MI MI - Jody Brant, 16, Erie, 27 May 1994

[sls314]

Does anyone know if Jody's family is still looking for her?

Every time I happen to pass by the area where her car was found, it makes me sad to think that she was never found and there doesn't appear to be a lot of publicity about her disappearance.

 

[moondust]

Bump. It's been almost 20 years since Jody went missing. Hopefully someone will write an article to commemorate the anniversary. I haven't been able to forget this case since I first read about it, and I'm sad that there seems to be very little publicity.

 

[georgiagirl]

Her brother Joe contacted me back in 2008 after coming across a MySpace page I had set up for her. I wish I could remember everything he told me but I got the impression she was in a rebellious stage and using drugs during this time.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 2

 

[OkieGranny]

Featured on Livingston County's cold case Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=676661499086190&id=646936802058660

 

[scriptgirl]

Why does the dad have nothing to do with his OWN children? Was Jody close to her mom or her family? Could she have really been going to see a boy in Michigan? There are so many cases of women being taken from cars-Patricia Jean Schneider is another case, so is Christine Eastin-and the cars later burned. Someone theorized that Christopher J Below could be involved. I doubt it.

 

[nerosleuth]

This sounds to me like she either got lost again or was having car trouble and exited the interstate, then someone took advantage of the situation.

Anyway, it's unfortunate all the way around. She shouldn't have been traveling alone and we shouldn't live in a world where there are creeps who prey on women in these situations.

It is a shame so much time has past since she disappeared. She may have even been abducted from a rest stop asking for directions. She would have been an easy target for a predator. Being a teenager lost and so far from home.

Has anyone considered the possibility that she was calling from Erie, Michigan? Erie, Michigan is a small community just across the Ohio-Michigan border.

Also, Erie, MI and Ottawa Lake, MI (where her car was found) are only 12 miles apart, in the southern part of Monroe County, MI. Its literally just across the Ohio border - it’s very possible that she assumed she was still in Ohio, but was in Erie, MI instead.

It makes so much more sense that she was in Erie, MI, which is 12 miles from where her car was found.

I don't even think that there IS an "Erie, Ohio." There is an Erie County, Ohio, but that's located near Sandusky.

A check with Google Maps revealed that the distance from Lawrenceville, Georgia to Pontiac, Michigan is 770 miles and a 12 hour drive between those cities.

And here is another interesting fact. It was on a Friday during the Memorial Day Holiday weekend when Jody Lynn Brant left her home in Lawrenceville, Georgia on May 27, 1994.

I agree that she never should have been traveling alone on a long distance road trip, especially during a holiday weekend. Traffic would have been extremely heavy on Interstate 75 from Georgia to Michigan during the Memorial Day Holiday weekend in May 1994.

I live in Ohio and as far as I know, there isn’t a city or town in Ohio called Erie.

Now there is an Erie County, Ohio and it is located halfway between Toledo and Cleveland along Lake Erie. Sandusky is the county seat of Erie County, Ohio.

According to Google Maps, its 55 miles and a 1 hour 7 minutes drive on Ohio State Route 2 between Toledo and Sandusky and its 63 miles and a 1 hour 6 minutes drive on the Ohio Turnpike between Toledo and Sandusky.

I don’t think Jody Lynn Brant drove to Erie County, Ohio. Had she went there, the Cedar Point amusement park and beach on Lake Erie in Sandusky is the only place that I can think of where an out of town teenager would go to in Erie County, Ohio.

According to my road atlas, Erie, Michigan is two miles from the Michigan-Ohio border and is located between I-75 and U.S. Route 24 in Monroe County, Michigan.

And according to my road atlas, there are two Michigan welcome centers and rest areas near the Michigan-Ohio border in Monroe County, Michigan.

The Monroe welcome center is on I-75 northbound at the 10 mile marker and the Dundee welcome center is on U.S. Route 23 northbound at the 7 mile marker. Both rest areas are located several miles away from Erie, Michigan.

