Aidan Spear, a 21-year-old Indigenous woman, was reported missing on February 22, 2022. She stands at 5’6”, weighs approximately 120lbs, with brown hair and brown eyes. Detectives currently believe she may be somewhere in the Hosmer St. area of Tacoma, Washington.
Among many friends in loved ones, one of the people praying earnestly for Aidan’s safe return is her mother, Jessica Brown, who describes her as “…one of the kindest people you would ever meet.” Aidan is Jessica’s first and only daughter, who displayed a propensity for hard work and a deep love for her family and friends, especially her little brother. She was also involved in extra-curricular activities, such as being a part of her school’s swim team.
According to Jessica, Aidan began to develop substance abuse and mental health issues in high school, but Jessica continued to support and stand by her daughter every step of the way, taking her to see doctors who claimed they could not give a clear answer for how to proceed with treatment. Aidan has been houseless for four years, but Jessica has continued to support her daughter, and maintained regular contact with her during that time.
In January, there was an improvement in Aidan’s prognosis as she was getting ready to enter a rehabilitation center. Jessica felt as if there was good chance that her daughter would finally get the help she needed. However, on January 21, when she and Aidan were supposed to meet prior to entering the center, that tender hope quickly began to fade. Aidan claimed that before entering the center, she wanted to say goodbye to someone, reassuring her mother, “I’m still going to go, I’m really serious about this, but I have to say goodbye to them so I’m going to be a little late.” That was the last time Jessica heard from her daughter
That was four months ago, which Jessica says is the longest she’s ever gone without speaking to her daughter, even during her period of houselessness. Despite the outcry for help in locating her missing daughter, Jessica has reported instances of cruel people online who have dismissed her child’s disappearance, “She’s just another addict to them…I need people to know that she’s not. They’re not just another addict, like—somebody loves them. They’re someone’s whole world.”
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department is currently investigating Aidan’s disappearance, but Jessica wishes to raise money to fund an independent investigation into her daughter’s disappearance to increase the chances of her being found. Anyone with any information on the current whereabouts of Aidan Spear are encouraged to call the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department at 253-798-7530.
It’s been almost fifteen years since three-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared while on holiday with her family in Praia da Luz in the Algarve region of Portugal. She is believed to have been snatched from her bed in the middle of the night while her parents were out at a tapas restaurant less than 100 yards away from their holiday apartment. Madeleine McCann became one of the most recognized faces globally as her parents launched an international awareness campaign to find their daughter. Fifteen years later, another formal suspect has finally been named in her disappearance.
According to the BBC, “A German man has been declared an official suspect by Portuguese prosecutors investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Christian Brueckner has been made an ‘arguido,’ but Portuguese authorities have not formally revealed the suspect’s name.” Naming Brueckner a formal suspect in the case comes ahead of an important deadline in the timeline of the investigation—the 15th anniversary of the day Madeleine was reported missing will mark the final day that investigators will be able to declare any individual to be a formal suspect, which is a crucial step in charging a suspect criminally. However, Portuguese prosecutors have clarified in a statement that this decision was in no way driven by the upcoming deadline, and was instead made due to “strong indications” that a crime had been committed.
Brueckner is currently serving a prison sentence in Germany for drug offenses and the rape of a 72-year-old woman. A phone that was attributed to Brueckner placed him in the area of Madeleine’s disappearance within a crucial 30-minute window. Brueckner had been breaking into vacation homes and apartments in the area of the resort where the McCanns had been staying and had children’s clothes in his van. Brueckner denies any involvement in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
On April 1st, the family of Naomi Irion finally received devastating answers in her abduction and disappearance when Troy Driver was officially booked on murder charges with the use of a deadly weapon, according to the Lyon County Sheriff. Driver was previously charged only with kidnapping. Driver is being held in custody at the Lyon County Jail. Troy Driver, a Fallon resident, was arrested on March 25, charged with first-degree kidnapping to start and is being held on $750,000 bail.
Naomi Irion, 18, was abducted from the Fernley, Nevada Walmart parking lot on March 12, 2022, and was never heard from again. Her body was recovered last week when Sheriff officials in both Lyon and Churchill Counties responded to a tip about a body in remote Churchill County in northern Nevada. She had been placed in a shallow grave near Coal Canyon Road. Cause of death has been reportedly established, but law enforcement has chosen not to release that information for fear of compromising the investigation—offering only that her death has been ruled a homicide. In the criminal complaint against Driver filed by Lyon County District Attorney Stephen Rye alleges first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon.
On Tuesday afternoon, the media finally learned that the cause of death was shooting. Naomi Irion was shot and died from gunshot wounds to her head and chest in a rural part of northern Nevada. The complaint also contained details related to how Driver allegedly destroyed Naomi’s cell phone and replaced the tires on his truck in order to conceal evidence connecting him to her kidnapping and murder. Driver’s pre-trial hearing was originally scheduled for April 5, but was pushed back after Judge Lori Matheus approved a joint stipulation request from the district attorney’s office. That pretrial hearing has been moved to May 10.
Following an investigation into his wife’s disappearance, a Boone County man is facing murder charges after a grisly discovery. Andrew Wilhoite has been taken into custody on charges of murder, booked in the Boone County Jail.
