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

[Samaritan]

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

It's good to see you're still around here too, @neesaki !

Regarding the gas in the car, according to this source, on page 6, it says:

"It is unknown if Brandi was out of gas or not when the car was abandoned. LE added gas to the car when it wouldn’t stay running; after it was towed it was discovered that the key they were attempting to use was setting off the anti-theft device. It has never been reported that her tank was measured before gas was added"

I don't think we'll ever know if she had actually ran out of gas or if she had gotten gas. Perhaps if the cameras at the gas stations along the route would have been checked we'd have a better idea of this.

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?

Brandy's mom does not think she left the parking lot of the club alone that night. At least she didn't when she gave a quote in this article.

There are so many possibilities in this case. Was she abducted in the parking lot? Did she encounter trouble at a gas station after leaving, possibly one that was closed? Did she run out of gas at the spot where her car was found and some guy stopped to "help" her and ended up abducting her?

We may never know... but I agree with you, Neesaki, the errors by LE in this case killed the investigation and any hopes of finding out what happened to Brandy.

 

[neesaki]

It's good to see you're still around here too, @neesaki !

Regarding the gas in the car, according to this source, on page 6, it says:

"It is unknown if Brandi was out of gas or not when the car was abandoned. LE added gas to the car when it wouldn’t stay running; after it was towed it was discovered that the key they were attempting to use was setting off the anti-theft device. It has never been reported that her tank was measured before gas was added"

I don't think we'll ever know if she had actually ran out of gas or if she had gotten gas. Perhaps if the cameras at the gas stations along the route would have been checked we'd have a better idea of this.



Brandy's mom does not think she left the parking lot of the club alone that night. At least she didn't when she gave a quote in this article.

There are so many possibilities in this case. Was she abducted in the parking lot? Did she encounter trouble at a gas station after leaving, possibly one that was closed? Did she run out of gas at the spot where her car was found and some guy stopped to "help" her and ended up abducting her?

We may never know... but I agree with you, Neesaki, the errors by LE in this case killed the investigation and any hopes of finding out what happened to Brandy.

Thanks for your input, Samaritan. No doubt sounds to me like some lackadaisical investigation by LE in this case.
One more thing.... How many people carry an extra gas can in their vehicle? Often times the gas cans come from gas stations, or at least in times gone by . I guess what I’m saying is, where did the gas can come from? An individual, or a gas station. If an individual, why carry a gas can around with you? Suspicious in itself, IMO.
If from a gas station, LE must know at least this much, surely. Or.... not.

 

[somequestions]

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.

You are correct. I think your dot is in the right place on your map. For some reason I thought I was looking at a different sign location, but I think we are both looking at the same sign since I could not find another one of those I-20/South 259 signs between the exits for Old Kilogore Highway and 31. So I am just confused about the dot location on the map since I thought the show said her car was found 500 yards from the exit she would take to go home (31). It goes to show it is probably better to follow the evidence than what some show like Disappeared says.

So here is my final thought. If people want to know the exact location where Brandi Wells car was abandoned I think this is correct:

Brandi Wells car was found right before the road sign West I-20/South 259. This particular road sign is located right before you get to Mile Marker 591 on the westbound side of I-20.

I think my mistake is kind of ironic since it seems like this whole case is filled with double misidentification.

 

[Samaritan]

Thanks for your input, Samaritan. No doubt sounds to me like some lackadaisical investigation by LE in this case.
One more thing.... How many people carry an extra gas can in their vehicle? Often times the gas cans come from gas stations, or at least in times gone by . I guess what I’m saying is, where did the gas can come from? An individual, or a gas station. If an individual, why carry a gas can around with you? Suspicious in itself, IMO.
If from a gas station, LE must know at least this much, surely. Or.... not.

The only people I know who have gas cans with them are people who drive a Jeep that has it mounted on the exterior or some oil field workers / mechanics. It's possible someone at the club gave it to her and they're not involved but for whatever reason they didn't wish to deal w LE (illegal alien, outstanding warrants, on probation and not supposed to be in an establishment that serves alcohol, etc).

But I think it definitely lends credence to the "good samaritan" theory if it wasn't Brandi's, and by all accounts it wasn't believed to be, someone could have used it as a ruse to get her guard down before making their move. This could have happened in the club parking lot, another location along the way to where her car was found, or where he car was found. However, the fact that the write up on Reddit states that the gas can was located in the trunk makes me lean towards it having been used previous to the car being abandoned on the side of the interstate. In the haste to leave the scene, it was simply forgotten.

