TX TX - Brandi Wells, 23, Longview, 2 Aug 2006

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ok so , i listened to the podcast with Brandi's mom and a couple things stood out to me , i don’t remember any of it mentioned in any media i read or police reports not herd any of it on the disappeared episode , im gonna listed each thing in bullet points below then afterwards will share my thoughts on them , its all just IMO.

*gas can was in the front of the car behind one of the front seats , not in the trunk.

*they found a partial finger print from the drivers side door but weren’t able to match it to anyone.

*no gas station close to the club and where Brandi's car was found .had seen her nor did she show on cctv footage police told her mother .

*police interviewed a girl who said she hung out with brandi at the club , she told police a Hispanic male was following her and brandi around at the club , they went into the ladies room to hide in hopes he would leave the alone.

*roughly a year or so after brandi went missing her social security number was used in north Carolina , it also had a female name on it , but it wasn’t brandi , they went to the address listed on the job application , showed her picture around the complex but no one recognised brandi , they also knocked on the door the address in the complex listed with brandi's social security number and an African American ex military man came to the door he said he didn’t recognise brandi and had no idea about the job application either , since then nothing else has surfaced and they haven’t been able to track down who used the number or how they got it .

ok so time for my thoughts , this is all JMO, so after hearing most of this in a pod cast correct me if im wrong but a lot of this hasn’t been mentioned before , so i was pretty stunned by some of it , for a start its highly impossible for police to have checked any gas stations between here the car was and the club she was last seen at i mean back then any recordings on CCTV would of been recorded over before police could check or am i wrong ?, secondly the social security number being used completely shocked me , it made me wonder for just a brief seconded could to have been brandi but somehow i don’t think so ,im not sure if there’s something ive missed from what was said on that pod cast tho so if there is please tell me , also im going to re-watch the disappeared episode about brandi's case as the guy on the podcast said at the end to look at it and pay attention to the CCTV footage of brandi entering and leaving but also pay a lot fo attention to people behind and around her as there seems like there’s something that could be some sorta lead or something . hope i didn't ramble too much this is all JMO.

SS# wasn't Brandi. Police said they get many fake ID'S in that area from Hispanic immigrants. They buy the info thinking it's okay but this time that # was flagged and alerted officials. Everything was fake on the application.
 
ok so , i listened to the podcast with Brandi's mom and a couple things stood out to me , i don’t remember any of it mentioned in any media i read or police reports not herd any of it on the disappeared episode , im gonna listed each thing in bullet points below then afterwards will share my thoughts on them , its all just IMO.

*gas can was in the front of the car behind one of the front seats , not in the trunk.

*they found a partial finger print from the drivers side door but weren’t able to match it to anyone.

*no gas station close to the club and where Brandi's car was found .had seen her nor did she show on cctv footage police told her mother .

*police interviewed a girl who said she hung out with brandi at the club , she told police a Hispanic male was following her and brandi around at the club , they went into the ladies room to hide in hopes he would leave the alone.

*roughly a year or so after brandi went missing her social security number was used in north Carolina , it also had a female name on it , but it wasn’t brandi , they went to the address listed on the job application , showed her picture around the complex but no one recognised brandi , they also knocked on the door the address in the complex listed with brandi's social security number and an African American ex military man came to the door he said he didn’t recognise brandi and had no idea about the job application either , since then nothing else has surfaced and they haven’t been able to track down who used the number or how they got it .

ok so time for my thoughts , this is all JMO, so after hearing most of this in a pod cast correct me if im wrong but a lot of this hasn’t been mentioned before , so i was pretty stunned by some of it , for a start its highly impossible for police to have checked any gas stations between here the car was and the club she was last seen at i mean back then any recordings on CCTV would of been recorded over before police could check or am i wrong ?, secondly the social security number being used completely shocked me , it made me wonder for just a brief seconded could to have been brandi but somehow i don’t think so ,im not sure if there’s something ive missed from what was said on that pod cast tho so if there is please tell me , also im going to re-watch the disappeared episode about brandi's case as the guy on the podcast said at the end to look at it and pay attention to the CCTV footage of brandi entering and leaving but also pay a lot fo attention to people behind and around her as there seems like there’s something that could be some sorta lead or something . hope i didn't ramble too much this is all JMO.

