" signs anymore. She’s fragile. But she is here.
Why people are confused about her death
A lot of the confusion online comes from the fact that "Cheryl Williams" is a very common name. If you check recent obituaries, you'll see a Cheryl Annette Williams who passed away in Georgia in January 2026, and another Cheryl Williams from Maine who died in late 2025.
None of these are the Cheryl Williams from the Mike Williams case.
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Our Cheryl—the one who cracked the "alligator" theory—is still with us, though she mostly stays out of the spotlight now that the legal battles have largely settled.
The 17-Year Nightmare: A Mother’s Intuition
For those who need a refresher, Mike Williams disappeared on December 16, 2000. He supposedly went duck hunting on Lake Seminole for his sixth wedding anniversary. The official story? He fell out of his boat and was eaten by gators.
Cheryl didn't buy it for a second.
- She knew alligators don't eat in the winter; they're basically dormant.
- She found it weird his boat was found with a full tank of gas.
- She couldn't understand why his widow, Denise, moved on so quickly to marry Mike’s best friend, Brian Winchester.
For years, Cheryl was treated like a "grieving, obsessed mother" who couldn't accept reality. She spent her own money on billboards. She stood in the heat. She wrote 27 pages of notes that eventually became the blueprint for the real investigation.
Basically, without her, the truth would still be at the bottom of a swamp.
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Where the Case Stands Today
You might be wondering what happened to the people who did this. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, which is probably why Cheryl isn't exactly celebrating every day.
- Brian Winchester: He’s the one who eventually cracked. In 2017, after being arrested for kidnapping Denise (yes, the drama is endless), he took a deal. He led police to Mike's body, which was buried in the mud near Carr Lake, not eaten by alligators. He's serving a prison sentence, but he got immunity for the murder in exchange for his testimony.
- Denise Williams: She was the mastermind. She was originally sentenced to life in prison, but life is never that simple in the Florida court system. In 2020, an appeals court overturned her murder conviction because she wasn't the one who actually pulled the trigger. However, they kept the conspiracy to commit murder charge. She’s currently serving a 30-year sentence.
The Estrangement That Never Healed
The saddest part of Cheryl’s current life isn't just her health; it’s her granddaughter, Anslee.
Denise allegedly used the child as a weapon. For years, Cheryl was told that if she kept pushing the police to investigate Mike’s death, she would never see her granddaughter again. Denise followed through on that threat. Even now, with Mike's body found and Denise in prison, reports suggest the relationship remains deeply strained or non-existent.
Understanding the "Other" Cheryl Williams
It’s easy to see why Google results get messy.
There was a Cheryl Williams who was a character in the Evil Dead movies (played by Ellen Sandweiss). There’s an actress named Cheryl Williams who does stage work. And again, those recent obituaries for women with the same name in 2025 and 2026 add to the noise.
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But if you are looking for the mother of the Tallahassee duck hunter, the woman who proved that a mother's love is more powerful than a cover-up, she is still alive. She is a living testament to the idea that "intuition" is often just a very sharp observation of the facts that others choose to ignore.
What We Can Learn From Cheryl’s Fight
If you’re following this case, there are a few things to keep in mind regarding how justice actually works:
- Persistence matters: Public pressure and letter-writing campaigns actually work, even if they take 1,400+ letters.
- Documentation is key: Cheryl’s 27 pages of notes were vital when the FDLE finally reopened the case.
- Trust the science: Her insistence that gators don't eat in 40-degree water was the first domino to fall.
If you want to support causes similar to Cheryl's, look into organizations like The Doe Network or Season of Justice, which help families of the missing and murdered fund DNA testing and private investigations. Cheryl did it mostly on her own, but today’s technology makes that fight a little less lonely for others.
The next time someone tells you to "let it go" or "accept the official story," remember Cheryl Williams. She didn't. And because of that, her son isn't just a missing person anymore—he’s home.
Keep an eye on the Florida Department of Corrections inmate database if you want to track Denise Williams' status, as that is the primary link to the ongoing "justice" phase of Cheryl's life.