[Amy]

Brianna Maitland disappeared on March 19, 2004, after leaving her job as a dishwasher at the Black Lantern Inn in Montgomery, Vermont, United States. Maitland's car was discovered the following day backed into the side of an abandoned house about a mile away. After over ten years after her disappearance, her whereabouts remain unknown.

At the time of her disappearance, Brianna was living with her friend Jillian Stout at Jillian's father's home in Sheldon, Vermont, about 20 miles (32 km) west of Montgomery. At about 3:30 p.m. on Friday, March 19, Brianna left Jillian a note that she would return after work that evening and departed for the Black Lantern Inn in her 1985 Oldsmobile sedan. After a busy but uneventful evening at work, Brianna clocked out at 11:20 p.m. She told her co-workers she needed to get home to rest before working the next day at her second job in St. Albans. She was seen leaving the restaurant by one or more co-workers, by all appearances alone in her car.

Early in the afternoon of the next day, a Vermont State Police trooper was dispatched to an abandoned house on Route 118 just outside of Montgomery, about a mile from the Black Lantern Inn. Brianna's car was found backed into the side of the house. Known locally as "the old Dutchburn house", it had a hole punched into its side by the rear end of the car. A piece of plywood that had been covering a window of the house laid on top of the car's trunk. Two of Brianna's paychecks from the Black Lantern Inn were on the front seat of the car. The trooper dispatched to the site assumed the car was abandoned, possibly by a drunk driver. A towing company arrived and towed the vehicle to a local garage for the owner to eventually claim.



Due to a combination of circumstances, days would pass before anyone realized that Brianna was missing. Police failed to notify Kellie Maitland, Brianna's mother and the registered owner of the Oldsmobile, that the car had been recovered. Kellie would not learn this until the following Thursday, five days after the fact. Jillian Stout saw Brianna's note on Friday, March 19, spent the weekend away, and returned on Monday to find the note undisturbed. Assuming Brianna was staying elsewhere, she waited until Tuesday to call Kellie to ask about Brianna. Kellie began making phone calls to try to locate Brianna. Failing in her efforts, and still unaware that Brianna's car had been recovered, Kellie filed a missing persons report that day.

On Thursday morning, March 25, Kellie and her husband Bruce Maitland traveled to the Vermont State Police in St. Albans to deliver photos of Brianna. A trooper showed them a picture of the car embedded in the side of the Dutchburn house. They identified the car as Brianna's and quickly realized that Brianna was likely the victim of foul play.

It was later learned that Brianna's car was seen at the Dutchburn house at least three times during the night of March 19–20 and photographed during the morning of March 20. A man who drove by between 11:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. recalled that the car's headlights may have been on but he did not see anyone in or around the car. A second man who drove by between midnight and 12:30 a.m. recalled seeing a turn signal flashing on the car. At around 4:00 a.m., a former boyfriend of Brianna's drove past the car on his way home from a night of partying. He thought he recognized Brianna's car but did not see anyone in or around the vehicle. The next morning, motorists drove past and found the scene odd enough that they stopped and took photographs of the car. One of the photographers reported seeing some loose change, a water bottle, and a bracelet or necklace on the ground next to the car.



The months leading up to Brianna's disappearance had been turbulent ones for her. On her birthday the previous October, Brianna had, against her parents' wishes, moved out of her home. Kellie said that although there had been typical parent/teen conflicts, Brianna's move was not due to any particular stresses at home. Rather, she wanted more independence and to be closer to a group of friends who lived 15 miles away and attended a different high school. Brianna enrolled at her friends' high school, but her living arrangements were unstable. By the end of February she had dropped out of school, moved in with Jillian, and joined a high school equivalency program.

Three weeks prior to her disappearance, on the night of February 24, Brianna attended a party with friends. Brianna was attacked by a girl who had become angry and jealous. She suffered a broken nose and concussion. Brianna later filed charges against Keallie Lacross for the attack. The charges against Lacross were dropped three weeks after Brianna disappeared. Police said that Lacross was cleared in Brianna's disappearance. Lacross was arrested in Montgomery in 2012 and charged with home invasion and assault in an unrelated incident.



On the day Brianna disappeared, she and her mother were shopping together around mid-day. As they waited at a checkout counter, something outside the store caught Brianna's attention. She told Kellie she would be right back and left the store. Kellie completed her purchase, left the store, and met up with Brianna in the parking lot. As she drove Brianna to Jillian's home, Brianna seemed shaken and agitated. Kellie, not wanting to pry, did not ask what had happened, and dropped her off at Jillian's home. This was the last time she saw Brianna prior to her disappearance.

[Morbid75]

That poor mother probably feels terribly guilty for not asking her daughter what was wrong that day.