BTW...the girl who Brandi ended up hanging out with...she refuses to speak to the police. We obtained that information from her at Brandi's candlelight vigil.
 
i went and looked at the disappeared episode for the 10th time could only find it in Spanish though on youtube and ive take a couple screen shots as i spotted something i hope its ok for me to post them.

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brandi when swiping her licence , to her left the guy at the counter is dressed in a shirt and cowboy hat colouring of the CCTV looks a little off tho .

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brandi leaving after midnight , guy in a cowboy hat behind her.

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girl they mistaken for brandi walking away from swiping her licence and in top left corner barely in shot a guy in a cowboy hat.


is it just me or is it this a bit strange and could this all be the same guy , i feel like there’s something fishy here , i get weird feeling there’s a connection , but maybe its just as this is all JMO.

Unfortunately this is Texas in this case and cowboy hats are worn by many in this area. Example...their bouncers wear cowboy hats. I am going to relock myself even though I have watched that video at least 500 times and was looking for him too.
 
Great post,though I won't believe the sex traffic angle, kidnapping a woman on the street is not how sex traffic works in this country

I have heard a few 1st hand accounts that it did happen to them. Sex trafficking is a whole new world now days. I have been told they send scouts to choose vulnerable people from clubs, bus stations, malls, anywhere people gather in large numbers.
 
I just watched a repeat of this case on TV and was wondering about the friend at the first nightclub Brandi visited. The club owner had a friend who disappeared 20 years before Brandi! Does anyone besides me wonder if it's the same perp and possibly a serial killer?

I think what happened is that Brandi was asking for help getting gas while in the nightclub. The perp met her outside and said "hey, I have a gas can in my car" and took it to her car and then pushed her inside and overtook her. And since LE says one of the people using the cell phone is the POI, that's probably who did it. I'm hoping the other two who used the phone know what happened and at least one of them has a big enough heart to overcome their fear and tell LE what happened to her so she can be returned to her family. :please:

The family friend who spoke with Brandi that night in Tyler. Her friend went missing 30 years before Brandi and she went missing in Tyler. Brandi in Longview. They have suspicions of who took her but have never been able to gather a body or evidence unfortunately.
 
I have heard a few 1st hand accounts that it did happen to them. Sex trafficking is a whole new world now days. I have been told they send scouts to choose vulnerable people from clubs, bus stations, malls, anywhere people gather in large numbers.

Individual cases maybe, mainstream ? no way
 
I don’t understand why the link doesn’t work, but I put her name in search and the case is there. No idea why they would remove the comments. Why not just leave them, IMO.
Brandi Wells – CUE – Community United Effort

I agree...this time I followed the post and I did see Brandi's information but couldn't find a way to access any comments. I will go to CUE's sight and try again.
 
BTW...the girl who Brandi ended up hanging out with...she refuses to speak to the police. We obtained that information from her at Brandi's candlelight vigil.

Maybe i watch too many tv shows but is it possible the girl, maybe could have been someone that was used to lure brandi into a false sense of safety, by whomever took her, like if thr girl approached brandi after she left the club etc brandi wouldn't not have thought anything of it from making a connection with her earleir that night in the club, a lot of thoughts go through my mind wishing I coild find the right answer and find brandi.
 
Interesting that one of the guys didn't pass a poly. I wonder if these guys followed her from the club and forced her to pull over where her car was found. I wonder where they said they found the phone? These guys may not have even been at the club but spotted her on the street walking to her car or driving and followed her.

I hope LE is putting the pressure on those three guys. The third guy might be the criminal but you can bet the other two know something. I hope LE is just building a case and have no suspects now.

My heart goes out to Brandi's mom. I'm sure the not knowing is just the worst thing ever. My imagination would probably cause a nervous breakdown.

