Brianna Alexandra Maitland – Unsolved Vermont Missing Person Case

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 invited her to join them for dinner, but she declined, citing fatigue and an early start at her second job as a waitress in St. Albans, Vermont.

She left the inn to head to her home, where she lived with a friend in Sheldon, Vermont. 

She never reached home, and her friend, assuming she had returned to her parents’ and brother’s residence in East Franklin, Vermont, didn’t immediately raise concerns. On March 23, the friend contacted Brianna’s parents, discovered she wasn’t there, and reported her missing.

Brianna’s vehicle, a light green 1985 Oldsmobile four-door sedan, was found abandoned on March 20, parked partially inside an old barn off East Berkshire Road and Route 118, near Dutchburn Farm Road, roughly a mile from Montgomery.

Two uncashed paychecks were found on the front seat, along with her clothing, medication, driver’s license, makeup, and contact lenses. Some of her belongings were scattered on the ground near the car. A woman’s fleece jacket, not believed to be Brianna’s, was found in a nearby field.

The car had minor damage, appearing to have backed into the barn and created a hole in the wall. Investigators later suspected the crash might have been staged. A photo of the vehicle at the scene is included with this case summary.

Initially, police did not inform Brianna’s mother, the car’s registered owner, about the abandoned vehicle. Noticing the paychecks inside, they assumed Brianna was the primary driver and visited her workplace to locate her.

The connection between the abandoned car and her disappearance wasn’t made until her friend reported her missing three days later.

Some have speculated that Brianna’s case might be linked to the disappearance of Maura Murray, a Massachusetts nursing student who vanished on February 9, 2004, in Haverhill, New Hampshire, after a car accident.

Haverhill is approximately 90 miles from Montgomery. Both women were young, brunette, and left behind personal items in their vehicles after crashes. The FBI and local authorities explored possible connections but concluded the cases were likely unrelated, though the theory hasn’t been entirely dismissed.

About three weeks before her disappearance, Brianna was reportedly assaulted by a female acquaintance in front of witnesses for reasons that remain unclear. Despite her martial arts training, Brianna did not defend herself.

She sought medical treatment for facial cuts, two black eyes, and a concussion, and filed a criminal complaint against her attacker. The case was still open when she vanished, but the district attorney later dropped the charges, despite objections from Brianna’s parents.

There’s a possibility Brianna left voluntarily, as she had mentioned to friends her interest in taking a brief trip. Described as independent and restless, she was reportedly unhappy in her rural environment and had run away in the past.

On the day she disappeared, she passed her GED exam and planned to attend college part-time. Authorities suspect foul play, possibly drug-related, given the prevalence of drugs in the Montgomery area.

However, Brianna’s parents insist she was not heavily involved with drugs and believe foul play, unrelated to drugs, is the cause. Her parents separated after her disappearance, and her mother now resides in New York.

Some sources list Brianna’s disappearance as occurring in East Franklin or Sheldon, Vermont.