'Vanished without a trace' 09.08.07

‘Vanished without a trace’
By Dwayne Bremer
Sep 10, 2007, 11:10
Email this article

Brandi LaurentWhy would a mother of two suddenly leave her home and her two young children in the middle of the night and not return or make contact with anyone for more than a month? That is the question sheriff's investigators and family members of 29-year-old Kiln resident Brandi Hawkins Laurent have been asking over the past five weeks, since she apparently vanished without a trace on Aug. 4.As more and more time goes by without any contact, friends and family members said this week their concerns are growing."This has just about got the best of me," Laurent's mother Anita Moody said Thursday. "I can't find my daughter, this is not like her. Something is definitely wrong here.""I know she would have called someone by now," life-long friend Andrea Dominach said Friday. "Its very alarming, we are all very concerned."Sheriff's investigator Rita Blaize-Watson said Brandi left her job at the Kiln Dollar Store on Friday Aug. 3, claiming she was sick.The next morning, Brandi's husband Leo first reported her missing to authorities at about 11 a.m., Watson said.Watson said Leo Laurent told officers he and Brandi had had a disagreement about midnight the previous evening, and a short time later, Brandi left the couple's home at the Pecan Park trailer park in Kiln.Leo Laurent told officers he drove around the trailer park and surrounding area, but Brandi was not to be found, Watson said.Brandi was last seen wearing a tank-top, tan pants or shorts, and a pair of flip-flops, Watson said. Watson said she apparently left on foot, leaving her vehicle, purse, cell phone, and clothes inside the trailer. Moody, who was living in Gadsden, Al., said she did not find out her daughter was missing until the next evening.Moody said she cannot believe her daughter would just up and leave her family and children."It is just not in her character to leave her children," Moody said. "Brandi is a very devoted mother to her children. She is always there for her kids no matter what."Watson said the disappearance is still being considered a missing persons case, and investigations are still on-going."We are not ruling anything out at this time, including foul play," Chief Investigator Kenny Hurt said Thursday. "We are following every angle of the case. Every time we get a tip, we investigate it."Hurt said several tips so far have led to dead ends.Dominach described Brandi as funny, smart, caring, nurturing, and an excellent mother."Brandi was someone that I admired as a mother," Dominach said. "She had children at a young age. Every choice and decision she made, she made in the best interest of her children.Watson said several people have said that Brandi had a substance abuse problem and that she was allegedly on a "binge" when she disappeared.Moody and Dominich said they were not aware of any major drug problem."If she had a drug problem, it must have been a new thing," Moody said. "I know she had some problems, but nothing serious."One of the biggest questions surrounding the disappearance centers around blog postings made on the internet.On Brandi's home page at myspace.com, Brandi apparently gives an extraordinary insight into her life on a blog entitled "An epiphany, if you please."The blog was posted on Aug. 3, the day before she went missing.In the blog, Brandi discusses problems in her life and comes to an apparent triumphant conclusion concerning her children."I am still here, just a little stronger," Brandi said in her blog. "I have my girls, my beautiful girls, who are going to be women and mothers one day, just like me and better, and I don't think that is a bad thing anymore."A second blog written on Aug. 5--the day after she went missing--may be the biggest clue in the disappearance.In that blog, Brandi claims she has run-off to Missouri with a "guy-friend.""I regret the decision I have made for my girls, but I have not been without kids my whole life and I believe it is my turn," Brandi said in the blog. "I want to apologize to my family for not contacting them sooner."Moody and Brandi's sister believe that Brandi did not write the second blog.Moody said that several misspelled words and grammatical mistakes in the blog are something Brandi would never do. Brandi's sister agreed in a blog posted on Aug. 6."You know, now that I start re-reading, it does not sound like my sister at all," she said. "I don't think she would have been so careless about that stuff (grammar). Why would she leave without her car? That does not make any sense. Something is not adding up."Watson said investigators are aware of the myspace postings and all of them are being looked at.Friends and love ones of Brandi have also set up separate myspace pages dedicated to finding Brandi."We are just trying to spread the word and get information," Dominach said.Brandi's husband Leo has also posted on the blogs, urging Brandi to contact her family."I am so worried and dying inside to have a chance to talk to you," Leo said. "Words cannot express the pain everyone is going through. I can't eat, I can't sleep, and the phone is constantly ringing. All I can tell them is I don't know."Watson urges anyone in the public with any information of Brandi Hawkins Laurent to call 228-466-6921.
© Copyright 2007 Bay St. Louis Newspapers, Inc.

http://208.62.60.4/40/article_1501.shtml

________________________________________________________________


'Candle-light vigil scheduled for missing mother'
By Dwayne Bremer
Sep 12, 2007, 09:13
Email this article

Brandi LaurentFriends and family members of missing Kiln woman Brandi Hawkins Laurent will be keeping the home fires burning this Sunday as they plan to host a sunset candlelight vigil to raise awareness and offer prayers for their missing friend and loved one. Laurent, 29, was last seen on Aug. 3. She has been missing for nearly six weeks. As more and more time goes by, her friends and family the disappearance has been hard on them and they have become increasingly concerned about her safety."The first three weeks were nearly impossible," Brandi's husband Leo said Tuesday. Leo said he is hopeful the vigil will open more people's eyes and bring more attention to the situation.Brandi's friends agreed."We want to all pray together for Brandi," Andrea Dominach said Tuesday. "This vigil is to raise awareness about Brandi, and we hope something positive can come out of it."The ceremony will be held at the front parking lot of Hancock High School at 7 p.m. Sunday. The prayer and candlelight service will begin a short time later to coincide with the sunset."We are asking for continued prayers and efforts so we can come together as a community, and give us a better chance to find Brandi," Leo said.Brandi Laurent was a student at Hancock High School from 1992 to 1995.Her and Leo have been married for nearly 10 years, and she has two children, ages two and 12. Leo said the hardest part of the past five weeks has been getting the children through the ordeal.Dominach described Brandi as funny, smart, caring, nurturing, and a "devoted mother.""Brandi was someone that I admired as a mother," Dominach said. "She had children at a young age. Every choice and decision she made, she made in the best interest of her children.Brandi was last seen wearing a tank-top, tan pants or shorts, and a pair of flip-flops, police said. Investigators said there have been alleged sightings of Brandi in several parts of the county; however, as of Tuesday there had been no concrete evidence as to her whereabouts.Dominach, a life-long friend, has set up a web-site on myspace.com dedicated to Brandi. The site currently has more than 300 members.Dominach said her group will provide candles, but people who plan to attend may bring their own. Leo praised all of the work and efforts people have put into finding Brandi."A lot of friends and family have stepped up and helped me," he said.
© Copyright 2007 Bay St. Louis Newspapers, Inc.

http://208.62.60.4/40/article_1510.shtml