My best guess is that Jody accidentally went northbound on the U.S. Route 23 freeway instead of going northbound on I-75 at the split. Jody may have got off the U.S. Route 23 freeway somewhere and got herself lost on the streets of Toledo.

Jody may have taken a local back road in Toledo that took her into Michigan. It’s possible that Jody may have been somewhere near U.S. Route 24 in Erie, Michigan and thought that she was still in Ohio when she contacted her family asking for directions.

I also happen to notice on my road atlas that it is a straight shot in Michigan on U.S. Route 24 going from Erie to Pontiac.

Several things come to mind concerning the long car trip that Jody took by herself during that Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Now since it was a 12 hour drive from Lawrenceville, Georgia to Pontiac, Michigan, I believe the trip would have taken Jody longer than 12 hours to get there. She definitely would have to stop somewhere along the journey to get gas for the car.

Jody may have stopped at a rest area somewhere to use the restroom or to take a break from driving. Since it was a holiday weekend, the rest areas along I-75 would have been crowded with holiday travelers during the daytime but it probably wasn’t crowded during the night time.

It’s also possible that Jody could have stopped at a gas station convenience store to use the restroom.

And it’s also possible that Jody could have stopped somewhere to get something to eat.

It would be helpful to know the exact time that Jody left home from Lawrenceville, Georgia to start the journey to Pontiac, Michigan.

It also would be helpful to know the exact time that Jody contacted her family asking for directions after she got lost and if she had a cell phone with her during her journey.

 

[Ozoner]

A check with Google Maps revealed that the distance from Lawrenceville, Georgia to Pontiac, Michigan is 770 miles and a 12 hour drive between those cities.

And here is another interesting fact. It was on a Friday during the Memorial Day Holiday weekend when Jody Lynn Brant left her home in Lawrenceville, Georgia on May 27, 1994.

I agree that she never should have been traveling alone on a long distance road trip, especially during a holiday weekend. Traffic would have been extremely heavy on Interstate 75 from Georgia to Michigan during the Memorial Day Holiday weekend in May 1994.

I live in Ohio and as far as I know, there isn’t a city or town in Ohio called Erie.

Now there is an Erie County, Ohio and it is located halfway between Toledo and Cleveland along Lake Erie. Sandusky is the county seat of Erie County, Ohio.

According to Google Maps, its 55 miles and a 1 hour 7 minutes drive on Ohio State Route 2 between Toledo and Sandusky and its 63 miles and a 1 hour 6 minutes drive on the Ohio Turnpike between Toledo and Sandusky.

I don’t think Jody Lynn Brant drove to Erie County, Ohio. Had she went there, the Cedar Point amusement park and beach on Lake Erie in Sandusky is the only place that I can think of where an out of town teenager would go to in Erie County, Ohio.

According to my road atlas, Erie, Michigan is two miles from the Michigan-Ohio border and is located between I-75 and U.S. Route 24 in Monroe County, Michigan.

And according to my road atlas, there are two Michigan welcome centers and rest areas near the Michigan-Ohio border in Monroe County, Michigan.

The Monroe welcome center is on I-75 northbound at the 10 mile marker and the Dundee welcome center is on U.S. Route 23 northbound at the 7 mile marker. Both rest areas are located several miles away from Erie, Michigan.

My best guess is that Jody accidentally went northbound on the U.S. Route 23 freeway instead of going northbound on I-75 at the split. Jody may have got off the U.S. Route 23 freeway somewhere and got herself lost on the streets of Toledo.

Jody may have taken a local back road in Toledo that took her into Michigan. It’s possible that Jody may have been somewhere near U.S. Route 24 in Erie, Michigan and thought that she was still in Ohio when she contacted her family asking for directions.

I also happen to notice on my road atlas that it is a straight shot in Michigan on U.S. Route 24 going from Erie to Pontiac.

Several things come to mind concerning the long car trip that Jody took by herself during that Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Now since it was a 12 hour drive from Lawrenceville, Georgia to Pontiac, Michigan, I believe the trip would have taken Jody longer than 12 hours to get there. She definitely would have to stop somewhere along the journey to get gas for the car.

