Investigators from the Fort Bragg Police Department and Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office searched a rugged 24-acre property last week as part of a years-long effort to locate Brittany Jane Adkins, a woman reported missing more than four years ago.
The April 26 search, conducted with help from the sheriff’s Search and Rescue team and cadaver dogs from Crescent City Police, yielded no evidence but helped rule out a location long considered relevant in the cold case.
Adkins, 5-foot-9 with green eyes and a fairy tattoo on her shoulder blade, was reported missing on Nov. 13, 2020, by family members who had not heard from her in over six months. She was known to frequent the Fort Bragg area but had no fixed address or phone number at the time.
Fort Bragg Police Chief Neil Cervenka told MendoFever in a phone interview that the new search focused on an area Adkins was last known to be camping. He added that when she disappeared, her communication with friends stopped immediately, and there have been no transactions on her EBT card since.
Special Investigator Wes Rafanan, who reviews the department’s cold cases, developed new leads over the past year that led to the property being searched. A judge issued a warrant, and current residents of the land gave full consent to investigators.
In total, fifteen Search and Rescue members, four Fort Bragg officers, a sheriff’s detective, and two cadaver dog teams scoured the terrain for several hours. Some areas were inaccessible due to the landscape, and no trace of Adkins was found.
Still, Rafanan said, the effort eliminated a potential site and helped clarify unanswered questions in the ongoing investigation.
Anyone with information about Brittany Adkins’ whereabouts is urged to contact Special Investigator Rafanan at (707) 961-2800 ext. 219.
