After spending the day with her loved ones on June 28, 2023, Nanci Britner – a grandmother from Winchester, Virginia – mysteriously vanished while trying to get a ride home and has remained missing ever since.
At the time, 45-year-old Nanci was living in a home located on North Ken Street. She was engaged, had four children, and was the proud grandmother of 13 grandkids.
In the past, she reportedly struggled with alcoholism but managed to get clean and remain sober for over a year leading up to her disappearance. Nanci’s loved ones also described her as a homebody who was always there for her family. So, she had never just left without telling anyone.
The morning of June 28, 2023, also started off like a normal day for Nanci. First, she visited one of her children and her three grandchildren, as she typically did.
“When she was walking out, she was like, ‘I love you guys. Be back later,” recalled Nanci’s daughter, Kelsi Britner.
Afterward, Nanci went to deliver some food to her sister, who lived at a residential motel known as the Relax Inn, which was located at 2645 Valley Avenue in Winchester.
Nanci’s sister had been undergoing cancer treatment, so she helped take care of her that afternoon. Then, by the end of the night, Nanci started searching for a ride back to her own home.
At approximately 11:00 p.m., she reportedly spoke to her fiancé on the phone – who had been working at a 7-11 at the time. Additionally, she reportedly texted one of her nieces.
Nanci’s sister had offered to let her sleepover at the motel that evening, but Nanci was supposedly expecting her son the following day – who was visiting from Morgantown, West Virginia, with his children.
Facebook – pictured above is Nanci
So, Nanci continued searching for a ride home, and at about 11:30 p.m., her sister fell asleep – assuming Nanci had found a way back to her house. Yet, the next day, Nanci did not arrive to see her son, and she was never seen or heard from again.
She disappeared along with her two prepaid cell phones, one of which last pinged to a location in Frederick County, Virginia.
“My beliefs are that something definitely bad happened at that hotel that night,” her daughter, Kelsi, said.
Winchester police started investigating Nanci’s case in early July 2023 with the help of the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office.
“We’ve spoken with many of her family members, conducted massive interviews with each of them to make sure that we are doing our part to make sure she’s found,” detailed Winchester police Sgt. Chaz Niang.
Still, it’s now been over a year since Nanci vanished, and it remains unclear whether or not someone picked her up from the Relax Inn motel that evening.
“Our big fear is that we’re never going to find her, I mean, alive or not alive. Just always, for the rest of my life, just not knowing what happened to her,” said Kelsi.
Kelsi also believes that someone knows something about her mother’s disappearance, and investigators agree – urging anyone with intel to come forward.
“If there’s something that you may have seen or you may know of how her disappearance had taken place, any amount of information could be helpful,” Sgt. Niang stated.
At the time she went missing, Nanci was five foot four, weighed 110 pounds, and had brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing denim shorts, a black tank top, and black and gold sandals.
If you have any information regarding her case, you are urged to contact the Winchester Police Department at (540) 662-4131.
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