Jody may have stopped at a rest area somewhere to use the restroom or to take a break from driving. Since it was a holiday weekend, the rest areas along I-75 would have been crowded with holiday travelers during the daytime but it probably wasn’t crowded during the night time.

It’s also possible that Jody could have stopped at a gas station convenience store to use the restroom.

And it’s also possible that Jody could have stopped somewhere to get something to eat.

It would be helpful to know the exact time that Jody left home from Lawrenceville, Georgia to start the journey to Pontiac, Michigan.

It also would be helpful to know the exact time that Jody contacted her family asking for directions after she got lost and if she had a cell phone with her during her journey.

At some point in time during the 90s there was major work on I-75 near Toledo, wasn't there? So that there was a major detour on I-75 north for a year or two? I actually think it was later than '94—like maybe '96 or '97, maybe even '98—but I thought it would be worth mentioning in case the work had already started by '94.

 

[chaddylex]

I was just in Toledo 2 weeks ago for my daughter's softball tournament. We stayed at the Ramada which is close to I475. The security guard at the hotel told me that Toledo is known to be one of the largest cities for Human trafficking. He said they take a lot of the girls up to Detroit and Canada to pimp them out. I don't know what Toledo was like 21 years ago, but Jody was young, and if she got lost like they said she did and made the call and said she was ok, maybe she was forced to. Here is her Doe Network link http://doenetwork.org/cases/1097dfga.html

 

[nerosleuth]

At some point in time during the 90s there was major work on I-75 near Toledo, wasn't there? So that there was a major detour on I-75 north for a year or two? I actually think it was later than '94—like maybe '96 or '97, maybe even '98—but I thought it would be worth mentioning in case the work had already started by '94.

I was just in Toledo 2 weeks ago for my daughter's softball tournament. We stayed at the Ramada which is close to I475. The security guard at the hotel told me that Toledo is known to be one of the largest cities for Human trafficking. He said they take a lot of the girls up to Detroit and Canada to pimp them out. I don't know what Toledo was like 21 years ago, but Jody was young, and if she got lost like they said she did and made the call and said she was ok, maybe she was forced to. Here is her Doe Network link

http://doenetwork.org/cases/1097dfga.html

I don’t live in the Toledo area in Ohio, but I recall there were plenty of road constructions on the Toledo freeways during the late 90’s. I also recall being stuck in the freeway traffic near a drawbridge that went across a river in Toledo back then.

While it’s possible that in May 1994 there could have been road construction on I-75 in Toledo, could there also have been road construction on I-75 in Monroe, Michigan?

Jody was young back then. I think it could be possible that Jody got off of the freeway somewhere in Toledo, got lost and took a wrong turn on the streets of Toledo, and unwittingly drove into a bad neighborhood.


Here are her Charley Project and Namus links:


http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/brant_jody.html


https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/10117/1/

 

[mere]

There are some interesting comments from people that knew Jody on this link.

http://deaniepeters-missingangels.blogspot.com/2012/05/jody-lynn-brant-missing-18-years.html?m=1

 

[mere]

The comments are not new so I apologize if they have already been seen. I don't recall seeing this listed on this site.

 

[nerosleuth]

There are some interesting comments from people that knew Jody on this link.

http://deaniepeters-missingangels.blogspot.com/2012/05/jody-lynn-brant-missing-18-years.html?m=1

Thanks for the link. The comments at that link are very interesting.

 

[BoggLed in Ohio]

Thanks for the link. The comments at that link are very interesting.

Just bumping this up.

I will be following this thread now . Any new details on this case ?

 

[STANDREID]

I agree it's an extreme drive for a lone new driver. She must have stayed at a motel along the way so where was it and could she have run into some miscreant there? It must have been close to a 20 hour drive.

 

[STANDREID]

I agree it's an extreme drive for a lone new driver. She must have stayed at a motel along the way so where was it and could she have run into some miscreant there? It must have been close to a 20 hour drive.

