Brittney Wood
Brittney Wood was born in 1992 in Mobile, Alabama to her parents, Chessie Wood and Wally Hanke. Brittney was Chessie’s only daughter. Because of this, Brittney was super close with her mom to the point where they were like best friends. Besides her, Brittney had two brothers - one older and one younger.
Although her parents were divorced, her dad continued to be supportive of Brittney. Even his wife, Brittney’s stepmom, would help care for her sometimes.
We don’t know much else about Brittney’s childhood, but we do know that Brittney was a very loving and caring person and absolutely adored children. She was just the kind of girl who was super good with kids and had a motherly instinct. At the young age of 17, Brittney actually had a child of her own- a little girl named Payton who was her entire world. It was very evident that Brittney loved her daughter very much.
Although her mother was super nurturing, the source material does point to the fact that she didn’t grow up in the healthiest environment. During her childhood, Brittney was molested by her maternal grandmother’s boyfriend. The boyfriend, thankfully, was sentenced to life in prison for what he had done.
Her mother states in hindsight, that she thinks her daughter would have been "safer in a crack house" compared to the environment she grew up in and having to live through that.
The Disappearance
Brittney would kind of bounce around, living with other family members at different times. On the evening of May 30, 2012, Brittney had been staying at her mother’s house when she began to pack up a few things. Her mother asked her where she was going and she said that she was on her way to visit her friend Courtney.
In the Peacock docuseries, Monster in the Shadows, her mother, Chessie says that Britney seemed aggravated or frustrated when she left. When Chessie asked what was going on, Brittney responded by telling her mom that she "wouldn't understand" and that she would be back later.
Chessie recalls Brittney leaving between 7 and 7:30 pm & had a tote bag with her. She can remember standing in her front yard and watching her daughter walk across the yard then down her street, Leonardo Dr. and then taking a right turn onto Tilman's corner.
This is the last time Chessie would ever see her daughter again. Brittney has never been seen or heard from since then.
2 Days Later
On June 1st, just two days after Brittney left, her uncle Donald Holland (also her mother’s brother) was found clinging to life in a secluded area of the woods inside of his SUV. He was in the driver’s seat with a gunshot wound near the back of his head. He was airlifted to a hospital in Pensacola, FL, but despite this, he didn't survive his injuries.
According to the family, when they were at the hospital with Donald, Wendy Holland, his wife, kept asking Donny where Brittney is. And every time her name was said, Donny’s brain activity would spike.
Interestingly enough, Holland was found thirty minutes before he was scheduled to meet with an investigator regarding an ongoing sex-abuse investigation.
After investigating, it looked to the police as though this was a suicide, considering how he was found and what he was going through with this investigation. But there was speculation about the location of the gunshot wound.
Since the bullet was shot and entered through the back of his head behind his ear, some think that it’s highly unlikely he committed suicide. But we’ll get into that later. What’s really weird about his death is that when his wife, Wendy Holland found him, she didn’t call 911 right away. First, she deleted 4 text messages from his phone.
After getting news about her brother Donald, Chessie began trying to reach Brittney to notify her of the loss. These attempts were unsuccessful.
Calls after calls were going to voicemail. Her family began calling the friend, Courtney, that she was supposed to have been visiting two days prior. Courtney informed them that Brittney had not visited her at all that day… Investigators believe that after she left her mother’s home, Brittney was picked up by her uncle who took her to his residence at the time. This was located about an hour away from her mother’s home. It is an area referred to as Styx River which is in close proximity to the Alabama/Florida line.
After hearing this, Brittney’s family filed a missing persons report on June 2. At this point Brittney had been missing for three days and had not been heard from anyone during that time.
Donald Holland
Donald Holland’s death was ruled a suicide, but many including Chessie, believe that he was murdered, given the location of the gunshot wound. You see, the entry wound was in the back of his head almost behind the top part of his right ear. Many people who take a look at this case, agree… In order to shoot yourself in that location you would have to be positioned pretty awkwardly.
