Reward offered in case of Vt. teen who vanished 20 years ago
On the night of March 19, 2004, Brianna Maitland finished up her shift as a dishwasher at the Black Lantern Inn in Montgomery, Vt., a small town near the Canadian border. She hasn’t been heard from since.
On the 20th anniversary of her disappearance, Vermont State Police and the FBI held a news conference Tuesday to announce a $40,000 reward for information that can help investigators solve the enduring mystery.
“We will not rest until we help our partners at the Vermont State Police bring her home,” said Craig Tremaroli, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Albany field office, which covers the state of Vermont. “Someone out there may have information that can help solve this case. It’s been too long, and it’s time to come forward. No tip is too small.”
Maitland was 17 when she went missing. She was last seen leaving the restaurant and driving away in her green 1985 Oldsmobile 88, authorities said.
She was supposed to drive to her friend’s house, where she was living at the time. But the next day, her car was found backed into the side of an abandoned building known as the “Old Dutchburn Barn,” about a mile from the restaurant.
In an interview with “Dateline NBC” in 2007, Maitland’s parents said they didn’t know she was missing until they got a phone call from her roommate, who was looking for her.
“A few minutes into the conversation, you know, we think something’s pretty seriously wrong, but I’m not into a fullfledged panic yet,” her father, Bruce Maitland, said in the interview. “We think, ‘Well, OK, Brianna, she just went to another friend’s or something that she had and decided to stay there for a couple of days.’”
But when police showed them a picture of their daughter’s car, they feared the worst.
“Oh, my stomach rolled,” her mother, Kellie Maitland, said in the interview. “I started to shake. I saw evil in the picture.”
“Now you’re terrified to know that — something really bad has happened,” Bruce said.
State Police initially said they believed Maitland might have run away. But as time passed, that no longer appeared to be the case.
“It was later determined she could have been a victim of foul play,” State Police said in 2020. “Investigators have pursued multiple leads throughout the years, but none have led to Brianna.”
A week after she disappeared, State Police used dogs to search the area where her car was left and found “an item of interest” on the ground. It was unclear how long it had been there or if it was connected to her disappearance, but investigators were able to obtain a DNA profile from it, State Police said.
In 2020, investigators sent DNA evidence to Othram Inc., a laboratory in Texas that used genealogical research to develop investigative leads.
“After months of follow-up investigation, police were able to locate, interview, and obtain DNA samples from possible donors,” State Police said at the time. “These DNA samples were sent to the Vermont Forensic Laboratory for comparison testing. The lab confirmed that DNA from one of the individuals matched the DNA on the item found on the ground near Brianna’s vehicle.”
But police were not able to identify a suspect. On Tuesday, Matthew T. Birmingham, director of the Vermont State Police, said he hopes the $40,000 reward will generate new leads.
“This is not a cold case, but it is an unsolved one — and we’re hoping the announcement of a significant financial reward for information will help change that,” he said.
Anyone with information can call 1-800-CALLFBI (1-800-2255324) or the Vermont State Police tip line at 1-844-848-8477.