He Left For A Late-Night Fishing Trip In August 2019 And Vanished, Leaving Behind His Abandoned Car And Unanswered Questions
In mid-August 2019, Bradley Brooks was a 36-year-old father residing in Corpus Christi, Texas. He’d only relocated to the area two months earlier and lived with his girlfriend, Ashley.
Yet, the day after he moved his daughter to stay with him in Corpus Christi as well, Bradley disappeared.
It all began on the evening of August 18, 2019, when he told his girlfriend and daughter that he was going late-night fishing. Bradley brought shrimp as bait, packed up some fishing poles, and headed out around 10:00 p.m.
He reportedly planned to fish near Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. However, he never returned home from the trip and has remained missing for over five years.
Five days after he vanished, on August 23, Bradley’s car was found abandoned and with its hood up. The vehicle was towed from the 200 block of Naval Air Station Drive, close to Stingray Road.
Texas EquuSearch was reportedly called in to help search for Bradley, but to this day, his loved ones claim that investigators, specifically at the Corpus Christi Police Department (CCPD), have been “no help.”
“Today makes five years since Bradley was last seen or heard from. CCPD has been no help during this time. They didn’t properly search for him and made it seem like he just walked away from everything,” reads one post from August 18, 2024, written on the Facebook page Help Find Bradley Brooks.
“Every time we make a post for Bradley, we are reminded how his case wasn’t taken seriously, and it’s sad because we know Bradley isn’t the only one missing, and there are other families living the same nightmare we are living.”
According to Bradley’s mother, Karen Winegarner, her son wouldn’t have willingly stopped contacting his family.
Facebook – pictured above is Bradley
“He just wouldn’t leave his daughter like that. There’s no way. And the other thing is he always stays in contact with me. Always,” Karen detailed.
Bradley’s brother-in-law, Buck Chapman, was reportedly told that Bradley might’ve been acting unusually on the evening he went missing.
“He did off and on use drugs, but that’s not who he was. He loved his family. He would always call his mom,” Buck stated.
“It might have been a little much. Ashley had her kids there, and [Bradley] bringing in his daughter. It just might have been a little much.”
About one year after Bradley vanished, there was a potential break in his case. There was a supposed spotting of him at a gas station in Oklahoma, where he used to live.
Buck and his wife traveled to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, where authorities allowed them to review security footage and search the town.
Unfortunately, the person was not Bradley, and the search for answers continues for his family.
“If anybody knows anything about my son, just please come forward. We need closure,” Karen said.
Bradley was five foot six, weighed between 160 and 170 pounds, and had brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing black shorts and a maroon T-shirt.
If you have any information regarding his case, you are urged to contact the Corpus Christi Police Department at (361) 886-2600.
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