I found it interesting when the man who made calls from her phone said he had just found it and was using it but when asked to take a poly, refused at first but then took it and failed, he still was not considered a suspect
 
The case of Brandi Ellen Wells was the first one to appear on the show Disappeared, episode titled, "The End of Innocence". I thought I would do a write-up of the case focusing on the locational aspects of her car the night Brandi Wells disappeared. There is a lot of confusion in this case. I am not trying to add to it. This is my interpretation of the locations associated with the case. It was confusing just trying to figure out the location of her car and where her cell phone was found based on statements made in the show Disappeared.

On the night of August 2nd, 2006, Brandi Wells left her mother's apartment in Tyler, Texas to go to a nightclub in Longview, Texas named Graham's Central Station. Her mother did not know she was going to Graham's Central Station and thought she was going to the Electric Cowboy in Tyler, Texas instead since that club was much closer. She was low on gas, but still went because it was Ladies Night. On the way to this club, Brandi called some of the employees at Graham's to get directions. She arrived at approximately 10:30 pm. Surveillance video shows her leaving alone at approximately 12:30 am on the morning of August 3, 2006. The next day Brandi's car was found by police about 500 yards after Exit 591 westbound on I-20, right after the exit for the Old Kilgore Highway. The car was off the shoulder of the road sitting at an angle with the driver's door ajar. The seat had been pushed back as if someone much taller than Brandi had been driving. Brandi only stood about 5 feet tall. The keys were missing, but Brandi's purse was in the car. Her cell phone was not. Later this cell phone was found near Eckman Street in Longview per the show Disappeared. It looks like Graham Central Station in north Longview ended up later becoming a club called The Electric Cowboy. This is not to be confused with the Electric Cowboy in Tyler, Texas that her mother thought she was heading to the night of her disappearance.

Initially a lot of the information regarding Brandi's missing person's case was misinterpreted by police investigating the case. There is already plenty of discussion about that.

The part that still confuses me about this case is that police said on the show Disappeared that Brandi was very close to the exit she would have taken to get back to Tyler, Texas. This made me think she never got onto the interstate, but I think I am wrong about that. I think I have figured out the locational aspects of this case. I think based on a picture from the show Disappeared that Brandi's car was found 500 yards west of the exit for Old Kilgore Highway so it looks like Brandi had gotten onto I-20 and was taking I-20 home to Tyler, Texas when either she ran out of gas or someone left her car parked alongside the interstate 20 westbound side. So I cannot understand why people think she got lost unless they are referring to the small distance she got off route if she was near Eckman Street?

Because of the seat position it is thought she was not driving anyway. And the cell phone looks to have already been discarded at Eckman Street but no one really knows. Also, a frontage road runs directly behind the side of the interstate where her car was found, but it is a mystery as to whether Brandi or whoever was driving her car walked in that direction.

My thoughts on this case:

A gas can was found in her car. Because she was low on gas and some people she met at Graham's said it seemed like she was asking for money for gas, it is likely it has something to do with what happened to her. So either she bought or someone else bought her the gas can. Or someone else gave her their gas can. Or someone who uses a vehicle that needs gas put in with a gas can came into contact with Brandi that night.

It is hard to think this case is a possible runaway. The main reason is that on the night in question she had asked several people, including her sister, if they wanted to join her in going to Graham Central Station in Longview, Texas. Plus, whoever it was that left Brandi's car on the side of I-20 west of Exit 591 must have been in a hurry to leave the car door open. That would certainly attract more attention to it by passing motorists.

If Brandi did indeed break down alongside I-20 and someone stopped to help her get the car started they might have then pushed the seat back in order to sit in it. Whatever the reason it would have been a long walk for Brandi if she had tried to walk to get gas. It does not look like there were any gas stations nearby to where the car was found. Then she would have to hope that whatever gas station she went to was open after 12:30 am.

