Jody Lynn Brant-Missing 19 Years

Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

On the evening of May 27, 1994, 17 year-old Jody Lynn Brant left her home in Lawrence, Georgia, where she resided with her family. She had planned to drive to Pontiac, MI by herself, which is 800 miles away from her current Lawrence home, where she had formerly lived before moving to Georgia, to see her cousin. She traveled alone, inside of her black two door 1987 Ford Escort, with a Georgia license plate (FRY137). Shortly afterwards, her family had received a phone call from Jody. She stated she was lost, currently in Erie, Ohio. Her parents gave her further directions, and never heard from her again. Around 6:00 PM on May 28, 1994, , she called a friend stating she had arrived safely in Pontiac, MI. Jody Brant never arrived at her cousin's house, and was never heard from again.
On May 29, 1994, around 7:00 AM, a passerby discovered Jody's car, abandoned and burned, along a deserted road in the tiny community of Ottawa Lake, MI ( near I-25, 2 miles from Toledo, OH). This location was also 100 miles South of Pontiac, Michigan, which is where Jody intended to go to see her cousin. It was also where Jody told her friend she was the previous night before during the suspicious phone call. After further investigation, authorities discovered two things: 1) The fire to Jody's car was set intentionally in the passenger side. 2) There was no trace of Jody, or what may have happened to her.

At the time Jody vanished, she had a part time fast food job, from which she had saved money up from to purchase her car. She was content with her family, and had no reason or desire to runaway. At the time she vanished she was 5'3" and weighed 122 pounds. She has blonde hair and green/blue eyes. She also has the initials JB tattooed on her left hand between her thumb and fore finger. She also has a tattoo of a cross with radiating lines on the inside of her left ankle.

Of course, the run away theory was investigated for Jody. She was a teenager, and left of her own accord, alone, to drive a few states away. I believe the discovery of her charred car helped dispose of the theory that Jody is just another "run away teen". Another theory is that Jody had car trouble, or had gotten more lost, and inquired for help, which she may have received from the wrong person(s). Her family believes this theory, and they also believe this person(s) was someone Jody did not know. In 1994, remains found in a landfill in Lucas County, Ohio was thought to be Jody, but it turned out not to be a match.

Jody's disappearance is featured in this CrimeStoppers book by Cal Millar, who says Jody's case on one of the coldest of the cold. It is for sale on Amazon.

I have many questions in Jody's case myself (besides the obvious question of what happened to her, of course). I had wondered why Jody's parents would let a 16 year-old drive three states away by herself, especially leaving during the night. With further research, I had found out that Jody resided with her mother, while her father resided in Michigan (whom she had not much contact with). It seems Jody had left that evening without telling anyone. I have also wondered what compelled her to leave, all by herself? Surely, she must have been scared to go on such a trip alone, not sure of where to go. Has she made impulsive trips like this before? I have wondered if she had other reasons besides seeing her cousin, such as maybe seeing a different family member or friend? Did she really arrive in Pontiac, MI, or did someone else make a false call for her, or perhaps force her to call so no one would look for her? That phone call screams suspicion, and with her car being found 100 miles South of Pontiac, Michigan, I believe it was staged to buy her abductor(s) time to cover their tracks.

My theory is that if she did make it by Pontiac, MI, she may have been forced to make a call to her friend (funny she called her friend to say she was okay instead of her mother). I believe if she was in that area at all, the person who took her is one she knew. If she did not make it to the area, (which is what I think because I believe she got more lost) inquired for directions, and was picked up by a predator, who probably figured a lost, teen girl would be a good target. One way or another, I firmly believe she was abducted, than forced inside her abductor's car after her car was set on fire. If her captor was unknown, she could be any where, but if it is someone she personally knew, I believe she would be around her hometown area of Pontiac, MI (this is based on other cases across the US). It seems unlikely she would be near where her car was found.
From 1990-1998, there was a slew of unsolved murders & disappearances involving young women, with many cases involving an abandon car, similar to how Jody's was found abandoned. Here is a short synopsis for all the cases that may be connected by one man: murderer Christopher Below, who authorities believe had victims in Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky and other southeastern states:

Shaylene Farrell was last seen running errands at a grocery store. Her car was later found abandoned in the parking lot.

*Shaylene Marie Farrell from Piqua, Ohio, vanished on August 8, 1998, was last seen running an errand at a nearby Pick-N-Save grocery store where she worked at. Her car was found abandoned in the parking lot later on. She was never seen again.

