Left and Right: Olisa circa, 1982
Right: Age Progressed to age 29
Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: April 29, 1982
Missing From: Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: August 10, 1981
Age: 9 months old
Height and Weight: 2’0″ and 35 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: African American Female, Brown hair, Brown eyes, Olisa has a scar on or underneath her chin
NCMEC Number: 601939
Details of Disappearance
Olisa’s mother, Denise Frazier-Daniel, last saw her daughter on April 29th 1982 in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was staying with a friend at their residence during this time when her husband, Isiah Verna “Bobo” Williams, came to home in an apparent rage at the fact that she was choosing to stay with this friend. He slapped Denise across the face after she answered his knocking on the door. She fell backwards and he proceeded to abduct Olisa from the home.
Denise contacted the police and reported her daughter’s kidnapping as well as his assault on her. Isiah was soon arrested for assaulting his wife but wouldn’t say where Olisa was at the time. He did say she was alive and was with relatives that were not known to Denise. She was told by authorities at the time that Isiah had as much parental rights to Olisa as she did and they didn’t pursue the matter any further.
By all accounts, Denise’s relationship to Isiah was not a happy one. They met at a young age since they lived next door to each other during their earlier years in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Denise said during the earlier years of their relationship, Isiah was loving and caring towards her. However, Denise stated that Isiah began abusing her two years into their relationship. It began with just one slap and escalated from that point.
Denise stated she was in love with Isiah and in January 1979, they drove to Toledo, Ohio to get a quick marriage to one another. The abuse only continued and within a month, Williams was accused of shooting at and beating Denise with a rifle. He frequently left his wife battered and seeking asylum from others when she was in danger by her own husband.
Denise said the relationship was on and off due to the fact that Williams somehow always managed to put himself back into her life through his charm and charisma. He had a previous criminal history. Isiah once served time in prison for assault with intent to rob while armed. During his marriage to Denise, he served time in prison for unlawful taking of a vehicle and resisting or obstructing an officer.
Within months of their marriage, Denise separated from Isiah and was seeking a divorce from him. This did not stop him, however, and after one of his many prison stints in 1981, Isiah showed up to Denise’s place of employment and forced her into a vehicle and drove her to Cincinnati. The relationship between them began again and so did the horrific abuse.
The abuse increased and intensified after Williams discovered that Denise was pregnant with a child. The birth father was someone Denise had a relationship with while Isiah was incarcerated and during their separation. Between July and August 1981, Denise left Ohio and Williams behind to go back to Ann Arbor for the birth of her daughter, Olisa and to be with family.
Shortly after Olisa was born in August of 1981, Isiah arrived in town and presented Denise with a wedding ring. He had never given her such a gift before. The two then proceeded to return to Cincinnati again. By September, she was calling police once again for assistance with her abusive husband. The couple separated once again and Denise took her daughter to live with a friend in Cincinnati.
In April 1982, Denise ran into Isiah during their separation and she got a ride home from him. She agreed to go on a date with him during the evening. However, the evening turned sour when authorities stopped Williams and Denise in his vehicle. Williams was taken into custody and he later told family court that the arrest was due to traffic warrants. The stop delayed Denise from returning home to her daughter.
Olisa was being watched by a friend when child protective services came and took custody of the infant for a short period of time. Denise got her child back but only for a brief amount of time before Isiah came and abducted her. Denise did all she could to find her missing daughter and even tried to get child protective services involved. She found out that Williams had returned to Ann Arbor and she followed him.
Authorities believe Olisa was alive for up to two months following her 1982 abduction. Multiple relatives reported seeing her alive and well during the months of June and July 1982. Isiah’s brother reported he last saw the child at a family reunion on July 4th 1982. Another ex-wife of Isiah reported that he brought Olisa to her home on July 9th 1982. She said the girl was in good health.