The police say there were items on the ground beside the car and they believe she got in to another car. They also believe she was a victim foul play (Source). Yeah, kind of figured that one guys

Her roommate said she owed the wrong person money and that person was in her car that night (Source). Sounds like a suspect to me. I guess the police are keeping a tight lid on their evidence.

This was on ID Disappeared. Did you watch that episode?

[Amy]

Originally Posted by morbid75 ↗

That poor mother probably feels terribly guilty for not asking her daughter what was wrong that day.

The police say there were items on the ground beside the car and they believe she got in to another car. They also believe she was a victim foul play (Source). Yeah, kind of figured that one guys

Her roommate said she owed the wrong person money and that person was in her car that night (Source). Sounds like a suspect to me. I guess the police are keeping a tight lid on their evidence.

This was on ID Disappeared. Did you watch that episode?

I did! My tv stays on that channel after the kids go to bed.

[Morbid75]

Originally Posted by Amy ↗

I did! My tv stays on that channel after the kids go to bed.

Did they say what the other evidence was? They reveal a lot more on that channel. I just watched a DW about Angela McAnulty That woman was a psychotic cunt.

[Amy]

Montgomery, Vermont - October 27, 2007

What began as a joy ride down this ATV path in Montgomery, prompted a police investigation and renewed search for Brianna Maitland.

"I was just riding my four wheeler on my neighbor's land here and I came across a pair of jeans in the woods," said Peter Godfrey.

A pair of women's jeans -- discarded just off the ATV trail. It's not far from where Maitland disappeared three and-a-half years ago. She was last seen leaving her job at the Black Lantern in Montgomery about four miles away.

Godfrey said his first thought was that they could be Maitland's jeans. He turned them over to Vermont State Police.

Saturday police began combing the woods near Gibou Road and the Hutchins Bridge. "In the event there are other items out there, we want to be sure we find them," said Vt. State Police Lt. Glenn Hall.

There have been countless searches for Maitland since she disappeared. But the area where the jeans were found had not been covered by search teams. Police have found evidence nearby over the years. The biggest piece of evidence is Maitland's car. It was rammed into an abandoned house and discovered after her disappearance. Police hope the jeans are another clue in this baffling case. "They definitely appear to have been there for sometime. We cannot determine how long. They were torn and appear to have been out in the open for an extended period of time," Lt. Hall.said.

When asked if Maitland was wearing jeans when she disappeared, Lt Hall responded: "We do not know that for certain. We tried to determine that, but no one can specifically say if she was wearing jeans that night." Hall added that the jeans would be in the size range worn by Maitland.

But police say the land where the jeans were found is owned by a seasonal resident. And this area often attracts partying teens.While this reporter was on the scene, he discovered an old sweatshirt, buried in leaves about a hundred yards from the entrance to the ATV trail. Police took it with them as their investigation continues.

Godfrey just hopes his discovery could lead to closure for the Maitland family. "I'm sure it's been tough on them, especially when you come up with these clues and sometimes that doesn't work out for them. I'd like to see it come to a close," Godfrey said.

The mystery jeans are being examined at the state lab and police will resume their search again on Monday.

[Amy]

Seems like evidence in the car may suggest someone was waiting in the car. Ill search and post in a few.

[kellyhound]

highly doubt she's still alive

[chris]

Great post Amy, you're getting the hang of the new section quick =)

[Amy]

Originally Posted by chris ↗

Great post Amy, you're getting the hang of the new section quick =)

Thanks, Chris!
I'm trying. :)

[Amy]

Affidavit: statement of Debbie Gorton

A recently unearthed Burlington Police Department report may point to a tragic and grisly end to the investigation into the disappearance of Brianna Maitland on a night nearly three years ago as she drove home from her job in Montgomery.

The notarized police affidavit recounts the statement of Debbie Gorton, of Colchester, the sister of Ellen Ducharme, who was convicted in the July, 2004 drug murder of Ligia Collins.

Gorton claims Maitland was killed by Ramon Ryans one week after her March 19, 2004, disappearance, and her body disposed of on a pig farm.

Gorton claimed that Ryans killed Maitland over drug money. She told the BPD officer that Maitland had given Ryans' a "couple thousand" dollars to buy crack cocaine, but eventually asked for the money back. Maitland, she claimed, was killed following the argument that ensued.

Gorton claimed that Ducharme told her of the murder and that Maitland's body was in Ducharme's basement at one point.

In the Burlington Police Department report, from a separate March, 2006 police investigation in Colchester, Gorton suggested that her sister and several others Moses Robar, Darrel Robar, Timothy Crews were also involved, particularly in the disposing of her body.

Unconfirmed