Erica Fraysure was last seen out with friends, and her car was found abandoned in a hayfield.

*Erica Fraysure was last seen in Brookesville, KY in October 21, 1997 at Video-N-Tan hanging out with some friends between 9:00 PM-10:00 PM.  Her car was found abandoned and unlocked off Fronk Roads between bales of hay in a hayfield.The car was found abandoned one miles from where she was last seen at Video-N-Tan. All her personal items were found undisturbed in her car. She was never seen again.

Regina Cox was last seen at an army recruiter's office. Her car was found abandoned in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

*Regina Cox vanished from Somerset, KY in August 23,  1997, she was last seen leaving an Army Recruiting Office at 11:30 AM, and her car was found abandoned in a Wal-Mart parking lot at 5:30 AM the next day. Her car was locked, and all her personal items were still inside the car.

Heather Teague was abducted while sunbathing at Newburgh Beach.

*In August 26, 1995, Spottsville, KY, a man witnessed Heather Danyelle Teague get abducted by gun point from her spot at the beach by the Ohio River, and dragged by her hair off Newburgh Beach into the woods. Parts of her bathing suit was discovered on the beach. She was never seen again. There are various suspects in her disappearance, and a description of her abductor can be found on her Charley Project Page link below Sources.

Paige Renkoski was last seen pulled over off I-96 talking to two African American males. Her car was abandoned in the same spot it was pulled over at, and Paige was nowhere to be found.

*On May 24, 1990, in Fowlerville, Michigan, Paige Renkoski, 30 years-old and engaged to be married, was last seen talking to two unidentified African American males around 3:30 PM, near an I-96 exit to Fowlerville. She apparently stopped westbound  on the shoulder of I-96. They were standing near a maroon or burgundy van, and Paige was seen by a witness throwing her hands up in the air and gesturing as one man put his hand on her shoulder. When 7:30 PM rolled around, a witness became concerned when they saw Paige's car was still in the same spot. Her car was abandoned with all her personal items still in the car. Her case is not one connected to Christopher Below, but it is a suspicious one that may be connected to Jody's or others in the area that are not connected to Christopher Below either.

Alana Gwinner was abducted from Gilmore Bowling Lanes. Her body was found in Ohio River in Kentucky, and her car is still missing.

 *In December 1997, Alana "Laney" Gwinner, vanished from the Gilmore Bowling Lanes in Fairfield, Ohio. Thirty-one days later, her body surfaced in the Ohio River off of Warsaw, Kentucky-60 miles away from where she vanished. Her murder remains unsolved, and her vehicle is still missing to this day.

 Until there is evidence that points to foul play for Jody, I do believe she could still be out there. Maybe forced into hiding like Jaycee Dugard, or human trafficking. It would be nice to believe that she is out there, living a happy life, but there is not enough evidence to point us in any direction. The person who took her could have been anyone-a trucker, a drifter, a local. All these cases noted above share similarities to Jody's disappearance, especially Paige Renkoski, both who vanished off an interstate in Ohio/Michigan areas. Some of these cases may be connected to each other, or they could be connected to Jody's. Also, if you look on the Murderpedia list for criminals in Ohio, you will find many serial killers, some of them truckers, who could fit the profile of Jody's abductor.

These three sketches are of the unknown men last seen with Paige Renkoski standing by their vehicles on I-96. They are the last people Paige was last seen with, and it is not believed that she knew them.

Cal Millar, a reporter from Toronto Star in Canada, wrote the nonfiction book called Find My Killer, which helped solve many homicides, honed in on missing person cases across North America. Out of all the missing persons cases, one of the many that he took a special interest in was Jody Brant's abduction. He included her in his 448-page book called I'm Missing-Please Find Me. This book has helped Jody's case tremendously, and I am thinking about picking it up so it can assist me in adding more details in Jody's case. Since her case is so cold and inactive, it has been difficult to find information about her disappearance to do her case entry, but it's obvious something terrible happened to this teen girl, and her story deserves to be out there so she can be found.

Jody Brant age progression photo. Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

If you have seen Jody at all, or know anything about her disappearance, please contact the following (Jody has people who love her whom are still searching to this day), you can remains anonymous:

Michigan State Police

734-242-3500

or

1-800-THE-LOST

Sources:
www.charleyproject.org
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/news/2011/nov/28/canadian-author-intrigued-by-gwinnett-missing/
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/f/farrell_shaylene.html
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/f/fraysure_erica.html
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/t/teague_heather.html
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/cox_regina.html
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/r/renkoski_paige.html