Spotsylvania mom still determined to find daughter missing since 2015
Lisa Sullivan’s latest attempt to locate her 19-year-old daughter was a bright yellow billboard bearing her image placed at a busy King George County intersection.
She believes her former husband, James Branton, was probably the last person to see her daughter, Katelin Akens, on Dec. 5, 2015. She also believes Branton has additional information he still has not shared with authorities.
“I was hoping [the billboard] would put him on a guilt trip, seeing her face every day,” said Sullivan. “He needs to talk; he needs to come forward. He’s got to know where she is.”
For the last three months, the billboard bearing Katelin’s image was in plain view where State Route 206, or Dahlgren Road, meets U.S. 301. That billboard came down recently, but is going back up nearby. Sullivan believes Branton, who works at Naval Support Facility Dahlgren, will continue to see the billboard every day on his way to work, and so will the people he works with.
“His co-workers would know,” said Sullivan. “I was hoping people in his office would whisper and talk, make him feel uncomfortable.”
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Branton told Sullivan he dropped her off at the Springfield Metro station.
“She was going to take the Metro to the airport since there is a stop at Reagan [National Airport],” Branton replied.
Eight minutes after Branton’s message, Sullivan received another text from Katelin’s phone that read, “I’m at the airport. Battery dying so I won’t be able to text for a bit.”
But investigators later said the young woman never made it to the airport, and her phone never left the Fredericksburg region.
“I can tell you, her phone was never there at 2 o’clock,” said Spotsylvania Detective Sharon Williams. “Her phone was in Fredericksburg; it was in Spotsy, and it never went farther north than Stafford.”
Williams said investigators also examined surveillance camera footage in hopes of finding additional clues connected to the case.
“We pulled video from the Springfield Mall, from the Metro station and from the airport, and Katelin’s not on any of them,” said Williams.
Later that same day, at 7:15 p.m., Sullivan received another text from Katelin’s phone that read, “I’m staying with a friend. I need some time alone.”
“Call me,” Sullivan responded. “I am very worried about you. Please call me.”
Two days later, a worker found Katelin’s blue suitcase in a ditch along River Road in Stafford County. The suitcase contained Katelin’s wallet and identification card, but her clothing and high school diploma were missing.
At first, Branton cooperated with investigators, who later searched his home and seized his cellular phone.
“He provided us his timeline of events, which also does not match up to the cell tower information that we have received,” said Williams.
But Williams said Branton eventually decided not to cooperate any further. He also refused to turn over the password to his phone and declined to take a polygraph test, she said.
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