Monster In The Shadows: Where Is Brittney Wood's Mother Today?

In May 2012, Alabama teenager Brittney Wood disappeared, and not a trace of her has been found in the decade since, Oxygen reports. Her uncle, the last person believed to have seen her alive, died of a gunshot wound — possibly self-inflicted — a few days after she disappeared. As reported by WALA, police believe he may have had something to do with Brittney's disappearance and presumed death.

As it would later be revealed, however, the disappearance of Brittney and the death of her uncle were just the tip of a giant criminal iceberg. Specifically, investigators would learn that members of the family were allegedly involved in a familial child sex trafficking ring that possibly spanned generations. One member of the family — Brittney's aunt, Wendy Holland — was convicted of a lengthy list of sex crimes against children and is currently serving a 200-year sentence, per WPMI.

Brittney's own mother, Chessie (pictured above), was also caught up in the criminal investigation into her family's activities, at one time facing serious felony charges. She maintained her innocence, although she did take a plea deal.

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Brittney Wood's mother, Chessie, was charged with sodomy and child sex abuse, AL.com reported. While she insisted that there was no evidence against her, she took a 2016 plea deal that allowed her to plead guilty to a misdemeanor, per WPMI.

In July 2020, as WPMI revealed in a follow-up report, Chessie reiterated her belief that her sister, who is currently serving a 200-year sentence, knows something, and that her brother-in-law was likely involved in Brittney's disappearance and/or death. "At the end of the day, my sister Wendy Holland or her husband, Donald Holland has something to do with the disappearance of my daughter," she said.

Also in July 2020, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released an age-progressed photo (pictured above) of what Brittney would look like as an adult woman in her 20s — assuming she's still alive. As WALA reported, Chessie said at the time that she hoped the new picture would help locate her daughter, or at the very least, bring an end to her decade-long unsolved disappearance.