VA VA - Nanci Britner, 45, Winchester, 28 June 2023

[TedMac]

Search continues for Winchester woman missing since June

WINCHESTER — Suspected carjacker Jason Diego Abarca is not the only missing person being sought by the Winchester Police Department. Officials are also trying to locate Nanci Britner, a Winchester

www.winchesterstar.com

WINCHESTER — Suspected carjacker Jason Diego Abarca is not the only missing person being sought by the Winchester Police Department. Officials are also trying to locate Nanci Britner, a Winchester resident who has not been seen since the night of June 28.

“We have followed up on over a hundred leads and tips and information, and talked to so many people in reference to Nanci,” Winchester Police Chief Amanda Behan said on Wednesday. “Nothing has panned out.”

Britner, 45, was last seen at the Relax Inn at 2645 Valley Ave. in Winchester, where she had been visiting her sister, Betsy Chavez. The sister has said Britner was calling around for a ride home around 11:30 p.m. when Chavez fell asleep. By morning, Britner was gone but it is not known if anyone picked her up.

Behan said the hunt for Britner has been exhaustive and widespread.

“We’ve searched multiple homeless camps and multiple properties using cadaver dogs, and followed up on sightings from people who called in and said they saw her in Iowa, Texas, West Virginia, Maryland, multiple counties in Virginia,” Behan said.

When asked if police believe that Britner is alive or dead, Behan said: “I don’t want to draw any conclusions in this situation. It’s very difficult.”

A major hindrance to the search is that Britner lived somewhat off the grid. Behan said the missing woman shunned many modern conveniences, including social media, credit cards and a cellphone account, so there has been no paper or digital trail to follow.

Britner did have an inexpensive cellphone with pre-purchased minutes — commonly referred to as a burner phone — and she had it with her when last seen by her sister on June 28.


Behan said police were able to track the cellphone to an undisclosed location in Frederick County where it was powered off.

“Our staff, along with Frederick County [Sheriff’s Office personnel], went and searched the area just to see if we could find any evidence there,” Behan said, but the effort proved fruitless.

Britner has now been missing for more than six months. Behan said the last time a person disappeared from Winchester for such an extended period of time was on Sept. 6, 1988, when 73-year-old Lily Mae Huff vanished from her residence at Welcome Haven Nursing Home on Henry Avenue.

Huff, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, was never found and no criminal charges were ever filed in connection with her disappearance. Her son, Curtis Huff, ran advertisements in May 1992 offering $15,000 for information about his missing mom, but he died a few years later without ever learning of her fate.

Today, 35 years after Lily Mae Huff vanished, her remains are still out there somewhere.

Behan said police never stopped looking for Huff as long as there was hope she could be alive, and they’ll continue to do the same with Britner.

“It’s going to remain active and we’ll follow up on as many leads that come in,” she said. “We just hope that at some point, someone will come forward with solid information that we can follow up on.”

If you know something that could help authorities in their search for Nanci Britner, contact the Winchester-Frederick-Clarke Crime Solvers at 540-665-TIPS (8477) or via its P3 app, which is available as a free download for Apple and Android smartphones. Tipsters can remain anonymous, and information that leads to Britner’s location could result in a cash reward."

 

[elframo]

Paula Leblonde is also missing from the Winchester area.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Nanci Britner visited one of her four children and three of her 13 grandchildren the morning of June 28, as she usually did.

“When she was walking out, she was like, ‘I love you guys. Be back later,’” said her daughter Kelsi Britner.

She then went to Relax Inn, a residential motel, to visit her sister who lived there.

Britner’s sister told police she last saw her about 11 p.m. that night as Britner was calling around to find a ride home. Her sister fell asleep and assumed Britner got a lift.

The next morning, Britner and her two cellphones were gone. The last cellphone ping came from Relax Inn.

Britner’s daughter worried right away.

“My beliefs are that something definitely bad happened at that hotel that night,” she said.

Winchester police began working the case in early July, also turning to the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office for assistance and alerting other departments to keep a look out.

“We’ve spoken with many of her family members, conducted massive interviews with each one of them to make sure that we are doing our part to make sure she’s found,” Winchester police Sgt. Chaz Niang said.

‘Come back to me one day': Search continues for grandmother missing since June

The daughter of a woman missing since June believes someone in the Winchester, Virginia, community must have key information to help find her. Nanci Britner visited one of her four children and three of her 13 grandchildren the morning of June 28, as she usually did. “When she was walking out...

www.nbcwashington.com

 

[Unsolved]

From the article above (BBM) "Kelsi Britner believes someone, maybe even a family member, is holding back information".

Hmm, wonder who she suspects?

 

[Dargon335]

Britner’s sister told police she last saw her about 11 p.m. that night as Britner was calling around to find a ride home. Her sister fell asleep and assumed Britner got a lift.

I would expect LE has Nanci's phone information and has interviewed the person(s) she called that night.

 

[Dargon335]

I'm wondering if it's possible that Nanci couldn't find a ride home that night and started walking towards her residence? IMO that seems doubtful since the last reported ping of her phone was at the Relax Inn.

If she did get a ride from a friend, or even a stranger, then it seems likely that her phone would have been active at least for a short time after leaving the hotel, assuming of course that her phone was charged. If her phone battery ran out of charge then that could account for the lack of pings after the hotel. MOO.

 

[Eli9]

I would expect LE has Nanci's phone information and has interviewed the person(s) she called that night.

Could the lack of information regarding her call log be because her phone was a pre-paid phone and not one with a cellular provider?
I'm impressed that they were able to ping the phone in Frederik County but sadly no evidence was found there.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1762650913452232859

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Kelsi said one of the hardest parts is talking to her children about the situation.

