Briana Hennigan

Claim:   A 13-year-old girl named Briana Hennigan is missing from her Zachary, Louisiana, home.

Status:   Not any more.

Example:   [Collected on the Internet, 2005]

TO EVERYONE ESPECIALLY THOSE OF US IN THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY. KATHLEE HENNIGAN'S (DIRECTOR OF CONSUMER COMPLIANCE AT THE LOUISIANA INSURANCE DEPARTMENT) DAUGHTER IS MISSING. HER PICTURE IS SHOWN ABOVE. THE AUTHORITIES BELIEVE THAT SHE WAS ABDUCTED BY AN INTERNET PREDATOR. SHE WAS DISCOVERED MISSING AT AROUND 6:00AM ON FEBRUARY 2, 2005. SHE WAS LAST KNOWN TO BE IN HER ROOM AT MIDNIGHT. SHE LEFT OR WAS LURED AWAY SOMEWHERE BETWEEN MIGNIGHT AND 6:00AM. SHE IS 5'5" 140 LBS, HAS BLUE EYES AND DARK BLONDE HAIR. SHE IS 13 YEARS OLD. KATHLEEN AND HER FAMILY NEED HELP. PLEASE SEND THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK AND ASK YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO POST THIS PICTURE IN AS MANY PLACES AS POSSIBLE. THE POLICE HAVE PUT OUT AN AMBER ALERT BUT WE ARE HAVING TROUBLE GETTING NATIONAL PRESS ON THIS. PLEASE DO WHAT YOU CAN TO HELP US CIRCULATE THIS PICTURE AND DESCRIPTION. TO OUR INSURANCE ASSOCIATES: KATHLEE HAS ALWAYS BEEN THERE FOR US, NOW IT IS OUT TURN TO TRY TO HELP HER, HER HUSBAND RICHARD, AND HER SON SEAN. PLEASE CONTACT THE NEAREST FBI OFFICE OR THE ZACHARY, LOUISIANA POLICE DEPARTMENT AT 225-654-1921 IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION REGARDING THIS CHILD. PLEASE KEEP KATHLEE AND HER FAMILY IN YOUR PRAYERS.

Origins:   The usual problem with pleas to find missing persons distributed via e-mail is that they continue to circulate even after the cases have been resolved; we hope this is one instance we can help nip that phenomenon

in the bud.

Briana Hennigan (whose first name is never mentioned in the above-quoted plea), a 13-year-old eighth-grader, disappeared from her Zachary, Louisiana, home in the early morning hours of 2 February 2005, leaving behind a note that said she was going to Kentucky to "sort things out" and would call home in a few months. That night she sent an instant message to a friend stating that "she was OK and not to worry," and police and the FBI, who suspected Briana had left with a man she met through an Internet chat room, began trying to trace the computer used to send the message.

Suspicions proved correct on the evening of 3 February 2005, when the FBI found Briana at a Dallas hotel with a 28-year-old man, Alejandro Esparza Vasquez of Pomona, California. Briana Hennigan was turned over to a Texas child protection agency and then driven back to her home in Zachary by the FBI, while Alejandro Vasquez was being held at the Dallas County Jail as authorities continued their investigation.

Last updated:   4 February 2005

  Sources:

    Troxler, Brett.   "Missing Zachary Teen Could Be with Internet Man."

    WBRZ-TV [Baton Rouge].   2 February 2005.

    Minton, James and Heath Druzin.   "Authorities Get Subpoena to Track Origin of Missing Girl's E-Mail."

    WBRZ-TV [Baton Rouge].   4 February 2005.

    Minton, James and Heath Druzin.   "FBI Finds Missing Zachary Teenager in Texas."

    WBRZ-TV [Baton Rouge].   5 February 2005.