After nearly 14 years, no one has seen or heard from Brandi Wells since she left Graham's Central Station around 12:30 am on August 3, 2006. Where she went after that is a mystery. And do not quote me about these locations. I have had to edit this post a few times. These locations I wrote above are what I think based on researching the locations.
 
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I wonder if this man could be a possible suspect in Brandi’s case. IIRC, Lavender Doe has been ruled as Brandi, but her body was found during the same time period that Brandi disappeared.
Suspect in Felisha Pearson murder indicted in 2006 Lavender Doe murder case
LONGVIEW, TX (KLTV) - A man who is suspected of murdering a Longview woman is now a suspect in the murder of a second, unidentified woman, whose body was found in 2006.

Joseph Wayne Burnette has been indicted in connection with both cases, officials said during a Monday afternoon joint press conference with the Gregg County Sheriff's Office and the Longview Police Department.

Officials say he confessed to both murders during the course of the investigation.
ETA. I’m behind, and forgotten a lot about this case. Anyway. LD has already been identified as Dana Dodd.

Man accused of murdering ‘Lavender Doe’, Felicia Pearson has trial date set
 
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The part that still confuses me about this case is that police said on the show Disappeared that Brandi was very close to the exit she would have taken to get back to Tyler, Texas. This made me think she never got onto the interstate, but I think I am wrong about that. I think I have figured out the locational aspects of this case. I think based on a picture from the show Disappeared that Brandi's car was found 500 yards west of the exit for Old Kilgore Highway so it looks like Brandi had gotten onto I-20 and was taking I-20 home to Tyler, Texas when either she ran out of gas or someone left her car parked alongside the interstate 20 westbound side. So I cannot understand why people think she got lost unless they are referring to the small distance she got off route if she was near Eckman Street?
I personally don't think she was driving the car when it was placed on the side of I-20, so the appearance of her being "lost" is a moot point, imo.

That being said, believe the police might say that because she could have went south on 63 (McCann) when she left the club. The road turns in to 31 and she could have either taken Hwy 31 to Tyler or exited onto I-20 from this road if she wished. If Brandy was driving her car that morning, she actually had gone out of her way to get to where the car was found. See attached. It's really splitting hairs though, as she could have headed south on the Loop or Estes looking for a gas station before hitting I-20. Definitely not outside the realm of possibility.

It might be of some use to know if Brandy stated which road she was coming in on when she called Graham Central Station for directions...
 

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I personally don't think she was driving the car when it was placed on the side of I-20, so the appearance of her being "lost" is a moot point, imo.

That being said, believe the police might say that because she could have went south on 63 (McCann) when she left the club. The road turns in to 31 and she could have either taken Hwy 31 to Tyler or exited onto I-20 from this road if she wished. If Brandy was driving her car that morning, she actually had gone out of her way to get to where the car was found. See attached. It's really splitting hairs though, as she could have headed south on the Loop or Estes looking for a gas station before hitting I-20. Definitely not outside the realm of possibility.

It might be of some use to know if Brandy stated which road she was coming in on when she called Graham Central Station for directions...

What you wrote above is what I initially thought, but that did not make sense because the detective said her car was about 500 yards from the exit they thought she would take to get home. What you wrote though, is another way to get back to Tyler, Texas. I just do not think that is what the detective meant in the show Disappeared. Here is my interpretation based on my opinion after examining the maps. I think we have the same interpretation, just a different view of how we think police meant she might have gone home. I think either one is correct until someone can find out how she traveled to Graham's Central Station to begin with.

