FBI joins search for Ciera Breland, the Indiana mother and lawyer last seen two weeks ago
Ciera (Locklair) Breland (Family photo)
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. - More details are emerging about a missing 31-year-old Indiana mother last seen in metro Atlanta and her husband who has been named a person of interest in her disappearance as the FBI joins in the investigation.
It has been nearly two weeks since family members have seen Ciera (Locklair) Breland. She was reported missing this past Friday by her husband, 37-year-old Xavier Breland Jr., who is now behind bars on unrelated charges.
Who is Ciera Breland?
Ciera Breland is a mother of a months-old child and an attorney who just moved from the metro Atlanta area to an Indianapolis suburb to join a new firm.
She had moved to Georgia to practice law after Florida State University College of Law and the University of Tennessee.
Family said she and her husband Xavier Breland Jr moved from their Fairburn, Georgia home to Carmel, Indiana less than a year ago. That is when family members said she began to grow distant.
"My sister, they were like strapped together, they never stopped talking to each other, they were, she called her like two or three times a day most of the time, and when my sister texted her, she would always call back without fail," said cousin Luke Locklair.
Ciera is described by police as being 5-feet tall and weighing about 120 pounds with blonde hair.
Her current law firm issued a statement on Thursday which reads:
"Speaking for the entire Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani family, I can express that we have been deeply concerned about Ciera’s wellbeing over the past week and have been doing our utmost to assist both the local and federal authorities as well as Ciera’s family in determining her whereabouts and helping in any other ways we can. We all pray for Ciera’s safe return and remain at the highest level of vigilance pending resolution of this extremely troubling situation. Anyone with any possible information about Ciera’s whereabouts is urged to contact the authorities immediately."
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Who is Xavier Breland?
Xavier Breland Jr., 37, was arrested on Wednesday on an unrelated warrant out of Coweta County. He was being held in the Hamilton County jail in Indiana awaiting extradition to Georgia. He was arrested back in June by the Newnan Police Department on charges of aggravated stalking. It was not clear if the current warrant hold was related to the previous charge. A grand jury indicted him on those aggravated stalking charges in December.
This is not the first legal trouble he has been in. Source told FOX 5 News he was had warrants associated with harassing phone calls and violating a family violence order. In 2007, court records indicate he was arrested in Florida and extradited to Indiana on a fugitive warrant.
Xavier Breland Jr., (Hamilton County Sheriff's Office)
He also has several citations relating to his time as a trucker. Breland has also operated his own car detailing business.
It was not clear when or how Xavier and Ciera met or when they were married. What is known is they have a young child together.
Xavier is not currently facing any criminal charges in connection to the disappearance of Ciera.
Where is Ciera Breland?
The Carmel Police Department, located just outside Indianapolis, said Ciera Breland was reported missing by her husband over the weekend. He told police around 10 p.m. on Feb. 25 he last saw her leave their house in the Brookstone Park of Carmel subdivision possibly headed to the area CVS store wearing a black top and purple shorts. The FOX 5 Storm Team said temperatures in Carmel, Indiana were in the mid- to upper-20s that night.
Family members said police told them she never arrived there and there was no surveillance video of her entering the store.
She also left without her cell phones, credit cards, or her months-old son, family members said.
"For a mom, especially with a young child, to go missing, it causes great concern and obviously, the police department there and us take it very seriously, and we're doing everything we can to find her," said Johns Creek Police Lt. Deb Kalish.
Ciera Breland (Johns Creek Police Department)
The Johns Creek Police Department issued a statement on Tuesday asking the public's help in finding her. Family members they last saw Ciera at her father's home in Johns Creek.
"My uncle, which is her father, she came to his house on Sunday on the 20th and then left that same day," said cousin Luke Locklair.
Family members have expressed their concerns Ciera may have never even made it out of Georgia.
Wednesday, the two police departments working the case issued a joint statement naming Ciera's husband as a person of interest, but he is not the only avenue they are exploring to try to find out what happened to her.
"It is not just him. We're looking at every place that we can possibly find her," said Lt. Kalish.
Xavier Breland has not been criminally charged in connection to Ciera's disappearance.
Late Thursday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said agents have also joined the multi-state search for the missing mother.
Anyone who sees her is asked to call 911 or Corporal Rozier with the Johns Creek Police Department at 678-372-8046, the Carmel Police Department at (317) 571-2580, or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324).
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