On Friday, March 25, the Boone County Sheriff’s Department initiated a welfare check at the home of Elizabeth Wilhoite, Andrew’s wife, following a report from a coworker saying that she failed to show up to work. Tragically, the missing person search rapidly became a homicide investigation, which led to the Boone County Sheriff’s office calling an audible with regards to the investigating agency. “When our investigators realized this could be a possible homicide investigation, we wanted to do discuss the best way to move forward with the investigation since the mother of Andrew Wilhoite is a County Councilwoman, another county elected official,” said Sheriff Mike Nielsen. “To avoid any conflict of interest, it was decided to contact the Indiana State Police and ask them to lead the investigation and we would assist them.”
The investigation lead to Indiana State Police concluding that Elizabeth Wilhoite was the victim of a homicide at the hands of her husband, Andrew Wilhoite. Allegedly, Wilhoite struck his wife in the head with a “blunt object,” then put her body in his vehicle and drove to a nearby creek where he disposed of her in the creek. Elizabeth’s body was found partially submerged in the water and recovered from the creek.
“This is another prime example of working with our law enforcement partners to solve a horrendous crime,” said Sheriff Nelson. “I cannot be prouder of our Investigations team, Crime Scene Investigations team, the entire Sheriff’s Office staff, the Boone County Prosecutor’s Office and the Indiana State Police Investigators. Please keep all families and first responders in your thoughts and prayers.”
The search for a missing Indiana woman has gone national this week. Authorities in Johns Creek, Georgia have joined the search for missing Carmel resident Ciera Breland, following reports that she may have been in Johns Creek a week before she was reported missing. Ciera has been described as five feet tall, 120lbs, with blonde hair, and was last seen wearing a black top with purple shorts. Despite the fact that she was allegedly last seen in Hamilton County, family members have reported that they had not seen her after she returned from that trip to Georgia.
When she was originally reported missing, the alert indicated that Ciera Breland was last seen on February 25, 2022 in the 14400 block of Baldwin Lane, near the intersection of Ditch Road and 146th St. However, family members later said that Ciera was in Johns Creek the week prior to her disappearance, and no one had seen her since she allegedly returned from the peach state.
According to the Johns Creek Police, Ciera’s husband, Xavier Breland Jr., 37, has been named a person of interest in her disappearance, but has not bee charged in connection with the case. He’s been arrested in Hamilton County, Indiana on an unrelated charge connected to Coweta County in Georgia. He’s currently awaiting extradition to Georgia.
In speaking to Ciera’s family, WishTV was able to ascertain that her loved ones were concerned about her relationship with Breland Jr. Ciera moved to Indiana after marrying Breland Jr. “After she moved there, it just all went downhill and stuff started happening and then she disappeared. She wasn’t communicating with everyone like she used to and it was kind of like he was brainwashing her,” said Luke Locklair, Ciera’s cousin.
Anyone with information regarding the disappearance of Ciera Breland is asked to call the Carmel Police Department at 317-571-2580 or Corporal Rozier with the Johns Creek Police Department at 678-372-8046.
After the two-year anniversary of her daughter’s disappearance, the mother of Harmony Montgomery has spoken out. Crystal Sorey reached out to the media, and amidst criticism of how her daughter’s case was handled, let the public know that she believes her baby is still alive, “I don’t feel like she’s gone. I just don’t feel that in my heart…and a mother knows, a mother knows if your baby’s here or not. I know she’s here.”
The case of Harmony Montgomery faced the same issues that many missing person cases did around the time of the COVID-19 outbreak. Harmony was last seen by Manchester police when they answered a call to her home in October of 2019, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader. However, any missing person investigator will tell you that if the case is not resolved within the first week of the investigation, it’s crucial for the missing person’s face to stay in the media. The continued presence of a missing person’s face in the media raises the likelihood that someone will recognize the missing person and provide law enforcement with information they may have on their disappearance. This generates new leads, which raises the chance that the missing person will be found. However, in the case of Harmony Montgomery, just eight short weeks after her disappearance, the first news of the COVID-19 pandemic hit the media. As the virus spread, COVID-19 dominated the news cycle, and missing person cases that desperately needed the media exposure were all but forgotten by the public at large. Now two years later, Crystal Sorey is making sure the world hasn’t forgotten about her missing daughter.
Harmony Montgomery was only 5 years old when she disappeared in October 2019. Unfortunately, it had been months since Forey had seen Harmony, reportedly because the girl’s father, Adam Montgomery, had blocked all contact between Harmony and her mother, according to NBC. Last week, Adam Montgomery was arrested by authorities and formally charged with felony second-degree assault “connected to conduct against Harmony” back in 2019. The New Hampshire Police followed up to say that he may also face charges of interference with custody, and two charges of endangering the welfare of a child. Harmony’s stepmother, Kayla Montgomery, was also arrested because she fraudulently received food stamp benefits for Harmony even after her disappearance. According to police, between December 2019 and June 2021, Kayla Montgomery received $1,500 in benefits for the missing girl, even though she had not lived with her or Adam.
Despite the flurry of arrests that have taken place over the course of the investigation into Harmony Montgomery’s disappearance, little progress has actually been made in finding the now 7-year-old girl. Last Saturday, the house where Harmony Montgomery was last seen was formally searched by law enforcement, despite the fact that there are now new occupants who are not related to the case. Police have established a tip line dedicated to Harmony’s case and have offered a cash reward for information leading to Harmony’s location in the sum of $94,000.
