In the winter of 2017, 46-year-old Brenda Kay Carroll vanished from Knoxville, Tennessee, adding to a string of disappearances that would puzzle investigators. Carroll was last definitively seen on December 27, 2017, when she accompanied her roommate, Bonnie Drane, and Drane's family to the University of Tennessee Medical Center. After leaving the hospital, the two women reportedly departed in Drane's silver Honda Accord.
Though Carroll sent a message to a relative on January 1, 2018, requesting money for food and cigarettes, no one in her family has had any contact with her since. This lack of communication was unsettling, particularly as it soon became clear that two of her known associates had also disappeared around the same time.
The circumstances surrounding Carroll's disappearance grew more complex as investigators uncovered connections to two other missing individuals, Bonnie Drane and William Inklebarger. All three were known to associate with one another and were living transient lifestyles, often without a permanent residence. They had even lived together in an East Knoxville apartment on Linden Avenue before Inklebarger moved out in December after the power was disconnected. The discovery of Drane's abandoned silver Honda Accord on January 21, 2018, with all of her personal belongings inside, further deepened the mystery. The driver's seat was pushed back, a detail inconsistent with Drane's height, suggesting someone else may have driven the car last.
Authorities have identified Jeremy Jerome Hardison, also known as 'Big County,' as a person of interest in the disappearances of Carroll, Drane, and Inklebarger. Hardison is currently serving a life sentence for a separate first-degree murder conviction from a September 2017 shooting. While law enforcement has not specified their reasons for linking him to the three missing persons cases, it is known that all three had 'deep drug connections' and were associates of Hardison. One of Drane's daughters mentioned that Carroll had previously dated Hardison, which is how Drane was introduced to him. The FBI has increased the reward for information leading to the whereabouts of the missing trio and the conviction of those responsible to $20,000. Despite these efforts, the cases of Brenda Carroll, Bonnie Drane, and William Inklebarger remain unsolved, leaving their families with unanswered questions and a lingering sense of loss.Last Seen: Dec 27, 2017
