It was January 7, 1998, and it was an early morning while Brittany Locklear, who was a five-year-old little girl, was headed to school. She loved to go to church and give everyone hugs that she ran into. Brittany had on a Little Red Riding Hood jacket that morning while waiting for the school bus that was running late in Hoke County, NC. Her mother had gone to the bathroom to try to beat out the bus. While Connie Locklear Chavis was in the bathroom, a white man in a brown truck pulled up and snatched little Brittany up. Allegedly the neighbor had seen this happen and told Connie about it.
Little Brittany was part of the Lumbee Indian tribe. She always dreamt about being a pilot and loved talking about airplanes. This little girl had no fear whatsoever.
What is very odd about this case is the fact that it was almost like it was planned or premeditated because everything happened so swiftly.
Connie Chavis, Brittany's mother, called 911. The operator already knew about Brittany being missing. In addition, she had even called the school to make sure Brittany had not been there and the school had confirmed that.
The townspeople went to the streets and within two hours later, Brittany's clothes were found 2 miles away from her disappearance.
First, they had seen her book bag, then tennis shoe, and then more articles of clothing. The investigators had used a small plane and a helicopter to scour the woods and back roads. They had put roadblocks up and had checked all the cars going through; yet, still, there was no sign of Brittany.
Eventually, once the water receded, one of the investigators looked down and he started tearing up. Brittany Locklear had been shoved inside a drainage pipe. Her feet were hanging out in the cold temperatures for a long time. The autopsy revealed that she had been sexually assaulted and that she probably drowned quickly.
The investigators thought that maybe she would've been sexually assaulted fast and drowned by the suspect holding her underwater.
The police had notified each of the parents individually. They were shocked and they fell to their knees when they heard the information.
Was this the crime of opportunity or was someone that was getting stalked, knowing exactly when Connie Chavis had gone to the bathroom and having Brittany wait there by herself? It was the perfect opportunity for her to disappear.
According to Cecil Ard, "whoever did it knew where they were and they knew exactly where they were going. So he had some kind of association, or he planned it out and went and searched the area to find a spot. Because you could not have found a better spot."
The only suspect that police had questioned was a firefighter by the name of Keith Londeree. Allegedly, he had pictures of Brittany in his locker. They took DNA from him and it did not match the DNA found.
Over the years, there were not many leads, and three new sheriffs were named to the case in different years. Again, still no suspects.
In 2009, they were starting over with the case. There was a $20,000 reward and tons of prospective leads.
The police were stumped!
There is so much evil in humanity that it just makes you wonder how deep this goes.
Will justice ever be served for this little girl?
The firefighter who they thought could've been a suspect died back in 2018. As of right now, the investigators and police are not actively investigating her murder.
If you have any information, you could call the North Carolina hotline at 1-800-334–4000.
Written By: Heidi
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