January 14, 2025
By: Dwayne Page
Two and a half years after she went missing, the body of 31-year-old Brittany Miller was found Saturday by two hunters in a wooded area off Man Hill Road in the Snow Hill community.
Sheriff Patrick Ray, in an interview with WJLE Tuesday afternoon, confirmed that it was Miller’s body that was found and that the state medical examiner made a positive identification Tuesday through dental records, etc. Miller’s family has been notified.
According to Sheriff Ray this missing person case now becomes a death investigation led by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The cause of Miller’s death has not been disclosed.
“We are not disclosing how the body was found or the cause of death due to the sensitive nature of the investigation,” said Sheriff Ray.
Miller went missing on July 4, 2022 from her home on Hurricane Ridge Road and the family had not heard from her since that day. The location where Brittany’s body was found is approximately one mile (as the crow flies) from her home on the opposite side of Highway 70.
Although investigators had prayed Miller would be found alive, Sheriff Ray said he hopes the sad news of her death will bring closure to her family.
“Our department has prayed many prayers that Brittany would be found and on Saturday the Lord made a way for that to happen. To Him (God) we give the praise,” said Sheriff Ray.
In the months since Miller’s disappearance, the sheriff’s department launched an investigation and spearheaded several search efforts for her.
“Since she went missing we have done multiple search warrants, subpoenas, interviews, etc. trying to find Brittany’s whereabouts without success. The TBI and DA’s office were called in from the beginning to assist us in this missing person investigation,” said Sheriff Ray.
A massive day-long controlled ground and air search effort occurred in March 2023 led by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office which also involved the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and teams of local, regional, and state law enforcement officers, K-9 units, search and rescue volunteers among others.
The search that day covered 187 acres of mostly rugged terrain near Miller’s home on Hurricane Ridge Road where Brittany was last seen but not where her body was actually found. The place where Brittany worshipped, the Indian Creek Memorial Baptist Church, served as the command post for the search effort.
At the time of her disappearance, Sheriff Ray said Brittany was wearing a black tee shirt, possibly saying “DCHS Tigers”. She was also wearing black shorts knee length, and black tennis shoes with black “no show” socks. Brittany was 5 feet, 4inches tall and weighed 150 pounds. Her eyes were blue and she had dark brown shoulder length hair. She also had a tattoo of “Adam” across her forearm and “Tyler” on her right ankle.