VT BRIANNA MAITLAND: Missing from Montgomery, VT - 19 March 2004 - Age 17

Brianna Alexandria Maitland
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Brianna, circa 2004; Composite image of how Brianna might appear with short, blonde hair; Age-progression to age 24 (circa 2010); Brianna's car

Missing Since: 03/19/2004
Missing From: Montgomery, Vermont
Classification: Endangered Missing
Sex: Female
Race: White
Date of Birth: 10/08/1986 (33)
Age: 17 years old
Height and Weight: 5'3 - 5'5, 105 - 118 pounds

Medical Conditions
Brianna was taking medication for migraine headaches at the time of her disappearance. Her medication was left behind.

Distinguishing Characteristics
Caucasian female. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Brianna has a faint scar extending from her left eyebrow to her forehead. Her left nostril is pierced; she wore a small ring or stud in it at the time of her disappearance. She wears contact lenses, but they were left behind when she vanished. Brianna's nicknames are Bri and B.

Details of Disappearance
Brianna was last seen at her dishwashing job at the Black Lantern Inn in Montgomery, Vermont, between 11:20 p.m. and midnight on March 19, 2004. Her coworkers asked her to have dinner with them, but she declined because she was tired and had to get up early to go her second job as a waitress in St. Albans, Vermont. She left work and was supposed to go home to where she lived with a friend in Sheldon, Vermont.

She never arrived and her friend assumed she had moved back in with her parents and brother in East Franklin, Vermont. The friend called Brianna's parents on March 23 and found out Brianna wasn't there, and reported her missing.

Brianna's vehicle, a pale green four-door 1985 Oldsmobile sedan, was found abandoned on March 20, off East Berkshire Road and Route 118, across Dutchburn Farm Road, about a mile outside of Montgomery. It was parked partially inside an abandoned barn.

Two of Brianna's uncashed paychecks were on the front seat of the car. She also left behind all her clothing, her medicine, driver's license, her makeup, and her contact lenses. 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 Oldsmobile had sustained minor damage; it had apparently backed into the building and punctured a hole in the wall. Investigators later came to believe the accident may have been staged. A photograph of the vehicle as it was found is posted with this case summary.

Police did not initially report the abandoned car to Brianna's mother, who is the registered owner. They noticed Brianna's paychecks inside the vehicle and guessed that she was the primary driver, so they went to her place of work to try to find her and tell her about the car. The abandoned Oldsmobile and Brianna's disappearance were not connected until her disappearance was reported three days later.

There has been some speculation that Brianna's disappearance is related to the disappearance of Maura Murray, a nursing student from Massachusetts who vanished February 9, 2004 in Haverhill, New Hampshire after getting into a car accident. She has not been found. Haverhill is only about 90 miles from Montgomery.

The FBI met with local authorities to discuss possible links between the cases. Both Murray and Brianna are attractive brown-haired young women, and both disappeared after car accidents in which their cars were left behind with personal items inside.

However, the FBI and local law enforcement concluded that, despite the apparent similarities, Murray and Brianna's cases were probably not connected to each other. The theory is not being entirely ruled out, but investigators believe it is an unlikely one.

About three weeks before Brianna disappeared, she was reportedly attacked by a female acquaintance in front of several witnesses. The reasons for the assault are unclear. Brianna did not try to defend herself, although she has had several years of martial arts training.

After the attack she went to the hospital and received treatment for facial cuts, two black eyes and a concussion. She filed a criminal complaint against her alleged attacker. The case was still pending when Brianna disappeared. After she vanished, the district attorney dropped the complaint, against the objections of Brianna's parents.

There is a possibility that Brianna left of her own accord; she mentioned to friends her plans for possibly making a short trip out of the area. She is described as an independent, restless young woman who was unhappy in her rural surroundings, and she has run away before.

Brianna passed her GED examination on the day of her disappearance; she planned to attend college part-time. Authorities believe she was a victim of foul play and her disappearance is possibly drug-related; drugs are very common in the Montgomery area.

Brianna's parents also think she came to harm, but they maintain their daughter was not seriously involved with drugs and drugs were not a factor in her disappearance. Her parents separated after her disappearance and her mother now lives in New York.

Some agencies report that Brianna vanished from East Franklin or Sheldon, Vermont.

Investigating Agency

Vermont State Police 802-524-5993

Source Information
Vermont State Police
Rino Kids Online
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
The Boston Globe
The Caledonian-Record
The Champlain Channel
Bring Bri Home
The St. Albans Messenger
The Burlington Free Press
NamUs
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Child Seek Network
WorldNetDaily
WCAX 3
NBC News



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Police: DNA IDed in search for girl missing since 2004​

Vermont State Police investigators used advanced DNA sequencing techniques to identify a sample found as part of their investigation into the 2004 disappearance of a 17-year-old girl in the town of Montgomery, police said.

But investigators say identifying the source of the DNA found near the abandoned car of Brianna Maitland does not mean they have identified a suspect in her disappearance.

“We are continuing our active efforts to investigate every lead associated with this case, and we constantly look for new technological advances to aid in our investigation," lead investigator Detective Sgt. Angela Baker said in a statement.


The DNA collected from near Brianna's car was added to the FBI's DNA database and compared to samples from 11 people of interest in the case, but no match was found.

In the fall of 2020, the state police sent samples to a Texas-based forensic sequencing laboratory. After months of investigation, police were able to “locate, interview, and obtain DNA samples from possible donors."

Those DNA samples were sent to the Vermont Forensic Laboratory, which confirmed that DNA from one of the individuals matched the DNA found on the ground near Brianna's vehicle.
 

FBI offers $40K reward in case of missing woman Brianna Maitland​

On the 20th anniversary of her disappearance, Vermont State Police and the FBI in Albany have announced resources in the search to find Brianna Maitland.

Maitland was last seen on March 19, 2004. She was 17 years old at the time, and now, two decades later, her family, friends, and police have still not stopped looking for her.

The FBI announced an up to $40k reward for information leading to the recovery of Maitland. This is the first time that police have offered a reward in this missing persons case.

"We will not rest until we help our partners at the Vermont State Police bring her home," said special agent Craig Tremaroli with FBI Albany.

The FBI's reward money is in addition to a $5K reward that her father, Bruce Maitland, has already offered.


Two years ago, police made a DNA match with an item found near Brianna's car, which was found backed into an abandoned building.

The lab compared DNA from 11 people, narrowing the match down to just one. However, police said there wasn't enough evidence to consider that person as a suspect.

"When I was a detective sergeant, I worked on investigating Brianna's disappearance full time for two years," said Col. Matt Birmingham, Director of VSP. "As we remain just as dedicated to the case now as we were then, this is not a cold case. It's an unsolved case."

Trudeau said VSP currently receives tips about Brianna almost every week, but they are hoping this reward will lead to new information.

"A lot of it is just repeat information that we know has been vetted out numerous, numerous times," said Trudeau. "I anticipate that the information we're putting out today will probably be similar. We're hopeful we get brand new information that that we can tackle."

Plus, Trudeau expressed sympathy for Bruce Maitland and all of Brianna's loved ones.

"I'm sure it's frustrating for him," said Trudeau. "It's been 20 years, and we haven't given him any answers."

To report a tip to the FBI call: 1-800-CALLFBI
To report a tip to VSP call: 1-844-84-VTIPS
 

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