I think police believed that she would go directly south down 63 McCann which turns into 31 from Graham's Central Station in Longview, Texas and get back onto I-20 westbound to head back home. So because Brandi's car was found going westbound and it had not yet actually reached that exit(for 31) on I-20, the police speculate she got lost within Longview somewhere because the closest exit to enter I-20 she could have used to get onto I-20 would be old Kilgore Highway coming from the north. In the show Disappeared, the detective refers to old Kilgore Highway by obscure farm road numbers that I cannot remember. So Brandi Well's car was found on I-20 westbound between the exits for Old Kilgore Highway and 31. On the Disappeared show if you look closely there will be a still shot of a road sign right in front of where Brandi's car was found. Then you match that up with Google maps. That is how I figured all this out. And I think I am correct, but it took some research. So if you were plotting the location of Brandi Well's car on a map it would be 500 yards before SR 31 on I-20 westbound. In this case you could actually go to the exact location of where the car was found because of the road sign. The detective did actually state this correctly in the show about the car's location, but his other descriptions of roads caused some confusion. I hope I have the location of where Brandi Well's car was found correct.

Like you wrote there could be any number of reasons for why Brandi Wells traveled south through Longview. Maybe she was looking for a gas station or got a little off her route and ended up having to get onto I-20 from an exit further east. Or she may not have even been driving. I think you are correct that knowing how Brandi Wells got to Graham Central Station would be important in knowing how she might have driven back to Tyler, Texas.

Brandi Wells actually disappeared during the early morning hours after 12:3o am on August 3rd, 2006. The dot on your map is very close to the location but should be closer to SR 31 if you want to be absolutely correct.

Cases like this seem like they are at a standstill. Unless you can find the person alive or find their body, there does not seem to be any direction to take with the case. The last video of Brandi Wells at Graham Central Station is so disappointing because once she walks off that video camera shot she literally disappears.

P.S. After looking this up again later I had to re-edit this post because I may be wrong again. If the car was where I think it was located along I-20 it would have to be right near the end of the frontage road so maybe I am wrong again???? There is clearly a frontage road behind where Brandi's car was found on the episode of Disappeared. I am still confused so maybe your dot is closer to where her car was found. The directions in this episode describing entering and exiting highways is very confusing.
 
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I personally don't think she was driving the car when it was placed on the side of I-20, so the appearance of her being "lost" is a moot point, imo.

That being said, believe the police might say that because she could have went south on 63 (McCann) when she left the club. The road turns in to 31 and she could have either taken Hwy 31 to Tyler or exited onto I-20 from this road if she wished. If Brandy was driving her car that morning, she actually had gone out of her way to get to where the car was found. See attached. It's really splitting hairs though, as she could have headed south on the Loop or Estes looking for a gas station before hitting I-20. Definitely not outside the realm of possibility.

It might be of some use to know if Brandy stated which road she was coming in on when she called Graham Central Station for directions...

I have to admit this is a bit confusing to me, but, having driven that same route myself, I also don’t believe she would have driven her car to park there. One question I have.... has this already been answered? Did her car have gas in the tank? Or not. And, that gas can came from somewhere. Hard to believe there weren’t viable fingerprints all over the can.

I hate to say it, but it seems this case was bungled from the beginning. IMO. What a shame, but then again, it’s not really anything new is it? Just look around at the cases that never get solved due to law enforcement apathy and incompetency. Then add to that, our justice system gone awry, more concerned with being politically correct than seeking truth and justice. So now, here we are. Obviously not all, but even a few are too many.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a strong supporter of our law enforcement agencies. But at times there are weaknesses in the system that need to be addressed. Jmo of course. And good to see you here @Samaritan
 
Just a thought or two..... It seems there could have been two perps. One drove her car out to the interstate, possibly to meet up with the other, got in their car and they took off. Was Brandi with them at that point?
 
P.S. After looking this up again later I had to re-edit this post because I may be wrong again. If the car was where I think it was located along I-20 it would have to be right near the end of the frontage road so maybe I am wrong again???? There is clearly a frontage road behind where Brandi's car was found on the episode of Disappeared. I am still confused so maybe your dot is closer to where her car was found. The directions in this episode describing entering and exiting highways is very confusing.

I tried to put the dot just west from the end of the ramp from Old Kilgore to I-20. I'm not certain how it's measured, but a straight line of 500 yards from 2087 or Old Kilgore Highway (thanks Google Earth) would put the car around ~85 yards past the end of the median of the on-ramp / I-20.
 

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