Brianna Maitland disappeared on March 19, 2004, after leaving her shift at an inn in Vermont. She had been couch-surfing with friends for about a year instead of staying at her family’s homestead. Authorities found her vehicle crashed into an abandoned farmhouse a mile away from the inn, but she was never found. Her father, Bruce Maitland, has been coping with her disappearance and trying to move forward with life.
The FBI announced a $40,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of Brianna Maitland’s body, emphasizing that the reward does not require an arrest or conviction. They believe that someone out there has information that can help solve the case, and they are determined to bring her home. Vermont State Police remain the lead agency on the case, and over the years, Bruce Maitland’s relationship with the authorities has evolved as they continue to investigate his daughter’s disappearance.
When Brianna’s car was found, her belongings were still inside, indicating signs of a struggle. Her father believes that she may have been stopped and then realized she was in a bad situation, trying to turn her car around before something happened to her. Despite rumors and leads over the years, there has been no significant breakthrough in the case, leaving many questions about what happened to the 17-year-old two decades ago.
Before her disappearance, Brianna had completed her GED and had been working as a dishwasher at the inn for only two weekends. She had transferred high schools in the fall of 2004 to be with friends and had been living with different friends and boyfriends. Her parents started a Facebook page to keep her case in the public eye, hoping that new information may come to light that could lead to finding her. Bruce Maitland described his daughter as fiercely independent, and they continued to see her regularly despite disapproving of her lifestyle.
Bruce Maitland has founded an organization called Private Investigations for the Missing to help families who cannot afford private investigators find their loved ones. He emphasizes that it’s time for someone with information to come forward after all these years, as he still misses his daughter every day. Authorities are determined to continue investigating the case and bring closure to the Maitland family after all these years of uncertainty surrounding Brianna’s disappearance.