On the same day, Isiah was served with a court request for Separate Maintenance Financial Support. Denise later recalled this as an effort to have Isiah produce Olisa. He was also served with a summons to a restraining order and a show cause hearing which demanded that he produce Olisa in court.
The ex-wife that said Williams brought the child to her home made another statement to police later on. She said that at approximately 2:00 or 3:00 am on July 10th 1982, he took Olisa for a ride in his car. She stated that he returned to the residence at 11:00 am. He did not have Olisa with him and she never saw her again. He loaded the child’s belongings into his car and drove the woman to work.
The ex-wife also said that she stayed with Isiah in Detroit overnight on July 22nd and she saw no signs of Olisa. She watched Williams board a bus the next day. Eventually, a court order granted Denise temporary custody of her daughter but she never saw Olisa again. Due to leniency by law enforcement, there was no in-depth investigation into Olisa’s abduction or her whereabouts after July 1982. 
In February of 1983, Williams was brought into court over a restraining order violation. In exchange for the dismissal of his case, Isiah offered information about Olisa’s fate. The judge refused and threatened Williams with extra jail time if he didn’t cooperate with the court. He eventually gave a statement about what happened to the child.
Williams stated that during the summer of 1982, he smoked marijuana and was drinking while driving with the child in Ann Arbor. He said he stopped above Island Park and fell asleep. Williams said he awoke to find Olisa gone and the car door open. He claimed that he didn’t report her apparent abduction at the time because he assumed Denise or a relative had taken her away from him.
Following the court appearance, Denise’s attorney contacted the police and reported Olisa as missing. Over the years, Isiah told Denise on numerous occasions that he had lost Olisa or that he killed the child himself and that she was “across the water.” He even once claimed she became sick and had died in a hospital. None of his claims were ever verified. He later told his other ex-wife that he made these statements simply to hurt Denise.
Authorities have spent years searching for Olisa in hopes of locating her. There were multiple tips about what happened to her after she was reported as a missing child. Several people were once interviewed after investigators received a tip that Williams had given Olisa to a couple who were described as being Caucasian in Adrian, Michigan. It’s unclear what exactly came of this tip.
Based on his statements that suggested he murdered Olisa, authorities searched the Huron River for her body as well as several other places. None of the searches ever located any trace of the child or of what happened to her. There was an attempt to charge Williams with abandonment in relation to his daughters supposed kidnapping in 1982 but the charges wouldn’t hold.
Williams later served a probation sentence for an assault case that left Denise severely injured. He even spent ten years in prison for assault with intent to commit great bodily harm. This charge came after he beat another ex-wife with an 8-foot board. In 1994, he got in a car accident that left him possibly amnesic and he claimed he couldn’t recall the events of Olisa’s disappearance from years earlier.
In October of 2021, Williams was arrested in Chicago on charges of killing Olisa in 1982. Authorities have not stated what evidence they have against him but did say they believe Williams killed the girl as a form of control over Denise. Isiah faces a charge of open murder. He is awaiting trial for the crime and is currently fighting extradition to Ann Arbor.
Homicide charges were once filed in 2015 but the case never moved forward due to lack of evidence. It’s unclear who the charges were against and the cause of death for Olisa was never listed in the documents.
Denise has spent years searching for her long lost daughter. She placed ads in the newspapers about her daughter and appeared on television to generate tips and leads regarding Olisa’s whereabouts. She continues to hope that her daughter might be alive and that Williams gave her to someone else to raise. She might not know she’s a missing child if this is a true scenario.
At the time of her disappearance, Olisa was described as a “bundle of joy” and easygoing. She rarely cried and loved toys that squeaked. Foul play is strongly suspected in her case. Some agencies might list her case as a non-family abduction and state she was taken by an unknown individual off a park bench. Her date of disappearance might be listed as the following: June 1st 1982, July 8th 1982, or February 8th 1983.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Ann Arbor Police Department 313-994-2850
Source Information
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
The Montgomery Advertiser 04/14/1984