Family of Brandy Martinez still looking for answers more than a year after her disappearance
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Thirty-three-year-old Brandy Martinez was last seen in September of 2025 near downtown Elkhart.
After almost a full year of investigating, detectives say they suspect foul play.
ABC57 last spoke with Brandy's sister in February, and she says not much has changed since then; no family has heard from her.
But she still clings to hope that she will one day see her sister again.
"I don't want to, like, wonder everyday if she's out there and I'm just missing something," says Miranda Gayheart, sister of Brandy Martinez.
Gayheart says there is no such thing as closure when a loved one goes missing without a trace.
"It seems like she just disappeared,' says Gayheart.
It's been more than a year since Brandy abruptly ended a phone call with her best friend; that marked the last time anyone has heard from her.
Since then, there have been no solid leads.
Even the last few people that were around Brandy can't say the last direction they saw her go in.
"I mean I don't really know how no one can know like where she went, even the direction she walked or who she could have went with," Gayheart questions.
Investigators now say they suspect foul play in her disappearance, but Gayheart says she already had a feeling that her sister's fate is at the hands of somebody else.
"She was very dependent on others to get by," Gayheart recalls. "I think that she's either with somebody or something had happened with somebody else and no one wants to speak on that because I'm sure that they don't want anything to do with it."
Gayheart and her family just wish they could stop wondering day in and day out about what happened to Brandy.
"I wish I could like hug her and tell her people care about her and stuff but I'm not sure she's even able to do that at this point," Gayheart wishes.
Until she's found. She will keep trying to reach her sister.
"You know our numbers. Just call somebody and just say anything that will indicate that you're okay, or that you need help or something," Gayheart says to Brandy.
If you have any information, you can call Detective Sergeant Claeys directly, at 574-327-4480.
Anonymous tips about Brandy's disappearance can be submitted to Michiana Crime Stoppers by calling 574-288-STOP or using their online form. Tip Form
If your tip leads to an arrest, you may be eligible for a cash reward.