From our research we found, and it was also explained very well by a firearms expert in the Peacock docuseries, typically people who are attempting suicide with a firearm will not only use a higher caliber, but also point it at a place of the body that would ensure death. In addition to this, people will typically choose to sit or be positioned comfortably.
From this evidence, you can probably agree that, Donald Holland’s death really didn’t line up with this typical behavior found with other suicides with a gun. This led his family and many people in the public to believe that he did not commit suicide, but was murdered.
The biggest shock to investigators at the scene is, it is believed that Britney’s handgun was the one that killed Donald. Her gun along with her phone battery was found in the same vehicle that he was found in.
It’s kind of impossible to deny a link between Donald Holland’s death and Brittney’s disappearance, whatever that link may be.
That’s the big question though - what happened and where is Brittney?
The Search
Two separate law enforcement agencies, the Baldwin County Sheriff's office and the Mobile Police Department quickly teamed up.
The Baldwin County Sheriff’s office started an investigation at Donald’s house in Styx River. This search began on June 6th, seven days after Brittney went missing. What they found inside confirmed for them that the missing young woman was indeed there at one point over the last few days. They found her tote bag with her belongings inside. But this was the only trace of Brittney. Investigators were unsuccessful in finding any other physical evidence in the house.
Eight days later, the Baldwin County Sheriff's office conducted the first full-blown search of the surrounding area of Styx River. This included the yard and the surrounding area.
The former Baldwin County investigator, Eric Winberg, who was the only person from law enforcement to participate in the docuseries believes that Brittney was killed or died in that Styx River house.
When visiting the house after the search, Chessie and other family members of Brittney took note of a freshly poured concrete slab that was somewhat of an addition to a pre-existing slab. It was newer, was done in a sloppy way and had disturbed dirt and soil near it. Chessie believes that her daughter’s grave is underneath that freshly poured slab.
Phone Records Evidence
While not a lot of evidence was gathered at the Styx River home, phone records helped paint a clearer picture for police.
On the day of her disappearance, Brittney was texting and making calls throughout the day and into the evening like normal. But around 11:30 pm, communications seemed to have stopped. At exactly 11:36 pm, Brittney’s incoming calls began going to voicemail.
Investigators were also able to find out that her phone pinged twice in the Styx River area around 12:07 am that same night.
It wasn’t until June 15th, a day after the full-blow search of Styx River, that authorities got some new information that would lead them elsewhere.
Nine days after Brittney went missing, investigators received updated phone records which indicated that Brittney’s phone pinged for the last time in Grand Bay, Alabama at 1:47 am that night she went missing. The location of this last ping stood out to investigators as well as her family because this was much closer to where her mom’s house was located. Suggesting that she or at least her phone battery was brought back over from the Styx River area, about an hour away, to be disposed of.
Along with this information, the phone record shows multiple calls to and from Bradley, her cousin. His phone number was also the very last number that Brittney’s phone had an outgoing text to. This outgoing message was at 1:47 am and was that last ping in Grand Bay. When questioned, Bradley claimed that he didn't remember what they talked about and cannot recall.
Soon after he was questioned about this, he got a new phone and a new phone number.
Not only was she texting and calling her cousin Bradley, but she was also in contact with her daughter’s father, named Andy. According to Chessie, Brittney and Andy’s relationship was "the most negative relationship 2 kids could possibly have". Other family members also agree that the two had a volatile relationship.
This is unfortunately all of the evidence that we have available now.
Sex Traffic Ring
Remember when we mentioned that Donald Holland was due to meet up with an investigator on the day of his death? Well, he was under suspicion for a number of offenses at the time. Not only was Donald Holland most likely getting charged with sexual abuse of a child, but the investigation into him uncovered an absolutely heinous truth about Brittney’s family.