“I don’t really give them a straight answer,” Kelsi said. “Honestly, I just tell them that we hope to find her soon. They know that she’s missing but they don’t really understand exactly what that means at the moment.”

Even with the help of the community, there is still no evidence to determine where Nanci could be. Kelsi said with no leads, the family has only one thing to help.

“All there is is hope right now,” Kelsi said. “There’s no saying that we will find her, but we got to hold on to hope because there’s nothing else.”

Now, one year after the incident, Kelsi said she and her brothers are coming together for the first time since their mother disappeared to lift each other up.

“I feel like it’s gonna help us cope a little bit better not being alone, you know, because all four of us we feel exactly the same way,” Kelsi said. “That’s our mom, so I just wanted to have them all with me today.”

‘It’s gonna be up to us to find her’: One year later, Winchester woman remains missing

It has been one year since the disappearance of Nanci Britner in Winchester with still no evidence of her whereabouts.

www.whsv.com

 

[Caring1]

 

[borndem]

Hoping that LE or the family could think of something that has been overlooked or a new clue.
This is a tuff one.

 

[elframo]

Charley Project​

Nanci Leigh Britner – The Charley Project

• Missing Since06/29/2023
• Missing FromWinchester, Virginia
• ClassificationEndangered Missing
• SexFemale
• RaceWhite
• Age45 years old
• Height and Weight5'4, 110 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry DescriptionA black sleeveless tank top, denim shorts, black and gold sandals, and multiple rings on her left hand. Carrying a purple tagalong suitcase.
• Medical ConditionsBritner is a recovering alcoholic who was clean and sober at the time of her disappearance; she'd been sober for over a year.
• Distinguishing CharacteristicsCaucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Britner has tattoos on her neck, chest, feet, leg and both arms, including but not limited to leaves on her neck behind her ear, a large cross on her upper arm at the shoulder, a flower with vines on that forearm, a fish skeleton and a flowered band on the opposite upper arm, a butterfly, hearts and the dates "3-16-54" and "7-8-98" on her chest, and a Playboy bunny tattoo on her calf. Photos of some of her tattoos are posted with this case summary. Her ears are pierced. Britner may use the alias names Nanci Leigh Castillo, Linda R. Garcia, Linda Hoggatt and/or Nanci L. Hoggat.

Details of Disappearance​

Britner was last seen at the Relax Inn in the 2600 block of Valley Avenue in Winchester, Virginia at around midnight on June 29, 2023. She was visiting her sister, who lived there in an efficiency apartment. Her sister fell asleep at about 11:30 p.m. on June 28 and when she woke up, Britner was gone and the door was locked, suggesting she left voluntarily and locked the door behind her.
Just after midnight, Britner spoke on the phone with her fiance, who was at work, and she texted her niece asking for a ride back to her own home in the 400 block of North Kent Street. She could have stayed the night at Relax Inn, but she wanted to get home because she was anticipating a visit the next day from her adult son and his children, whom she hadn't seen in nearly a year.
Britner didn't answer her niece's reply and her niece assumed she'd gotten a ride with someone else. She has never been heard from again, and both of her prepaid cellular phones have been turned off since her disappearance. Authorities were able to track one of the phones to an undisclosed Frederick County, Virginia location where it was turned off.
Her family describe her as a "homebody" who was close to her family, loved her thirteen grandchildren and had no history of leaving without warning. Her sister was undergoing treatments for cancer at the time of her disappearance, and Britner was helping take care of her. The morning before her disappearance she had delivered a box of food to her sister.
Britner's disappearance remains unsolved. Her family believes she got a ride that night with someone she knew.

Investigating Agency​

• Winchester Police Department 540-662-4131

Source Information​

• NamUs
• Virginia State Police
• The Winchester Star
• Nanci Britner's Facebook Page
• WHSV 3
• The AWARE Foundation
• NBC 4 Washington

Updated 1 time since October 12, 2004. Last updated July 23, 2024; casefile added.

 

[alexwood]

From the article above (BBM) "Kelsi Britner believes someone, maybe even a family member, is holding back information".

Hmm, wonder who she suspects?

The relative she visited at the Relax Inn in Winchester, VA?

 

[TedMac]

Skeletal remains found in Frederick County creek

The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office is working to identify skeletal remains that were found in a creek off Getty Lane east of Winchester near the Gateway Shopping Center.

www.winchesterstar.com

This is a possibility:

"
The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office is working to identify skeletal remains that were found in a creek off Getty Lane east of Winchester near the Gateway Shopping Center.

The Sheriff’s Office initially located a skull in a creek bed on July 25 and found additional bones further downstream Wednesday.

Sheriff Lenny Millholland told The Winchester Star that deputies spent the weeks after the skull’s discovery following the flow of the creek in hopes of finding more remains.


“The skull was found in the creek bed, along with one other bone,” he said. “What we did was we followed where the flow of water would go, and it went down into the big culverts, and as we went from culvert to culvert, we found them.”

The remains are being taken to the Virginia Department of Forensic Science’s Medical Examiner Office in Manassas for additional attempts to identify them, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release.


Millholland believes that the remains could belong to a homeless person who has been missing for over a year, but that his office is waiting for more information from the medical examiner.

“We truly do not know,” he said when asked how long the bones may have been in the creek. “We’re only just speculating that we possibly think we know who it is, but we’re not sure yet and we’re relying on the medical examiner’s office.”

Units from the Search and Rescue Tracking Institute, Virginia Search and Rescue Dog Association, Virginia Department of Emergency Management and Winchester Emergency Management assisted the Sheriff’s Office in locating the bones..."