Brandi Ellen Wells-Missing 10 Years

Brandi Wells

ON August 3, 2006, 23 year-old Brandi Ellen Wells set out to go to a pawn shop to get some money. She had currently resided in Brownsboro, Texas with a roommate. Instead, she ended up going to Graham Central Station, which is a nigh club located in Longview, Texas. Brownsboro is an hour away from Longview. Brandi was not familiar with the area the club was located in, and had to call several times to get directions. She was confirmed to have arrived at the night club 10:30 PM. By the time she got to the night club, her car was almost out of gas, and she asked others at the night club for assistance, but it is unclear if anyone offered to help her. She was confirmed to have left the club shortly after midnight by herself. Brandi was not intoxicated when she left the night club. She was supposed to meet up with some friends after she went to Graham Central Station, but never showed up.

Brandi never came home, and her black four-door Pontiac Grand Prix 2000 (Texas license plate J50ZTD) was missing along with her. Five days after she vanished, her car was found parked westbound on I-20 at Texas Highway 30, just outside of Longview. There was no sign of Brandi or that a struggle had happened within her car, but her purse was located. Her personal belongings were all located within her car, including her wallet. However two things were out of place within the car. First, her seat was pushed way back, indicating someone much taller than Brandi had been driving her car. Brandi was very short, at 4'11". Also, a plastic gas tank was located in the trunk of her car, which her loved ones say did not belong to her. Brandi has not been seen or heard from since.

A re-vamped Graham Central Station, Brandi's last confirmed whereabouts the night she vanished in August of 2006. 

At the time of her disappearance, Brandi weighed 120-130 pounds at 4'11" for height. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, and is known to blink frequently. Her hair was slightly below her shoulders when she went missing. Her ears are pierced and she had a French-tip manicure done at the time of her disappearance. She broke her thumb on her left hand when she was 12 years old. She was last seen wearing a floral print, brown and cream-colored tube top with a V-cut over the hip. She was wearing rust-colored gaucho pants, black strapless high heeled sandals with a floral applique. She goes by the nick names Blinky and Boo.

Brandi had dreams of being a Kindergarten teacher and was freshly enrolled in college. 

After Brandi vanished, their was activity on her cell phone, which had went missing with her. Three people had found the phone and used it. They were given a polygraph test, and one of the individuals failed it. However, he was interviewed multiple times by investigators, and has been ruled out as a possible suspect in Brandi's disappearance.
Three years and a half years after Brandi's disappearance, her mother received a mysterious phone call from a man named Tim. He claimed Brandi was alive and well, living in Kansas City, Missouri. The phone was disconnected before her mother could get more information. She made a public plead for the man to call her back, but has heard nothing back to this day. It has never been confirmed as a hoax.

Facial reconstructions of Lavendar Doe, found murdered in Kilgore, Texas. Her identity remains a mystery. 

On October 6, 2006, an unknown woman, between 17-25 years old, was found laying face down in a pile of burning brush. Investigators found money in the clothing they were able to retrieve. They found a gasoline tank at the scene of the crime along with semen. They believe she was a rape victim prior to her death. They named her Lavendar Doe, due to her purple sweater that was found. Brandi's mother believed Lavendar Doe could be her daughter. However, a DNA test done in 2007 confirmed Lavendar Doe was not Brandi. Lavendar Doe remains unidentified, and Brandi is still missing.

A picture of the inside of Graham Central Station.

First, what made Brandi change courses, from the pawnshop to the nightclub? Had Brandi intended to stop at the pawn shop at all, since she was dressed for a night out instead? I find it odd that she would go to a night club alone. Most people go with someone, or at least intend to meet up with someone at the club. Was that Brandi's intentions? Police released a surveillance video of Brandi from the night she went missing at the club. As she was leaving, a man in a white cowboy hat leaves right after. Is it possible this man left with Brandi to "assist her" with getting gas for her car? From what was found within her car, I believe Brandi found someone to assist her with her car. I believe somehow they traveled in separate cars, perhaps with the perpetrator leading her in a direction where he knew she would run out of gas before they found a station. Then, he offered her a ride in his vehicle once he saw her car broke down.

Brandi's case has been reopened, and is an active investigation.

The other scenario, would be the perpetrator offered to drive Brandi's car for her to the gas station. It could explain the seat pushed back and the gas tank in the trunk. However, how would they then transport Brandi from her car? Despite no signs of a struggle, it is hard for me to believe any woman would willingly leave their purse behind, in an abandoned car on the side of a highway. No matter which scenario happened, I have always believed Brandi was taken against her well. Her family has mentioned they fear she is a human trafficking victim, but no leads had turned up to support that theory.
Several wooded areas were searched by many volunteers within Longview, Texas. The family was looking for anything that would link to Brandi-jewelry, pieces of clothing, hair-anything that would give them an answer to her fate. Her car was reopened a few years ago, and is still active. Her family still searches for her, and her younger sister keeps an update Facebook page to keep her sister's disappearance on the forefront.

Brandi's story was featured on Disappeared. 

If you have any information about the disappearance of Brandi Ellen Wells, please contact Longview Police Department at 903-237-1110.

Sources:
Charley Project
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/w/wells_brandi.html
Jane Doe Kilgore, TX
http://www.12newsnow.com/story/24697881/brandi-wells-mother-reacts-to-jane-doe-renderings
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavender_Doe
Disappeared
http://www.investigationdiscovery.com/tv-shows/disappeared/videos/disappeared-sneak-peeks-brandi-wells/
NAMUS
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/5294/5
Search for Brandi
http://www.kltv.com/story/6887253/fourth-search-for-brandi-wells
Brandi's Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/BrandiWellsStillMissing/