Surely LE dusted it for prints... (sadly kidding)

 

[Samaritan]

You are correct. I think your dot is in the right place on your map. For some reason I thought I was looking at a different sign location, but I think we are both looking at the same sign since I could not find another one of those I-20/South 259 signs between the exits for Old Kilogore Highway and 31. So I am just confused about the dot location on the map since I thought the show said her car was found 500 yards from the exit she would take to go home (31). It goes to show it is probably better to follow the evidence than what some show like Disappeared says.

So here is my final thought. If people want to know the exact location where Brandi Wells car was abandoned I think this is correct:

Brandi Wells car was found right before the road sign West I-20/South 259. This particular road sign is located right before you get to Mile Marker 591 on the westbound side of I-20.

I think my mistake is kind of ironic since it seems like this whole case is filled with double misidentification.

It's NBD. This whole case is full of mistakes, unfortunately.

 

[somequestions]

The only people I know who have gas cans with them are people who drive a Jeep that has it mounted on the exterior or some oil field workers / mechanics. It's possible someone at the club gave it to her and they're not involved but for whatever reason they didn't wish to deal w LE (illegal alien, outstanding warrants, on probation and not supposed to be in an establishment that serves alcohol, etc).

But I think it definitely lends credence to the "good samaritan" theory if it wasn't Brandi's, and by all accounts it wasn't believed to be, someone could have used it as a ruse to get her guard down before making their move. This could have happened in the club parking lot, another location along the way to where her car was found, or where he car was found. However, the fact that the write up on Reddit states that the gas can was located in the trunk makes me lean towards it having been used previous to the car being abandoned on the side of the interstate. In the haste to leave the scene, it was simply forgotten.

Surely LE dusted it for prints... (sadly kidding)

A lot of things in this case do not make a lot of sense. For example, if you do not have any money, it would be kind of pointless to look for a gas station so Brandi Wells must have been a little lost inside of Longview, Texas. Whenever I have run across people asking for money for gas at gas stations they are usually scamming people. So maybe if Brandi asked someone at the club for gas money they told her they wanted to travel with her to the gas station and would pay for her gas there?

However, as we know now, the car was most likely out of gas. And I wondered from the Disappeared show if the empty gas can had any gas left in it? This leaves the most likely scenario that after her car ran out of gas on I-20 someone stopped to help her and this person then ended up abducting her from the side of the road. But then how do you explain the driver's side seat being pushed so far back since Brandi stood a little less than 5 feet tall? Did the person driving re-position the steering wheel or the rearview mirror too? Police obviously would have checked these positions too right?

We really do not know what Brandi Wells did that night. For example, is it possible she stopped at the Electric Cowboy club in Tyler, Texas before going to Graham's Central Station in Longview, Texas? Were there surveillance cameras at the Electric Cowboy club in Tyler, TX?

What is sort of interesting is that in order for whoever kidnapped Brandi Wells to come up with this sort of plan to be put in motion regarding leaving the car on the side of I-20, they would have to have talked to Brandi Wells first about the gas situation. So it would be quite strange for example if Brandi Wells was forcefully kidnapped in a carjacking outside the club or while driving somewhere in Longview and as she was being driven away she wanted to remind her kidnappers that they chose a car that is about to run out of gas.

But then what the heck was this kidnapper doing on I-20 westbound to begin with?! Was she kidnapped by an out of towner who happened to live in the same direction as her? The one thing we know is that she had to have made it back to her car in the Graham Central Station parking lot because of the napkin with the information from one of the club goers she met.

So there are a lot of questions that it looks like will remain unanswered.

 

[somequestions]

I always went with the theory in this case that what happened was Brandi Wells car ran out of gas on I-20. Someone stopped to help her get her car started. This person sat in the drivers seat and this would explain the seat being moved back. Then once Brandi and this person realized the car would need gas they pushed it off the side of the highway so it was found a little bit off the embankment. Then either Brandi was kidnapped or willingly got into this person's car or truck.

But that does not make sense for a few reasons. Police found Brandi's purse in her car. Why would anyone leave their purse in the car with the driver's door left open? I guess that would point to her being abducted on the side of the highway.

But the main reason was I think that scenario does not work is Brandi Well's cell phone being found on Eckman Street later on(per the show Disappeared). How many of the gas stations in that area are open after 12:30 am? The only way that makes sense with this scenario is if the kidnapper took the next exit for 31 north, then went east toward Eckman street, got rid of her cell phone, then came back down Old Kilgore Highway to get back onto I-20 where they would then pass Brandi's car again. Most people on an interstate are heading somewhere too.

