On March 19, 2004, 17-year-old Brianna Maitland went missing after leaving her job at the Black Lantern Inn in Montgomery, Vermont. The following day, her car was discovered backed into the side of an abandoned barn, a mile away from her workplace. Suspects range from drug gangs to serial killers, but the police still have no clues, and Brianna’s disappearance remains unsolved to date.
Brianna Maitland’s Early Life
Brianna Alexandria Maitland was born on October 8, 1986, to Bruce and Kellie Maitland, in East Franklin, Maine, a town not far from the Canadian border. Brianna led a relatively average life, with the exception of her brief dabbling in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu lessons.
However, by her sophomore year, her schedule had become a little busy so she transferred to a new high school. She also moved out of her parent’s home and started living with her friends.
Not able to cope with the increasing demands of her schoolwork and her unstable living conditions, she dropped out of high school.
She eventually moved in to live with her childhood friend, Jillian Stout, and enrolled in a GED program. She worked two jobs, a dishwasher at the Black Lantern Inn and a waitress at KJ’s Diner in St. Albans. She aspired to earn her GED and move on to college and lead a successful life.
Brianna Maitlands’s disappearance – Dateline
March 19, 2004 – Friday
Maitland took the test for her GED program in the morning. After completing the test, she and her mother, Kellie Maitland went shopping. Her father was away in New York at the time. Her mother reported that she was in good spirits, and talked about her future college plans.
After lunch, Maitland and her mother Kellie spent the afternoon running errands and doing their shopping. As they were standing in the checkout queue at the store, Kellie saw something outside that caught Brianna’s attention. Maitland told her mother that she would be back soon, and left the store.
Kellie completed her shopping and left the store to meet Brianna in the parking lot. Kellie noticed that her daughter seemed off, shaken, and panicked. She informed her mother that she had to go home and prepare for her shift at the Black Lantern Inn, a restaurant in Montgomery. Not wanting to be nosy, Kellie did not ask what had happened and dropped Brianna off at Jillian’s house around 3:30-4:00 pm.
At some point before going to work, Maitland left a note for Jillian saying she would return that evening. Jillian was away visiting family that weekend, so she did not see Brianna’s note.
Maitland then headed to the Black Lantern Inn in a 1985 Oldsmobile sedan belonging to her mother, Kellie.
After working her shift at the Black Lantern Inn, Maitland clocked out and left the building at 11:20 p.m. that night. She told her co-workers she needed to go home and get some rest before heading off to her second job in St. Albans the next day. By all accounts, Maitland was alone in her vehicle when she left the parking lot.
March 20 – Saturday
The Vermont State Police was notified about an abandoned car in the area of the Old Dutchburn Barn property in the town of Montgomery, Vermont. When the police showed up, they found a green 1985 Oldsmobile Delta that was sitting at an odd angle, crashed into the side of the barn. After colliding with the building in such a way that the rear bumper was lodged on the house’s foundation, the rear tires were raised and unable to function.
There were no indications that the vehicle veered off the road. In addition, the responding officer found no one in the car or inside the abandoned farmhouse. There were several items found inside the vehicle, including her medicine for migraine, driver’s license, makeup, contact lenses, and two uncashed paychecks from the Black Lantern Inn, addressed to Brianna Maitland.
Some of her belongings were strewn on the ground in front of the car. A woman’s fleece jacket was found in a field near Brianna’s car, but it apparently did not belong to her.
The police thought it was a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) accident and they towed the car to a nearby garage. Brianna’s parents were not informed about the car until five days after it was originally found.
March 21, 2004 – Sunday
Brianna was not scheduled to come to work on March 21, 2004, so her co-workers had no idea that she had gone missing.
March 23, 2004 – Tuesday
Jillian returns from her trip and finds the note that Maitland had left for her. When she couldn’t find Maitland in the residence, she thought that she had simply moved back in with her parents and brother in East Franklin.
Jillian called Brianna’s parents and learned that Maitland had not come home yet. Kellie got concerned and called Brianna’s friends and employers. Unfortunately, no one had seen or spoken to her since the night she had last worked.
March 25, 2004 – Thursday
On March 25, 2004, Bruce and Kellie reported their missing daughter to Vermont State Police. It was at this time that the Oldsmobile sedan was found to be associated with the case.
Initially, police did not suspect any foul play and thought she might have run away as there were no signs of a violent confrontation at the scene where the car had been found. However, the police still conducted a search, which involved officers and cadaver dogs scouring the area around the barn on foot but there was no sign of Brianna.
March 30, 2004 – Tuesday
Brianna’s car was investigated by the Vermont State Crime Lab. There were no signs of a struggle or signs that she had met with foul play, but the evidence of DNA was found. However, the authorities have refused to divulge any possible leads in the investigation.
Major Theories Behind Brianna Maitland’s Disappearance
Numerous theories came into existence since Maitland’s disappearance, here are some of the prominent ones.