On February 26th, 2012, about three months before Brittney’s disappearance, one of Brittney’s uncles, Scott Wood, reported sexual abuse of his niece to police. He came forward with text messages that proved that Donald Holland was sexually abusing his own daughter.
On March 5th, 2012, Eric Winberg, which if you don’t remember was also an investigator assigned to Britty Woods missing persons case, was assigned to the sex abuse case.
During this investigation, it was found that some members of Brittney’s family were conducting a full-blown sex traffic ring which typically targeted their own children, nieces and nephews.
It was eventually found that 11 of Brittney’s family members were arrested in connection with this ring and were considered to have participated in various crimes against their children. Four of those still remain in prison and police believe that there were over 30 child victims that came from this organization.
It has been publicly stated that the sex crimes and her disappearance are connected.
You can find a whole lot of information about this, but we won’t be going into too much detail because honestly, this has overpowered Brittney’s case if anything. I understand if they are connected then we need a thorough investigation, but it seems like after they were convicted, everyone moved on.
The Search Continues
In the 11 years since her disappearance, there have been multiple tips sent in and searches conducted, unfortunately, with little result.
In 2014, the Mobile Police Department processed evidence from a car that was found and thought to have been related to Brittney’s case, but nothing came from the search.
Three years after Bittney was last seen, Chessie got suggested ground penetrating radar in order to search the slab she was suspicious of. And five years later, law enforcement agreed to allow a search of the concrete. Unfortunately, this yielded nothing.
More recently, in 2020, a tip was placed based on an age-progression image of her that led to an investigation into a residence located in Grand Bay. Once searching the property, cadaver dogs picked up a scent in the area which led them to begin a dig at the site. Again, nothing was uncovered in this search.
Even after these 11 years, her phone has never been found. Brittney is suspected to be dead, but she is still considered missing. Her case remains unsolved and open and is currently managed by the Mobile Police Department, which is still dedicated to following up on tips and information regarding her disappearance.
Chessie to this day is very vocal about her search efforts for Brittney and luckily has a large number of family members and friends who are dedicated to raising awareness and assisting in search efforts.
Allegations
When it comes to any allegations regarding Brittney’s disappearance, there is one main theory held by both investigators and her family. This is that Wendy & Donnie Holland teamed up to kill Brittney to prevent her from coming forth with information and proof of the family’s sex ring.
It was found that just a few days before her disappearance, Brittney was massaging a fellow victim saying that she was ready to expose the ring publicly.
Because of this evidence, many of her family members believe that Brittney had planned to confront Holland that day and that he killed her to avoid any allegations spreading, he then killed himself to avoid any charges.
The former Baldwin County investigator, Eric Winberg, believes that if anyone knows about Brittney’s disappearance, it's Wendy Holland.
Final Thoughts
We touched on this slightly, but Brittney’s family feels as though the sex trafficking ring completely took precedence and was made a priority over finding her.
In addition to this, her close friends and family firmly believe that Brittney would not have just walked away from her life, and especially her daughter.
We are firm believers that, two people can keep a secret if one is dead. There are so many people connected to these cases, it is only so long before the guilt catches up to someone or somebody who knows something and confides in a friend.
We honestly feel like Wendy Holland knows more than she is letting on. Number one, why are you deleting text messages off of Donny’s phone? Number two, she was involved with the ring that Brittney was a victim of. I don’t think it’s too far-fetched to think that Wendy or Wendy and Donny killed Brittney to keep her quiet about any allegations.
Also, just because Wendy is already in prison doesn’t mean she can’t face charges for Brittney’s case if she was involved. The family deserves the answers and Britney deserves that justice.
Information Regarding Brittney Wood's Disappearance
If you have any information about Brittney’s disappearance please visit missingbrittney.com to submit a confidential tip or call the Mobile Police Department at 251-208-7211.
If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or a crisis, call the suicide and crisis lifeline at 988. It’s never too late to get help. To find programs, toolkits, fact sheets, and other resources to help you take effective action, you can visit the links in the drop-down below.
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