So I guess I can understand why so many people think she never actually drove the car to the spot on I-20 where it was found. I just cannot figure out why the kidnapper did.

I know the obvious answer is that Brandi was kidnapped and the kidnapper may have known about her gas situation so they left her car alongside I-20 and maybe got into a different car. Why not just leave the car in the same area as the cell phone? Obviously if you are going to get rid of a cell phone you are going to get rid of it in an area where you do not live because police will track the cell phone location.

Maybe the kidnapper lives along the frontage road that runs alongside I-20 where her car was found? That seems to be the only thing that makes sense. I would look for someone's address on a license from Graham Central Station that puts their home address near the location where Brandi Well's car was found on westbound I-20.

 

[neesaki]

I always went with the theory in this case that what happened was Brandi Wells car ran out of gas on I-20. Someone stopped to help her get her car started. This person sat in the drivers seat and this would explain the seat being moved back. Then once Brandi and this person realized the car would need gas they pushed it off the side of the highway so it was found a little bit off the embankment. Then either Brandi was kidnapped or willingly got into this person's car or truck.

But that does not make sense for a few reasons. Police found Brandi's purse in her car. Why would anyone leave their purse in the car with the driver's door left open? I guess that would point to her being abducted on the side of the highway.

But the main reason was I think that scenario does not work is Brandi Well's cell phone being found on Eckman Street later on(per the show Disappeared). How many of the gas stations in that area are open after 12:30 am? The only way that makes sense with this scenario is if the kidnapper took the next exit for 31 north, then went east toward Eckman street, got rid of her cell phone, then came back down Old Kilgore Highway to get back onto I-20 where they would then pass Brandi's car again. Most people on an interstate are heading somewhere too.

So I guess I can understand why so many people think she never actually drove the car to the spot on I-20 where it was found. I just cannot figure out why the kidnapper did.

I know the obvious answer is that Brandi was kidnapped and the kidnapper may have known about her gas situation so they left her car alongside I-20 and maybe got into a different car. Why not just leave the car in the same area as the cell phone? Obviously if you are going to get rid of a cell phone you are going to get rid of it in an area where you do not live because police will track the cell phone location.

Maybe the kidnapper lives along the frontage road that runs alongside I-20 where her car was found? That seems to be the only thing that makes sense. I would look for someone's address on a license from Graham Central Station that puts their home address near the location where Brandi Well's car was found on westbound I-20.

Nothing about this case adds up to anything logical, everything’s off about it, at least to me. IMO
Why would she try to drive home on an empty gas tank? Someone had to have helped her get gas or given her money to get gas. Maybe they gave her money to get gas, she got gas, then they followed her. Or, they pretended to be a good samaritan , took her to get gas, then took her back to her car. Then, things went to the dark side.

Otherwise, why would she stop? Again, was her car gas tank empty? Did I just forget this fact or has it not been stated. Did someone have one of those flashing lights on their vehicle to trick her into thinking they were LE? Too many unanswered questions. Apologies if my memories failing me in any of this, either way it’s still totally baffling.

 

[somequestions]

Nothing about this case adds up to anything logical, everything’s off about it, at least to me. IMO
Why would she try to drive home on an empty gas tank? Someone had to have helped her get gas or given her money to get gas. Maybe they gave her money to get gas, she got gas, then they followed her. Or, they pretended to be a good samaritan , took her to get gas, then took her back to her car. Then, things went to the dark side.

Otherwise, why would she stop? Again, was her car gas tank empty? Did I just forget this fact or has it not been stated. Did someone have one of those flashing lights on their vehicle to trick her into thinking they were LE? Too many unanswered questions. Apologies if my memories failing me in any of this, either way it’s still totally baffling.

I assume that investigators in this case were smart enough to try and figure out which gas stations would have been open after 12:30 am on August 3rd, 2006. Then if Brandi Wells went to one of those to wait for another person to pull up, she may have then asked one of these other people pumping gas if they could give her some money.

But the scenario of her meeting someone at a gas station near the club and before the street her cell phone was found on does not make sense. What did this person do with their car while they were helping Brandi Wells? If it was someone who was walking who carjacked her then we are right back to where we started. If someone just got into her car and did not know about the gas situation, why would Brandi Wells tell them?

