LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — Louisiana State Police say the car belonging to missing Scott woman, Ella Goodie, was found Friday morning in St. Joseph, Missouri. It’s the same city where U.S. Marshals arrested the person of interest in this case, Brandon Francisco.
As police continue to question Francisco, they say the next step in this case is to find any physical evidence that may be in Goodie’s vehicle, ultimately leading them to find her.
“They’re going to continue to look through that whole vehicle on a deeper level other than just looking and confirming that’s it. Ok, what else can we see? Are there fibers in the carpet? Is there something in the fabric? Maybe we can get a fingerprint off the upholstery or the window or anything like that. We’re going to continue to go through that whole vehicle inside and out,” Louisiana State Trooper Derek Senegal said.
Trooper Senegal says they hope any physical evidence they find in Goodie’s vehicle could help to piece together what happened in the time between March 9th when goodie allegedly left Lafayette with Brandon Francisco and now. The main question: How did Francisco and Goodie’s vehicle both end up in Missouri without her, and where is she now?
“All these things have to be put together and continue digging to figure out what’s going on or how can we piece everything together. If there is or could be or maybe there is someone else involved in this thing, we just have to make sure we continue to look and not just say, ‘Hey, we’re good. We found it,’ and just close the case. We just can’t do that. So we’re going to continue looking and exhaust every effort that we have,” Trooper Senegal added.
He says the there’s still a lot of focus on Brandon Francisco, the person believed to have last been seen with Goodie. With Francisco in custody and Goodie’s vehicle found, police say they hope they can narrow down where goodie may be.
“A vehicle is just an object, just a thing, but we’d rather find the person, wherever she’s at. We find the vehicle, that’s good on the investigation part, and now we just have to continue with that. Sometimes the evidence or clues to other things and maybe to her, and we could figure out where she is,” Tooper Senegal told News Ten.
Ella Goodie’s mom and brother are now also speaking out about the investigation into her disappearing and public comments on social media. They are asking people to stop publicly accusing people of being involved in Goodie’s disappearance. Multiple photos, videos, and screenshots have been circulating on social media, and they say it’s not helping the investigation.
They’ve asked The Village 337 to speak on their behalf.
“The family is full right now with emotion trying to understand these new developments and what they mean or what they could mean. The family is still hopeful that Ella is still alive, but right now they are worried that all of these interactions, specifically with these being reported to the FBI, reported to the Scott police, is kind of getting in the way of the investigation that’s taking place,” President and Director of The Village 337 Devon Norman said.
If you have any information about Ella Goodie’s whereabouts, you’re encouraged to call Louisiana State Police at (318) 484-2194 or submit a tip at lsp.org.