Missing Asheboro woman’s family call for tips 8 years after disappearance

ASHEBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Family and friends of a missing Asheboro woman are desperate for someone to come forward with information eight years after her disappearance.

“At the end of the day, that was my best friend,” Cody Blakley said.

Blakley shared memories of his mom, Brandi Duvall, surrounded by family. His sister Kaylee Duvall, cousin Hollie Phillips and his aunt and Brandi’s sister, Nikkie Tippett, shared their stories around a pile of pictures of Brandi when she was young.

“I would never not be smiling with her. I would never get upset around her,” Kaylee said.

The pictures are all they have left of their smiling and positive mom, aunt and sister.

“Not knowing where she is is the worst part because she could be out there right now needing us, and we have no idea where she is,” Tippett said.

The nightmare of not knowing started in July 2016.

“Brandi was supposed to be there in July when our sister came up from Florida, and she never showed up, and we couldn’t get in touch with her,” Tippett said.

At the time, family members said Brandi was living in Asheboro and stayed with her then-boyfriend at a home on Park Street.

Months went by without a sign from Brandi. No phone calls, no texts and no posts on Facebook.

“Why my birthday passed, and we still couldn’t get in touch with her, I kind of joined my mom with the whole something is wrong here,” Tippett said.

One of Brandi’s brothers reported her missing in Sept. 2016. Brandi and Nikkie’s mom passed away without knowing if her daughter was OK.

While the case remained in one detective’s hands for a large chunk of time, Detective Alyssa Nance took on the case in 2023 after the former detective went on medical leave.

“The case is very strange,” Nance said. “You don’t just have someone up and disappear, especially now in the modern world, especially with technology.”

While Nance wasn’t able to share the specifics of the investigation, FOX8 was able to obtain two police reports from July 2016, which was the last month anyone heard from Brandi.

Both reports were filed on the same day from the home her family says she stayed in with her then-boyfriend.

One accuses Brandi of assault. The other states her then-boyfriend tried to rape her. According to criminal investigation notes from the next day, Brandi told detectives she did not want the rape case investigated.

“With any missing persons case, there’s always some kind of underlying worry that she may not be OK. I like to be on the optimistic side of things and hope she’s out there,” Nance said.

Nance expressed her willingness to go wherever the case might take her and said even the smallest piece of information could help solve this case.

“Brandi would break her back to help either one of us, and we just feel like we’re still at a standstill,” Tippett said.

For now, the people who love Brandi share stories about her laughter, her free spirit and her zest for life. They look at the pictures with the hope someone knows something to bring Brandi home.

“No matter what you do for a living, no matter who you are, nobody has the right to make you disappear,” Tippett said.

If you have any information about the case, you’re encouraged to call Randolph County Crime Stoppers at (336) 672-7463. There is a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

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