So maybe what happened was Brandi Wells was driving around in Longview and her car ran out of gas in front of someone's house. This person then takes their gas can to the gas station and fills it up to return to Brandi Well's car. But then we get back to investigation 101. If a gas can was found in the trunk of her car with the car apparently out of gas, wouldn't investigators have looked through any surveillance gas station tapes looking for someone who may have filled up a gas can that night. The fact that after almost 14 years no relevant footage has been released from the gas stations operating that night leads me to believe that gas station surveillance tapes from that night did not help them.

So what to think? It is hard to come up with any scenario that completely makes sense.

 

[Dnp2be]

2 thoughts I have considered:

1. She knew she was low on fuel. She went around at the club asking several people if they could help her with a few bucks for gas. But she either didn’t get any or didn’t get enough however a couple of friends offered to help. Possibly they followed her Telling her they would make sure she she was safe if she ran out of gas. At some point, whether she ran out or not, they overpowered her. One got in her vehicle to subdue her and possibly injured her. He then drives her car to ditch it while the other friend follows in their car so the other can hop in with friend after ditching brandi’s car. Brandi unfortunately prob overpowered and only the friends know what happened next.

2. someone at the club offered to help bc they had a gas can. On her way to the gas station or even possibly after getting some gas, gas can man pretends he is going to help her put the gas in her tank and then overpowers her and takes advantage. I still believe there would be another party involved to help dispose of body and evidence (I hate saying that). *however if gas can man lived not far from where the car ended he could have possibly walked home. I am also wondering when her car was found and if the hood was cold. I’d like to know how long the car had been there before being noticed. It’s possible her body was dumped and then the car was taken by gas can man to a point he could walk home from. If the car had been there since close to the time she left the club, then she would have to be near by where the car was found.

I would be elated if she was found safe but unfortunately I don’t think that will happen. Just all MOO. I hope we can all find some closure in this case sometime soon. Even just some new information.

 

[somequestions]

2 thoughts I have considered:

1. She knew she was low on fuel. She went around at the club asking several people if they could help her with a few bucks for gas. But she either didn’t get any or didn’t get enough however a couple of friends offered to help. Possibly they followed her Telling her they would make sure she she was safe if she ran out of gas. At some point, whether she ran out or not, they overpowered her. One got in her vehicle to subdue her and possibly injured her. He then drives her car to ditch it while the other friend follows in their car so the other can hop in with friend after ditching brandi’s car. Brandi unfortunately prob overpowered and only the friends know what happened next.

2. someone at the club offered to help bc they had a gas can. On her way to the gas station or even possibly after getting some gas, gas can man pretends he is going to help her put the gas in her tank and then overpowers her and takes advantage. I still believe there would be another party involved to help dispose of body and evidence (I hate saying that). *however if gas can man lived not far from where the car ended he could have possibly walked home. I am also wondering when her car was found and if the hood was cold. I’d like to know how long the car had been there before being noticed. It’s possible her body was dumped and then the car was taken by gas can man to a point he could walk home from. If the car had been there since close to the time she left the club, then she would have to be near by where the car was found.

I would be elated if she was found safe but unfortunately I don’t think that will happen. Just all MOO. I hope we can all find some closure in this case sometime soon. Even just some new information.

These are good ideas. I thought it was a little strange that Brandi's cell phone was found near Eckman Street(per show Disappeared), if whoever it was waited to overtake her at the car. I doubt we will ever know when the car was left on the side of the road because it was not found immediately.

I think when the car was found the windows were up per the picture I saw on Disappeared. It made me wonder because it was Texas in August so I looked up the weather for around 12:30 am on August 3, 2006. It was still almost 80 degrees F even at that time of night with a dew point of 68. So it makes sense then that the AC was probably on when it was being driven.

 

[Seratonin]

 

[roadrunnermt]

Bumping for Brandi!

 

[roadrunnermt]

I’ve been pouring over Brandi’s case the last few days and have some thoughts and questions. Maybe The family will come around and clear some up.

1. Is the case currently open? Being worked on at all?
2. Is there a reward offered to attract more attention particularly with certain parties currently incarcerated. Maybe they’ll talk?
3. Why can’t the LE see how much gas they put in the car and subtract it to figure out if it was out of gas or not?
4. Where is the car now? Still in evidence I’m hoping. Was it ever checked for crime scene? Checked with luminal?
5. I read the area around GCS and the car were checked with dogs to no avail. I’m local in Tyler. Are there any searches going on? Is there anything the public can help the family with?
6. Has a private investigator ever been utilized since we could all agree the investigation was a little messy.
7. I read Brandi’s ex husband said Brandi had always carried a gas can around with her for over two years during their marriage. Is this true and if so does the family believe this gas can was Brandi’s?
8. You can see Brandi carried no keys in GCS. Did she leave her car unlocked often? Someone could have slipped in her backseat.
9. Did Brandi normally put her purse in the back seat like it was found?
10. I think the door was left open because someone had their hands full unfortunately.
11. I also agree with the poster who said throwing the phone in that area could be opposite affect to throw the investigation off but we do have the one failed poly who’s very suspicious.

