Ciera Breland disappearance: Renewed hope for answers as new documentary premieres
Ciera (Locklair) Breland (Family photo)
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. - More than 8 months after new mother Ciera Breland was last seen leaving her mother-in-law's home in Johns Creek with her husband, a new documentary is providing new intimate details about the search for her.
Breland was last seen on the evening of Feb. 24 leaving her mother-in-law's home, the Johns Creek Police Department said. Ciera was with her husband, 37-year-old Xavier Breland and the couple's 5-month-old son, Jackson.
There has been no sign of her since. Her husband was named and remains the sole person of interest in her disappearance, according to police.
Ciera Breland case featured on Investigation Discovery’s ‘Disappeared’
A new documentary features interviews with Ciera's parents, Nick and Kelly Locklair, and cousin, Shelby Campbell, as well as the police who are investigating the case. The documentary, as part of Investigative Discovery’s "Disappeared" series, premiered on Wednesday evening.
The documentary's interviews, which were filmed over the summer, shed new light on the case and provide new insight into the investigation.
The hour-long program, at times, showed the raw emotion the family has had to face over the past 8 months as they struggle to find answers and peace.
Evidence collected at home of Ciera Breland’s mother-in-law
Investigators said the last known time Ciera was seen was at 7:17 p.m. on Feb. 24 at a home along Highgate Manor Court in the Parsons Walk subdivision in Johns Creek. The Johns Creek Police Department said this was following a visit to her mother-in-law's home.
It was not clear how much Xavier Breland's mother was cooperating with police in the investigation, but it is now known that investigators collected evidence from that home when they executed a search warrant.
Johns Creek police say investigators were able to last place Ciera Breland at this home on Highgate Manor Court on Feb. 24, 2022. (FOX 5)
Johns Creek police confirmed in the documentary investigators brought in forensic experts and even cadaver dogs. They were searching for blood stains, signs of a struggle, or anything that might have given a clue to as what happened during the couple’s stay.
Police said the K9 did not find a good scent trail at the home.
The type of evidence collected from the home was not revealed as the case remains under investigation.
Retracing Ciera Breland’s route back to Indiana
Police said from Ciera’s mother-in-law’s home in Johns Creek, Georgia to her home in Carmel, Indiana, is nearly 600 miles. Investigators said they have retraced every mile since her disappearance.
One detail police revealed during the documentary was about the surveillance video obtained from a stop along the way. Family members said it raised concerns for what it didn’t show rather than what it did.
"They saw Xavier get out and go to the bathroom, get out and pump gas, but they never saw anybody else get out," her father said.
Her cousin said she found it odd Ciera was never seen going in the gas station as she "very bad diet Dr. Pepper habit" and has been known to bring her own 12-pack to gatherings. She said she couldn’t fathom her going 11 hours, the length of the trip, without one.
Xavier Breland’s initial reports to police about Ciera’s disappearance
A missing person's report to the Carmel Police Department states Ciera Breland was last seen at this home in the Brookstone Park of Carmel subdivision in Carmel, Indiana on Feb. 25, 2022. (FOX 59)
Xavier Breland called the Carmel Police Department, just outside of Indianapolis, when he returned the couple’s home. He told officers he had last seen her around 10 p.m. on Feb. 25 walking to the store in Carmel, Indiana, wearing short a black top and purple shorts in temperatures that were in the mid- to upper-20s.
Family members said police told them she never arrived and there was no surveillance video of her entering the store. They also are concerned because her personal phone, her work phone, and a burner phone were all left behind along with her ID, credit cards, and the couple’s 5-month-old son. Family members said she had the burner phone to contact them in case of an emergency.
A few days after the report was filed, Xavier was named a person of interest in his wife’s disappearance and was arrested on an unrelated charge. Police discovered he had an outstanding warrant for aggravated stalking in Coweta County. He was extradited back to Georgia to face those charges.
Xavier Breland Jr., was arrested in Indiana for an outstanding warrant in Coweta County, Georgia on March 1, 2022. (Hamilton County Sheriff's Office)
He was accused of putting a tracker inside a stuffed animal belonging to his daughter with the intention of tracking the girl’s mother, his ex-wife. The case stemmed from a custody battle between the two.
In August, he was cleared of those charges by a jury. According to online jail records, he was then taken into custody in Fulton County on contempt of court charges.
Ciera Breland’s family reacts to Xavier’s video chat claiming she was kidnapped
Investigators got ahold of a video in March which shows Xavier Breland telling his children that Ciera will not be coming home because she had been kidnapped. This contradicts what he told Carmel police about her disappearance.
"He just creates a different story for everybody he’s talking to," her father said during the documentary.
Her family said they remain adamant that he knows what happened to her and that he is the only one who can give them the answers they need to find closure and finally let Ciera rest in peace.
Ciera (Locklair) Breland (Family photos)
Ciera Breland’s family reveals she was planning to leave
Family members are not sure Ciera ever made it back to Indiana after her trip to Georgia, but many wish she just stayed in Georgia.
Xavier and Ciera had been married for about a year and 5-month-old son. Her family said it was anything but ideal. During the episode of "Disappeared" dedicated to her case, they outlined the problems the couple was experiencing.
The two met in Georgia, had a whirlwind romance, married, and then moved to Indiana after she landed a job at a law firm there. However, her family said the two had been having problems as far back as June 2021 as they were packing to move. The family shared Ciera admitted to being in a bad situation with several times openly admitting she should leave.
"I encouraged her and her father encouraged her to come home. We just wanted her to be out of the situation, but Ciera was 31 years old. I trusted her to know what to do," her mother explained.
However, she was trying to make her relationship work. Her cousin revealed one of the biggest reasons she stayed.
"She had told me that she couldn’t leave Xavier because she couldn’t imagine letting Jackson go with Xavier," her cousin said, adding Ciera was worried she would get joint custody if the two divorced.
The Johns Creek Police Department put up electronic signs asking for help in finding Ciera Breland on March 11, 2022. (FOX 5)
Still, her family said she was making plans to leave him. She was reportedly socking away money in a secret bank account and had been talking to her parents about moving back in for a time.
Her family believes she was just waiting for a "calm moment" to make her move. That moment appeared to have never come.
Ciera’s parents have since were granted custody to the couple’s child.
$10,000 reward offered in Ciera Breland case
In the past 8 months, there have been multiple organized searches, some targeting specific areas, but still no clues as to what happened to the new mother.
As investigators continue to try to piece things together, officers have been busy handing out flyers and even using electronic signs to try to raise awareness.
Ciera is described by police as being 5-feet tall and weighing about 120 pounds with blonde hair.
Family and friends of Ciera Breland pass out flyers in Johns Creek on March 11, 2022. (FOX 5)
The couple was driving a white 2017 Volkswagen Tiguan with Georgia tag RMB 5869. An FSU Law School frame surrounds the license plate.
Anyone who may have seen her or her car in February is asked to call the police.
The family also continues to hope a $10,000 reward will get them the tip that will break the case open.
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).