In 2012, Brittney Wood of Mobile, Alabama, was just nineteen years old but had already dealt with some of life’s most challenging obstacles.
At the ripe age of seventeen, she became a mother. And before that, Brittney’s childhood was riddled with Family trauma.
She had been abused by her maternal grandmother’s boyfriend, and eleven members of her family were later alleged to be a part of a trafficking ring.
The Wood family’s reputation subsequently plummeted, and Brittney watched as many of her family members ended up abusing substances as a result.
And according to Nicki Patterson, the Mobile County Assistant District Attorney, Brittney later succumbed to the same struggles.
Despite all of this turbulence, though, Brittney herself was known as a bright, loving, and free-spirited person.
She had a very special relationship with her mother, Chessie, and her father, Wally Hanke. And Brittney loved children, especially her very own baby girl.
But, on May 30, 2012, the then nineteen-year-old’s hopes for a more stable life with her daughter were tragically ripped away from her.
Facebook; pictured above is Brittney
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According to Chessie, Brittney left home between 7:00 and 7:30 p.m. that day and apparently said she was going to a friend’s house.
Chessie remembers seeing her walk out of the front door– carrying a tote bag– and walk down the street until she was out of sight. And tragically, that was the last time Chessie ever saw her daughter.
It was later revealed that even though Brittney was believed to have been going to her friend’s house, her uncle– Donnie Holland– actually picked her up near the end of Lenardo Drive.
Then, they traveled to a house in Robertsdale, about an hour away from Brittney’s home.
Throughout that evening, her phone records indicated that Brittney had been communicating with friends via texts and calls. However, at 11:30 p.m., her communications ceased; and at about 11:36 p.m., all incoming calls began going straight to Brittney’s voicemail.
Alarm bells did not start to go off until two days later, on June 1, though, when Donnie was found severely injured in his SUV. The SUV was parked in a secluded wooded area, and he had suffered a gunshot to the back of his head.
After being discovered by officials, Donnie was promptly air-lifted to a Pensacola, Florida, hospital but did not survive.
Authorities officially ruled his death a suicide, but Chessie and other family members believe that, given the location of the gunshot wound, he was murdered.
Moreover, the gun used is believed to have been Brittney’s– which was later found with her cell phone battery inside the SUV.
According to a friend of the teens, Brittney had gotten the gun “for protection” right before she disappeared.
Nonetheless, the news of Donnie’s death shocked the Wood family– who, on June 1, began frantically calling Brittney to let her know what had happened.
But, after no one could get ahold of her, Chessie reached out to the friend her daughter was supposedly visiting.
Facebook; pictured above Brittney smiles
The friend confirmed that she never saw Brittney on May 30, though, which prompted the Woods to file a missing person report on June 2.
Now, over the past ten years since the teen seemingly vanished, there have been numerous tips and searches launched.
Unfortunately, though, authorities have been unable to ascertain Brittney’s whereabouts.
Her case has remained open and investigated by the Mobile Police Department. Tragically, though, detectives have revealed that they do not believe Brittney is still alive.
Wood family members have also opened up about the trafficking ring’s implication in the teen’s disappearance.
Some feel that news of the ring overshadowed Brittney’s search efforts; meanwhile, others believe that the teen confronted her uncle– who murdered his niece in fear of being exposed.
“You’d be surprised how many of them [Wood family members] had prior allegations. Nothing happened. You have to wonder what wouldn’t have happened to these children if something had been done. And Brittney might still be alive,” said Teresa Heinz, the Baldwin County ADA.
Regardless of the speculations, though, Brittney’s family has remained hopeful that some solid and definitive answers will one day come to light.
They have created a Facebook page entitled World Wide Search For Brittney Wood in hopes of doing everything they can to raise awareness about her case.
“There is no handbook for this. You keep their memory alive, and you let them live on through you,” Chessie explained.
Brittney was five foot one and weighed one hundred and five pounds. She was last seen wearing blue denim shorts, a blue tank top, flip-flops, and a tote bag with extra clothing, makeup, and a red curling iron inside.
She had dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, a lip piercing, and a tattoo that said “Payton” on her left leg.
If you have any information regarding Brittney’s disappearance, you are encouraged to contact Mobile Police Department Sergeant Nick Crepeau at (251) 208-7211.
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