Ok after checking, it looks like a 13+ hour drive with a couple of breaks for food and fuel so that's quite a haul. Was the 6 PM call made on the 27th or the 28th? One account says she left on the night of the 27th-so she drove all night alone at 16? Did Geogia have a curfew at that time?

 

[BoggLed in Ohio]

Ok after checking, it looks like a 13+ hour drive with a couple of breaks for food and fuel so that's quite a haul. Was the 6 PM call made on the 27th or the 28th? Adding in the time to figure out you were lost and then stop to make a call, if she did that all in one day then she must have left about 5 AM on the 27th. At 6 PM, she would have 2-3 more hours of daylight left this time of year.

From the article I read it stated she left Georgia in the evening, no exact time was given and I'm not sure it is known exactly when..

 

[Ozoner]

I agree it's an extreme drive for a lone new driver. She must have stayed at a motel along the way so where was it and could she have run into some miscreant there? It must have been close to a 20 hour drive.

I doubt she would have stayed at a motel. The norm, especially for teenagers, is to pull into a rest area or truck stop and sleep in the car. I also don't think road trips are unusual for teens. I drove from Michigan to New York by myself when I was 17 to attend a camp/seminar.

 

[BoggLed in Ohio]

I doubt she would have stayed at a motel. The norm, especially for teenagers, is to pull into a rest area or truck stop and sleep in the car. I also don't think road trips are unusual for teens. I drove from Michigan to New York by myself when I was 17 to attend a camp/seminar.

I was doing some thinking last night and researching about things because I'm local to the area and I know that part of Michigan like the back of my hand I grew up just on the other side of the state line in Sylvania Township Ohio and we're talking on another thread of potential other victims of James Dean Worley and I'm thinking about how Jody was lost and most likely took 475 from the 75 split and on to 23 and ended up maybe at that truck stop that was there on Sterns Road in Ottawa Lake Michigan.. and James Dean Worley was a truck driver for a period of time and his MO seems to be having fender benders with his victims and it was noted that Jody's car had a dent in the rear .I'm wondering if she stopped at that truck stop to ask for directions and to get something to eat, use the restroom etc and he happened to be there . also of note in the area very close this is all within 2 to 5 mile radius of the truck stop and from where her car was found - there's also rock quarries and ponds in the area. does anyone know any more specifics about the state of her vehicle aside from being burned-- does anyone know how large of a dent was in it ?could it have been caused from a truck possibly? was that able to be determined at all an estimation of vehicle size ? also FYI JDW's Farm home w the Barn of Horrors was only about 25 minutes away by the back roads to the truck stop

 

[Foxfire]

Quote Originally Posted by mere View Post
There are some interesting comments from people that knew Jody on this link.
http://deaniepeters-missingangels.blogspot.com/2012/05/jody-lynn-brant-missing-18-years.html?m=1

Thanks for the link. The comments at that link are very interesting.

<snipped from article for focus & BBM>

1994, remains found in a landfill in Lucas County, Ohio was thought to be Jody, but it turned out not to be a match.

New Developments in Skeletal Remains Found in Maumee
http://www.wtol.com/story/3234274/new-developments-in-skeletal-remains-found-in-maumee

MAUMEE -- New developments in the mystery surrounding a set of human remains found last week at the site of an old orphanage in Maumee. The Lucas County Coroner new data indicates there are possibly as many as six more graves in the area.

Construction crews working on new condos discovered the bones last week in a shallow grave. There was a skull, a spine and some ribs unearthed. "This looks like they've been there some time," said Dr. Patrick. "We're trying to figure out whether or not this may be a burial site in conjunction with the old children's home where the orphanage was or something like that."

The old Miami Children's Home closed in 1994. Historians say it had been a home for orphans since the 1860's. Michael Lora with the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library's local history department says early maps from 1900 show no cemetery or potter's field near that area.

Whatever it is, historians say the bones found here could later speak volumes about local history.

<snipped - read more>

 

[not_ur_mrs]

Here are some remain on NamUS, they were found in Illinois but her body could have been disposed of elsewhere, the facial reconstruction is similar to Jody.
https://www.identifyus.org/en/cases/10693