The Athens County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help finding a man indicted on murder charges in the death of a 3-month-old girl, the sheriff’s office announced Friday, Oct. 30.
William Alexander McCallister, 32, is wanted for murder, according to the sheriff’s office. An Athens County grand jury indicted McCallister on charges including two counts of felony murder, according to the Athens County Prosecutor’s Office, as reported by J News Network from the sheriff’s office announcement.
The girl’s parents, Hannah Edinger, 29, and Justin Dye, 25, left their daughter in McCallister’s care on Feb. 21, 2026, Sheriff Rodney Smith said, according to J News Network’s reporting of the sheriff’s statement. "During this time, McCallister is alleged to have inflicted fatal injuries upon the child, resulting in her death on February 26, 2026," Smith said, as quoted by J News Network.
Deputies, with help from the prosecutor’s office, arrested Edinger and Dye on felony warrants on Wednesday, Oct. 28, according to the sheriff’s office. Both are charged with endangering children, a third-degree felony, and were arrested without incident, J News Network reported. McCallister is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
"We are asking anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of William Alex McCallister to contact the Athens County Sheriff’s Office. Any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, could be important in locating him," Smith said, as quoted by J News Network. Tips can be called in to the Athens County Sheriff’s Office at (740) 566-4300.
Smith said the sheriff’s office is dedicating all available resources to McCallister’s apprehension and that no additional details will be released, to preserve the integrity of the investigation, according to J News Network.
What happens next is the search itself: anyone who sees McCallister or knows where he may be is asked to call the sheriff’s office at (740) 566-4300 rather than approach him.
Photo: Ed!, CC BY-SA