(From the Parkersburg, West Virginia Police Department)On January 4th, 2026, the Williamstown Police Department responded to the West Virginia Welcome Center regarding the location of a missing 16-year-old female. Williamstown officers then located the juvenile female inside the cab of a tractor-trailer being operated by William Lee Santos, 38, of Webb City, Missouri.
The initial investigation revealed that Mr. Santos had met the juvenile female on a social media platform and had begun a sexual relationship with her, which had been ongoing for several months. Mr. Santos would allegedly arrange a meeting with the juvenile female while traveling through the area, park his tractor-trailer at the Welcome Center, unload a vehicle he was hauling, and then travel to pick up the juvenile female.
Williamstown Officers seized a cell phone belonging to Mr. Santos, the juvenile was returned to her parents, and Mr. Santos was released pending further investigation. The Williamstown Police Department then contacted Parkersburg Police Detective D.W. Miller, who is attached to the FBI and West Virginia State Police Internet Crimes Against Children, ICAC Task Force.
As the investigation continued, the juvenile female was interviewed at the North Star Child Advocacy Center, and Detective Miller obtained a search warrant for the cell phone seized from Mr. Santos. This revealed that Mr. Santos would arrive in Williamstown, unload a vehicle from his trailer, pick up the juvenile female and travel to Marietta, Ohio where he would engage in sexual activities with the juvenile.
Also, Detective Miller located numerous videos on the cellular device where Mr. Santos had allegedly recorded the sexual activities between him and the juvenile female, which he stored on his phone.
Detective Miller obtained a warrant on Mr. Santos for eleven (11) counts of Distribution and Exhibiting Sexually Explicit Child Pornography and one (1) count of Soliciting a Minor.
Detectives then requested the assistance of the United States Marshals Service in locating Mr. Santos.
On February 5th, 2026, Mr. Santos was arrested by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and placed in the Murray County, Oklahoma County Jail, where Mr. Santos later waived extradition back to West Virginia.
On February 17th, 2026, Mr. Santos was extradited to West Virginia by Parkersburg Police Detectives and was arraigned in Wood County Magistrate Court, where bond was set at $450,000. Mr. Santos failed to post bond and was placed in the North Central Regional Jail.
Detective Miller is also working with the Marietta Police Department, where additional charges may be filed.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law.
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