Theory #1 – Keallie Lacross is behind Brianna Maitland’s disappearance
Barely three weeks before Brianna disappeared, she was reportedly attacked at a party by her former friend, Keallie Lacross. Strangely, she did not try to defend herself even though she was well-trained in martial arts.
Though the reasons for the assault are unclear, some witnesses claim the assault was an expression of jealousy due to Brianna’s interaction with a male friend at the party.
Maitland had to receive treatment for black eyes, facial cuts, a concussion, and a broken nose. She had filed a criminal complaint, which was still pending at the time of her disappearance. However, three weeks after her disappearance, the District Attorney dropped the complaint, despite her parents’ protests.
There were reports that Keallie was heard saying to her friends that Brianna is no more.
Theory #2 – Brianna Maitland was the victim of a serial killer
Considering New Hampshire, where Maura was last seen, is approximately 90 miles from Montgomery, some have speculated that Brianna’s case may be linked to Maura Murray’s disappearance, a Massachusetts nursing student who went missing on February 9, 2004, near Haverhill, New Hampshire after being involved in a car accident. She is yet to be found.
FBI officials met with local police to investigate possible connections between the two cases, which included the fact that both females went missing following a car accident, left their belongings behind, and were young, attractive, brown-haired women. Despite their similarities, however, the cases were subsequently determined to be unrelated.
According to certain reports, Maitland may have been a victim of serial killer Israel Keyes, who had several victims in Vermont. Authorities looked into whether Maitland might have been one of Keyes’ victims in 2012. His bank records, however, showed he was not in Vermont at the time Maitland disappeared.
Theory #3 – Brianna left on her own accord
The other possibility is that Brianna left of her own accord. According to her friends and those who knew her, she was talking about taking a short trip out of the area. This coupled with her history of running away has led some to think she left the town and tried to start a new life elsewhere. However, police haven’t been able to find any evidence that suggests this is true.
Theory #4 – Brianna was murdered
Maitland’s friends reported that she has tried multiple hard drugs, including cocaine. Some also claimed that she had connections with drug dealers in Montgomery.
A week after Maitland’s disappearance, the investigators received a tip that Maitland was being held hostage by Ramon L. Ryans and Nathanial Charles Jackson at a house in Berkshire.
When cops raided the house, Maitland was nowhere to be found. The cops did, however, find drugs and paraphernalia in the house.
In the following year, the authorities got another tip pointing to Nathanial Jackson and Ramon Ryans involvement in Brianna Maitland’s disappearance. The tipster claimed that Maitland had an argument with Ryans because he owed her money. Maitland reportedly lent Ryan money to buy cocaine, and he never paid her money back.
The tipster claimed Ryans and Jackson killed Maitland and hid her body in the basement of another home for one week. They then dismembered her with a table saw and disposed of her body at a pig farm. However, investigators have not been able to confirm the allegations against Ryans and Jackson.
Theory #5 – Brianna Maitland was abducted by a group
Brianna’s parents believe that a group was involved in her disappearance. They don’t believe one person could have overpowered her as she was trained in jiu-jitsu.
Is Brianna Maitland alive?
In 2006 a woman on security video taken at Caesar’s World Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, strongly resembled Brianna. This woman was playing poker with a man. Vermont State Police made the drive to check it out. However, they were unable to identify the woman. The Maitland family also watched this tape but Brianna’s mom doesn’t believe it was Brianna.
In 2007, a pair of jeans was discovered near the area where Brianna was last seen. Police examined the area once more but found nothing of significance. The jeans were comparable in size to Brianna’s, but it’s unclear if they belonged to her.
More than 18 years have passed since Brianna Maitland’s unsolved disappearance, still, there are several unanswered questions that remain unanswered. There were some initial suspects after her disappearance but most have either died or moved out of state so it’s unclear if any new leads will come up anytime soon.
The source of DNA in Brianna Maitland’s investigation identified
The Vermont State Police have identified the source of DNA found in the investigation of Brianna Maitland’s disappearance using advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy. In the fall of 2020, the Vermont State Police sent DNA evidence from the case to Othram Inc., a Texas-based forensic sequencing laboratory, which identified possible matches.
After months of follow-up investigation, the police were able to obtain DNA samples from possible donors and confirm that DNA from one of the individuals matched the DNA found on an item collected from the vicinity of Brianna’s vehicle. The Vermont State Police emphasized that this does not mean they have identified a suspect.
Brianna Maitland is officially considered endangered and missing.
If you have any lead or tip regarding the disappearance of Brianna Maitland, please contact the Vermont State Police. Tips may be submitted anonymously by texting the keyword VTIPS to 274637 (CRIMES) or submitted online.
Source – Vermont State Police
OK listen she is not dead what you guys should do is a worldwide search specifically in areas that she loved to go to or things that she like to do
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I doubt she took off to start a new life on her own accord if there were checks left behind that hadn’t been cashed. Someone starting a new life would need money to do so.