I think that’s all I can think of for tonight!

 

[TexasT]

@Macole
Does someone still have possession of the car ? Gas can ?
There is new dna testing that I think could possibly solve this case , even if it’s been tested before .

 

[somequestions]

The Brandi Well's case is a reminder of how difficult it is to solve a missing persons case. This case is so unique in that you have that surveillance video from Graham Central Station in Longview, TX that shows her leaving the club at around 12:30 am on August 3, 2006. Then her car is later found parked alongside the interstate. So whoever it was, they either came up with that idea by looking at the gas gauge in her car or Brandi telling them the car needed gas or the driver running out of gas at that location.

One possibility is that she could have been kidnapped by a truck driver who then drove her hundreds of miles away. And then she is gone because the distance is so vast.

You cannot even eliminate the heartbreaking possibility that maybe Brandi Wells pulled this off by herself. But that does not make any sense because she asked numerous people to go to Graham Central Station with her that night.

Once Brandi Wells walked out of the shot from the surveillance video, she literally disappeared. When it comes to examining all the different angles associated with a missing person's case, the show Disappeared sure picked the right case for its first episode.

 

[TexasT]

If the car was out of gas on I -20 I would consider an over the road truck driver serial killer like Bruce Mendenhall , however that wouldn’t account for the area in the neighborhood where the telephone was found . I doubt he would drive a tractor through the neighborhood tossing out items .
And normally if someone stopped to help a young lady with vehicle trouble they would have her in the driver seat steering while they pushed . With the driver seat racked back to a person for 6’2” instead of 4’11” that doesn’t really fit .

 

[somequestions]

If the car was out of gas on I -20 I would consider an over the road truck driver serial killer like Bruce Mendenhall , however that wouldn’t account for the area in the neighborhood where the telephone was found . I doubt he would drive a tractor through the neighborhood tossing out items .
And normally if someone stopped to help a young lady with vehicle trouble they would have her in the driver seat steering while they pushed . With the driver seat racked back to a person for 6’2” instead of 4’11” that doesn’t really fit .

I agree it does not make sense. Since the cell phone was found in a residential area of town before Brandi Wells would have got on the interstate to go home, it is a good possibility that she was abducted before the car ever got onto the interstate. You could theorize that after Brandi left the club but before the cell phone location is the most probable location for Brandi to have been abducted.

So if she was abducted before the area where her cell phone was found, why did the abductor then drive her car, which was low on gas, onto the interstate heading west? That does not make any sense. Then if she was still in the car, the abductor would have to force her out of the car to go with him. No matter what happened, leaving the car at the location along the interstate where it was found, would be a walk for anyone. There is not a gas station nearby.

So how it all took place is as mysterious as that actual abduction itself. So the question is:

Why did the abductor leave Brandi Well's car along the interstate if she had already been abducted by that point?

 

[TexasT]

I agree it does not make sense. Since the cell phone was found in a residential area of town before Brandi Wells would have got on the interstate to go home, it is a good possibility that she was abducted before the car ever got onto the interstate. You could theorize that after Brandi left the club but before the cell phone location is the most probable location for Brandi to have been abducted.

So if she was abducted before the area where her cell phone was found, why did the abductor then drive her car, which was low on gas, onto the interstate heading west? That does not make any sense. Then if she was still in the car, the abductor would have to force her out of the car to go with him. No matter what happened, leaving the car at the location along the interstate where it was found, would be a walk for anyone. There is not a gas station nearby.

So how it all took place is as mysterious as that actual abduction itself. So the question is:

Why did the abductor leave Brandi Well's car along the interstate if she had already been abducted by that point?

Seems risky . At that hour Troopers would be looking for any cars on the road , as potential intoxicated drivers . Or other motorist to call in a potential crash , ect with a couple cars on the shoulder . Element of luck involved here imo .

 

[Dnp2be]

Is it possible her phone was either accidentally lost/misplaced or even stolen while still at the club? I am not sure when she last used her phone. But IMO there’s a possibility the phone and her disappearance are not related. I have always thought the 2 were related and the phone was thrown where it was to throw the police off. But people do steal phones quite often so maybe the 2 are unrelated.