A family is pushing for answers after a Georgia woman inexplicably vanished last month and hasn’t been seen or heard from since.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Briana Winston, 23, was possibly last seen at the Garden Wood Apartments in Clayton County in late March. She was reported missing April 1 after not showing up for her two jobs.
Winston’s relatives said the leasing office at her apartment claimed someone cleaned out her unit after her disappearance. A family member said they found a bag — containing bleach and a pair of shoes — behind her apartment building.
Winston’s 4-year-old daughter reportedly lives with her father, Michale Edwards, and family members said Winston had a bad relationship with him.
“I just don’t see how it could happen to a beautiful young woman who is trying to do everything by herself,” Winston’s grandmother, Ann Thomas, told FOX 5 Atlanta. “She was real sweet, loving, adorable, really attentive, loved her baby to the death.”
Winston’s cousin said she received a call from investigators Friday and was informed that Winston is likely dead.
“They called me and told me that, um, that she was going to put out a press release because she figured that my cousin is deceased,” she said. “And, um, she said from this point on, they’re just looking for [Briana’s] body.”
Edwards and his wife, Brienna Phillips-Edwards, have been named as persons of interest in the case but have not been charged with Winston’s disappearance.
Edwards is currently behind bars at the Clayton County Jail, on charges of aggravated stalking from another case. Phillips-Edwards was previously apprehended for making false statements but was subsequently released on bond.
It’s unclear if Phillips-Edwards’s charge is related to Winston’s disappearance.
“Could you please just come forward and tell us something about her whereabouts and what you had to do with it, so we can find her body or find her and bring her home?” Thomas asked.
According to posts on social media, Winston is 5 feet, 1 inch tall and weighs approximately 218 pounds. Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts is asked to call Detective J. Bryson at 678-610-4713.
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[Feature Photo: Brianna Winston/Facebook]
