TedMac
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2014
- Messages
- 1,699
- Reaction score
- 4,645
Search continues for Winchester woman missing since June
WINCHESTER — Suspected carjacker Jason Diego Abarca is not the only missing person being sought by the Winchester Police Department. Officials are also trying to locate Nanci Britner, a Winchester
WINCHESTER — Suspected carjacker Jason Diego Abarca is not the only missing person being sought by the Winchester Police Department. Officials are also trying to locate Nanci Britner, a Winchester resident who has not been seen since the night of June 28.
“We have followed up on over a hundred leads and tips and information, and talked to so many people in reference to Nanci,” Winchester Police Chief Amanda Behan said on Wednesday. “Nothing has panned out.”
Britner, 45, was last seen at the Relax Inn at 2645 Valley Ave. in Winchester, where she had been visiting her sister, Betsy Chavez. The sister has said Britner was calling around for a ride home around 11:30 p.m. when Chavez fell asleep. By morning, Britner was gone but it is not known if anyone picked her up.
Behan said the hunt for Britner has been exhaustive and widespread.
“We’ve searched multiple homeless camps and multiple properties using cadaver dogs, and followed up on sightings from people who called in and said they saw her in Iowa, Texas, West Virginia, Maryland, multiple counties in Virginia,” Behan said.
When asked if police believe that Britner is alive or dead, Behan said: “I don’t want to draw any conclusions in this situation. It’s very difficult.”
A major hindrance to the search is that Britner lived somewhat off the grid. Behan said the missing woman shunned many modern conveniences, including social media, credit cards and a cellphone account, so there has been no paper or digital trail to follow.
Britner did have an inexpensive cellphone with pre-purchased minutes — commonly referred to as a burner phone — and she had it with her when last seen by her sister on June 28.
Behan said police were able to track the cellphone to an undisclosed location in Frederick County where it was powered off.
“Our staff, along with Frederick County [Sheriff’s Office personnel], went and searched the area just to see if we could find any evidence there,” Behan said, but the effort proved fruitless.
Britner has now been missing for more than six months. Behan said the last time a person disappeared from Winchester for such an extended period of time was on Sept. 6, 1988, when 73-year-old Lily Mae Huff vanished from her residence at Welcome Haven Nursing Home on Henry Avenue.
Huff, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, was never found and no criminal charges were ever filed in connection with her disappearance. Her son, Curtis Huff, ran advertisements in May 1992 offering $15,000 for information about his missing mom, but he died a few years later without ever learning of her fate.
Today, 35 years after Lily Mae Huff vanished, her remains are still out there somewhere.
Behan said police never stopped looking for Huff as long as there was hope she could be alive, and they’ll continue to do the same with Britner.
“It’s going to remain active and we’ll follow up on as many leads that come in,” she said. “We just hope that at some point, someone will come forward with solid information that we can follow up on.”
If you know something that could help authorities in their search for Nanci Britner, contact the Winchester-Frederick-Clarke Crime Solvers at 540-665-TIPS (8477) or via its P3 app, which is available as a free download for Apple and Android smartphones. Tipsters can remain anonymous, and information that leads to Britner’s location could result in a cash reward."
