For those who live in the United States, there is often a reasonable expectation of shared safety. This country has a robust legal system nationwide, with municipal, state, and federal agencies ready to assist, at a moment’s notice. When a harrowing experience such as a disappearance occurs, who does the family have to turn to in that moment? The first step is to report the disappearance to their local police department. The officer takes your report, and you go home. Now what? Where do you go from here? You are told to just wait, but waiting for what exactly? So much time has already been wasted in the prior days. You are tired of waiting and take matters into your own hands, by putting up missing flyers and organizing searches. You call around to places to see if anyone has seen or heard from them since you last saw them. Now imagine someone has seen her, spotted her in an entirely different state! You travel to that police department to file the report, which they gladly take but note they would need the cooperation from the other agency on this missing person case. Which sounds great, two different agencies, utilizing their collective resources looking, plus all of your family and friends. That happiness soon turns to despair as you realize one agency refuses to work with the next. Not only do they not work together, but no progress has been made, and nothing has been done for days, weeks and months after. Why? What is the reason for this? Is it because the missing person is an adult? Is it because of the lifestyle of the missing person? How could they not care enough? How could they forsake your loved one, push the case file aside based on their own ego? Today’s story investigates one of these cases, with a family desperately attempting to do everything they can to find their missing loved one without the help of any police entity.
First, I would like to thank Sharon, Brittany’s Aunt, for speaking with me about Brittany’s case. Sharon was very vivid in recalling her childhood and the close bonds her children and Brittany shared. Sharon was also extremely helpful in detailing the day Brittany disappeared. She is optimistic that her family will get the answers that they desperately need to find Brittany and bring her home.
Brittany Duff was born in West Virginia on October 29, 1989, to parents Mary and Paul Horn. Brittany had two older siblings. Kevin and Neil. Since she was the only girl, she was doted on as the apple of her parents’ eye. Sharon described her as a bubbly and fun child, Brittany grew up being both a mommy’s girl and a daddy’s girl. The two parents could not get enough of little Brittany. Her mother would make her dresses that Brittany would wear like the little princess she was. Brittany grew up to be a well-liked teen with many friends. It was during her teen years that Brittany would start to rebel, like most teens do for several reasons. She managed to graduate from Tolsia high school in 2008. She enrolled in her prerequisites for college but would eventually drop her classes. One motivation for leaving school was a new love interest, Clyde Duff. They became inseparable and would soon marry. The marriage came with happy times but they would also struggle as both would form a drug habit. Brittany would soon find out she was pregnant with twins. However, because of Britany’s home life with her and Clyde’s drug use, their children would be taken and be put into the care of her uncle. Brittany and her husband would go on to have two more children, which they tried to provide for, but it was a struggle with their lifestyle. The younger two would go to the care of her brother. From there life for the couple would spiral out of control to the point of no return. On top of the daily struggle with drug addiction, her husband was also very abusive towards her. At one point, just a couple years prior to her disappearance, she decided she would leave Clyde for good and move back home with her mom. As she settled into her mother’s home, looking for a fresh start, Clyde showed up one day unannounced, in a fit of rage, demanding to see Brittany. Her family did not allow this to happen, and Clyde turned violent, proceeding to kick in the family’s front door and shoot Brittany’s brother. Luckily, he was not seriously injured, and Clyde was arrested, but only spent a couple months in jail for the crime. Eventually Brittany found herself back with him and the days and nights were the same. When her husband went to prison for a theft. Brittany decided she really wanted to get her life together for her and the dreams of a new future with her children.
