Marsha Brantley Missing Person Case

Dec 13, 2010

Jan 09, 2024

Marsha

Brantley

67

50

68 inches

125 lbs

White / Caucasian

Female

In the late spring of 2009, Marsha Ellen Brantley, a 50-year-old woman from Cleveland, Tennessee, vanished. An intelligent and creative woman, Marsha was a former director of housing at Lee University, a member of the Chattanooga Writer's Guild, and an avid animal rescue advocate. She lived with her husband of nine years, Donnie Brantley, and their dogs in a quiet subdivision. The alarm wasn't raised for months, not by her husband or her few living relatives, as her parents were deceased and she had no children. It was Marsha's hairdresser, Kelly DeLude, who grew concerned after a missed appointment and her inability to make contact. This compassionate inquiry by a friend in November 2009 officially set in motion the missing person investigation, months after anyone had last heard from Marsha. The subsequent investigation into Marsha's disappearance was fraught with inconsistencies and a troubling lack of physical evidence. When questioned, Donnie Brantley claimed that Marsha had left him and that they were planning to divorce. However, his stories about her whereabouts were conflicting; he told some she had gone to Florida and others that she was out west working as a missionary. Investigators found this suspicious, particularly because Marsha appeared to have left without any of her essential belongings. Her car, cell phone, clothing, and other personal items were all discovered at her home. Cell phone records indicated she likely disappeared around June 2, 2009, and that her phone never left the Cleveland area, with some evidence suggesting Donnie himself may have used it after she was last seen. Despite searches of the couple's home, even with cadaver dogs, no crime scene was ever identified. Over the years, the case against Donnie Brantley has been a complex legal battle. Authorities, believing he was responsible for his wife's death, charged him with her murder on two separate occasions. He was first arrested in August 2013, but the charges were dropped in 2014 due to insufficient evidence. In December 2016, he was charged again with first-degree murder. However, just before the trial was set to begin in February 2018, prosecutors were once again forced to drop the charges, citing a lack of evidence. The dismissals were "without prejudice," meaning charges could be filed again if new evidence emerges. The case remains a frustrating and sorrowful mystery. While law enforcement has long suspected foul play, the absence of Marsha's body and any direct evidence has prevented any legal resolution, leaving friends and the community to wonder what truly happened to the vibrant writer who disappeared without a trace.

Jun 01, 2009

Cleveland

Tennessee

Bradley County

No

21287

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation

Chattanooga

Tennessee

Hamilton County

37416

6040 Century Oaks Drive, Tennessee

4236343044

State

Law Enforcement

https://www.tn.gov/tbi.html

CH-92A-000001

2009-11-01

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation

Brown

Blue

Blue

07/12/2026