Elena Elizabeth Brown was a 12-year-old English girl who disappeared from Ruskin, Florida on May 24, 2002. Her disappearance has remained unsolved.
Brown was last seen by her father as she went to bed at 9:00 p.m. the night of her disappearance, and he reported her missing the next morning when she had not come down for breakfast and could not be found in the house or anywhere near their home on Tippin Point Road in Ruskin with any of her clothes or personal possessions with her.
She was also described by her father as being “carrying on really strange behavior” the previous evening.
She had left her cell phone at home during the day, but did have a ring tone that he recognized from another phone she had picked up several years before.
Brown’s disappearance attracted attention only after she had been missing for two days, when her father asked a neighbor to help search for her, and they began loading boats with volunteers to search nearby creeks.
The volunteer effort was quickly organized within an hour, with some people gathering in cars and others by boat; about 15 boats were eventually involved in the search. Several houses and campgrounds in Ruskin were searched by volunteers.
In total, searches were conducted in 81 different reference points, including at least 16 exact locations where Elizabeth had been sighted in the past.
In addition, three search dogs from three different states were used in the search, at a combined cost of about $25,000.
elizabeth brown who went missing from ruskin was reported missing on May 25 by her father, David Brown. Her mother is Deborah Brown and her stepfather is Peter Adams. She has a half-sister named Emily and a stepbrother Dylan Adams.
She has a best friend named Rachelle Mastromonaco. According to her family members she was broad-minded and broad-eyed. Her favorite movie was “Monsters Inc”.
Before she went missing, she had an argument with her mother. Her mother said that she was displeased that Deborah Brown, who was in the process of divorcing David Brown, contacted various individuals in an effort to find her daughter.
This most notably included Dean Carter and Michael Mastromonaco who both said that Deborah asked them for help in finding Elizabeth.
The local police and the FWC searched and located and examined all other persons who had been seen with Elizabeth Brown.
After those searches, the FBI was brought in for assistance. The FBI officials found that there was no evidence of foul play or problems to suggest any crime had been committed by anyone else.
At first, police thought Brown might have run away because all her personal belongings were still there, as well as her parents’ belongings.
But her clothes were still there, and the police did not think that she could have gone without her personal belongings, or that she could have run away in shoes with heels.
Deborah Brown said that her daughter had told her about her plan to escape from the house by climbing out of a window of their home.
She asserted that she had left the room to go get some of her stuff but disappeared. David Brown said on May 27, “I know it’s hard for people to understand because my daughter is 12 years old, but … I thought maybe she was playing games with me.”
Authorities have speculated on several possibilities for Elizabeth Brown’s disappearance on May 24-25, 2002.
- Elizabeth Brown is still missing and the police have not determined her whereabouts.
- Elizabeth Brown was abducted and murdered by an unknown person or persons.
- Elizabeth Brown ran away and started a new life hiding from her past and family, who she does not wish to be in touch with.
- Elizabeth Brown was taken into the custody of relatives or someone else who has since let her go.
This is unlikely as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) had conducted voluntary fingerprinting as well as searches of relatives’ houses, dental records as well as searching with bloodhounds.
None of those efforts were successful in locating Elizabeth.In spite of that, officials have stated that this is a possibility.
- Elizabeth Brown was taken into the custody of state authorities and has since left their custody.
- Elizabeth Brown was taken into the custody of federal authorities, especially the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and has since left their custody.
- Elizabeth Brown is hiding in another location or in another state.
There are no suspects at this time. Police are asking anyone who might know anything about Elizabeth’s disappearance to come forth with their information so that they can find her safe return to her family .
