Green Mountain Mystery: The Unexplained Disappearance of Brianna Maitland

On the night of March 19, 2004, Brianna Maitland clocked out of her shift at work. The following morning, her car was found abandoned. She has not been seen since

Depiction of Brianna Maitland

Background

On October 8th, 1986, Bruce and Kellie Maitland welcomed their second child, Brianna. The Maitlands lived in a rural area of Vermont, not far from the border between the U.S. and Canada.

Brianna and her older brother grew up on the family farm. As a child, Brianna was very active, and she took jiu-jitsu classes. Brianna originally attended Missisquoi Valley Union High School, but during her sophomore year, she transferred to Enosburg Falls High School.

Brianna was an independent teen, and on her seventeenth birthday, she told her parents that she wanted to move away from home. This did not alarm her mother, as she knew Brianna was independent and her friend group attended a different high school.

Brianna’s parents agreed to let her move out, and she enrolled in the same school her friends were attending. She stayed with a number of friends but never stayed in one home for too long.

Midway through her second semester of senior year, Brianna dropped out of school and went to live with her long-time friend, Jillian Stoud, in nearby Sheldon. Brianna began a GED program to earn her high school diploma.

Photo of Brianna Maitland (Vermont State Police)

Events Just Prior to Disappearance

On Friday, March 19th, 2004, Brianna had taken her final exam to earn her GED. Following the test, her mother took her out for a celebratory lunch. While enjoying their lunch, Kellie recounts her daughter talking about her college plans and seeming quite happy.

Following the meal, the pair went shopping together. While in line at one of the stores they visited, Brianna seemed to be distracted by something outside the store, and she told her mother she would be right back. When Kellie left the store, she found her daughter in the parking lot, and Brianna seemed to be rattled and upset about something.

Brianna told her mother she needed to get home to prepare for her shift at the Black Lantern Inn. Kellie was concerned, but she wanted to respect her daughter’s privacy, so she drove Brianna home. Kellie dropped Brianna off sometime between 3:30 and 4:00 p.m.

This was the last time she would ever see her daughter.

Brianna’s roommate, Jillian, was not home when she returned, but Brianna left a note for her stating that she would be back after work later that night. Brianna drove to work in her 1985 Oldsmobile sedan, which had previously been her mother’s.

Brianna arrived at the Black Lantern Inn and completed her shift, clocking out around 11:20 p.m. She told her co-workers she needed to return home to rest, as she would be working her second job the following day in nearby St. Albans.

By all accounts, Brianna left the restaurant alone.

Photo of the Black Lantern Inn (Wikicommons)

Disappearance of Brianna Maitland

The following afternoon, Vermont State Police were dispatched to investigate an abandoned home along Route 118, approximately a mile from the Black Lantern Inn. Passerbys had reported a car had backed into the side of the home, and an officer was sent to investigate.