Ciera Breland disappearance: Missing Indiana woman 'scared' by husband, texts say
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. - Ciera Breland said her husband "scared" her about six months before she disappeared, according to texts obtained by FOX 5 Atlanta.
Ciera, a mother and lawyer from Indiana, went to Johns Creek to visit her mother-in-law with her husband, Xavier Breland, and their 5-month-old son. The last time investigators were able to verify her location was in a surveillance video that showed Ciera at 7:17 p.m. on Feb. 24 leaving her mother-in-law's home in the Highgate Manor Court in the Parsons Walk subdivision in Johns Creek.
Xavier Breland was arrested for an outstanding warrant in Coweta County in March. He reported her missing on Feb. 26, when he said he saw her leave their home in Carmel, Indiana, a little after 10 p.m. to walk to a store.
In an alleged conversation between Ciera and her cousin, Shelby Campbell, about Xavier in August 2021, the now missing woman said, "I'm seeing things that scare me a lot for a future with him and they aren't the kinds of things that you can accept and live with."
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT CIERA BRELAND'S DISAPPEARANCE
In another text, Ciera told Campbell, "I’m really scared and idk what to do."
Ciera and Campbell came up with a "secret code" to communicate with each other in case of an emergency: Ciera would call Campbell twice, and Campbell would call the police.
Ciera told Campbell she planned to leave Xavier and stay with family in Georgia, but she was determined to take her son with her.
In one of the final texts between the cousins, Ciera said, "I’m at Xavier’s mom’s house…he won’t give me Jaxson so I’m waiting to get him so I can leave."
"Those were just text messages, we had conversations all the time, and the slightest thing went wrong in either of our lives, and we would call each other," Campbell said. "So you can imagine, we talked a lot about what was going on in her life and the turmoil in her relationship."
Campbell said Ciera expressed concerns for her own safety and thought Xavier might do something to her before the trip to Johns Creek. Campbell said Ciera recorded videos of Xavier being violent toward her, which Campbell shared with police.
"She would say, ‘I think he’s going to really hurt me,'" Campbell said. "And I said something back to her and she said, ‘Shelby, I’m not kidding. I genuinely think he's capable of doing something very bad to me,' which is why she sent me those messages."
Missing person's case opened for Ciera Breland
Xavier Breland filed a missing person's report on Feb. 26 stating he saw his wife, Ciera, leave their home in the Brookstone Park of Carmel subdivision in Carmel, Indiana, a little after 10 p.m. to walk to an area store. The police report states she was wearing a black top and purple shorts in temperatures that were in the mid-to-upper 20s that night. Ciera left behind her 5-month-old son, her dog, her cellphones, ID and credit cards.
Family members said police told them she never arrived at the store and there was no surveillance video of her inside the store. Xavier's father, who lives in the same neighborhood told police he had not seen her either, according to media reports. In fact, police have not revealed any physical evidence that confirms she returned to Indiana. John Creek police said surveillance video caught Ciera at 7:17 p.m. on Feb. 24 leaving her mother-in-law's home located in the Highgate Manor Court in the Parsons Walk subdivision in Johns Creek. That is the last time investigators were able to verify her location.
A few days after Ciera was reported missing, Xavier was taken into custody in Indiana on an outstanding warrant out of Georgia. Investigators officially named him a person of interest, but have not charged him in connection to her disappearance.
The couple's son was initially placed in state custody following his father's arrest, but Ciera's parents traveled to Indiana to try to obtain custody.
Ciera Breland told family members she was moving back to Georgia
Ciera Breland was last seen in Johns Creek, police say
It has been nearly two weeks since Ciera Breland was reported missing. The Johns Creek Police Department now has said she was last seen in the subdivision in the city on Feb. 24, a day before a missing person's report stated she was spotted just outside her home near Indianapolis.
Xavier's charges in Georgia of violating a family violence order, aggravated stalking, and harassing phones calls are not related to Ciera or her disappearance, but they have compounded her family's worst fears.
The night before she headed to her mother-in-law's home, Ciera had asked her father if she could move back into his home in Cleveland, Georgia, telling him she had no intention of going back to Indiana with Xavier. That was just a little over a year after she married Xavier and five months after her son was born. She said she wanted to have a fresh start back in her home state. Family members have said they were concerned about violence in the relationship and said Ciera even had a burner phone in case she needed to reach her family in an emergency.
According to reports, Ciera was going down with Xavier to his mother-in-law's home and was expected back the next day in north Georgia.
Her family hasn't seen her since.
Search for Ciera Breland
Her family members have been searching for her, passing out flyers, and begging anyone who may have seen her car driving around the week of Feb. 20 to call investigators. Ciera was driving a white 2017 Volkswagen Tiguan with Georgia tag RMB 5869 with a Florida State University Law School frame surrounding the license plate.
Ciera is described by police as being 5-feet tall and weighing about 120 pounds with blonde hair.
A $10,000 reward is being offered by the FBI for information leading authorities to Ciera.
Anyone with information surrounding the case is asked to call Corporal Rozier with the Johns Creek Police Department at 678-372-8046, the Carmel Police Department at (317) 571-2580, Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-TIPS (8477), the Georgia Bureau of Investigation tip line at 1-800-597-TIPS(8477) or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324).