Brittany’s father had passed away from an accident about eight years before her disappearance and he had left her his trailer home. She began making this trailer into a home she could call her own. She also began getting visitation from her two youngest children. In early 2022, Brittany felt she needed real change, and wanted to get sober. She made plans with her aunt, who lived out of state, to enter a treatment facility. Her aunt was beyond happy to make this happen. She loved Brittany and wanted to see her live a complete and full life. Five months would pass, and Brittany had completed the process at a rehabilitation center. She came out and was feeling happy and eager to start this next chapter of her life. This was a new start, and she was looking forward to it. However, there was one thing that was pulling at her heart, her children were back home in West Virginia. She really couldn’t bear to go another minute without seeing their adorable little faces again. Besides, their mom had just made a huge change in her life and was healthy. However, before heading back home, she received some bad news, someone had torched the trailer her father had left her and that she worked hard to make her own home. There was no place for Brittany to go home to. However, Brittany’s mother would welcome her daughter with open arms into her home again. She could lay her head there and have visits with her children, the only thing Brittany wished for. In the coming days, Brittany confided in her mother that someone was out to get her, and she felt threatened, but would not give any more details about this. Shortly after this conversation Mary, Brittany’s mother, would see her daughter for the last time. On June 12, 2022, Brittany walked out of her mother’s home with the clothes on her back and backpack, never to be seen again.
As the days passed, Brittany’s family started to wonder where she was. Brittany did not have a vehicle or a cell phone so there was no way of getting in touch with her. On June 23, 2022, Brittany’s mother was tired of waiting and thought something must be wrong. She went to the local police department to file a missing persons’ report on her daughter. After the report was filed all her family could do was wait. In the meantime, they put up flyers and checked around the places she might be. Soon after, they received information from a close friend of Brittany’s that lived right down the road from her. They were best friends for years, but she had not heard from her friend in a while. Realizing she was now reported as missing, she told the family that on June 13, 2022, Brittany called her. Her friend could not answer so the call had gone to voicemail. When the friend listened to the messages later, Brittany was frantic. stating that she was on her way to her house, but also letting slip she was in Louisa, Kentucky right now and she was scared. The friend was not able to call the number back, so she waited to hear from Brittany until she found out she was missing. Shocked after receiving this new information, the family drove to Louisa, Kentucky to file a missing report for her there as well. Police were happy to take the report but told the family that Mingo County police would have to be willing to cooperate with them and share any information they may have. As many departments do, Mingo County was not willing and declined any help looking for the missing woman. The family also acquired a private investigator, Jeff Lewis, who agreed to take Brittany’s case pro bono. All the attempts to gather information were quickly shut down by law enforcement and with his hands tied, there was nothing more he could do without the help of the department. A tip the family did receive was that on June 12, 2022, Brittany received a ride from a friend to Louisa Kentucky. The friend stated they dropped her off at a home owned by a man that only went by the moniker “Chicago”. In the past Brittany would frequent the residence when she was buying drugs. It is unclear if she had relapsed from her sobriety or if she was going to the home to confront someone.
What happened to Brittany Duff on that day of June 12, 2022? What was her plan when leaving her mother’s home on foot with only a backpack full of her things? Did she speak to someone before leaving? Did she relapse after going to rehab? Or was she going to Louisa to confront someone about the past? There have been many rumors and rabbit holes that her case has gone down since her disappearance. Was she last seen in West Virginia? Or did she really make it to Kentucky? If her friend is to be believed, why would Brittany leave those voicemails? Was it some kind of clue to where she is now? Or did she make it back to West Virginia? Why are the police in West Virginia not cooperating with law enforcement in Kentucky? Do they know something more than what Brittany’s family knows? The family just wants someone to speak up about where Brittany may be. Alive or deceased. They just want to bring her home. It seems that Brittany’s life from early adulthood was a whirlwind of abuse and drug use. She pushed past this, got clean, and was moving towards her life goal to be a mother to her children. Then she vanished, and each day her family continues searching for answers hoping that one day the country roads will bring her home.
In June of 2022 Brittany was described as
Age: 32
Height: 6'0
Weight: 130 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown with blue color mixed in
Race: White
Sex: Female
NAMEUS: MP106960
There is currently a $1,000 reward being offered for any information that will locate Brittany Duff.
If you have any information about the disappearance of Brittany, please contact her aunt that has a Facebook page set up for Brittany.
https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/case/MP106960
I know Brittany and I'm hoping 🙏 and praying for the family for her safe return.