The Disappearance of Brittany Tee (Massachusetts)

For more than two years, the family of Brittany Tee along with the Brookfield, Massachusetts community and multiple law enforcement agencies have been searching for answers to her unexplained disappearance. It’s as if she simply vanished that January night, leaving no semblance of a trail to follow. Looking back now, Brittany’s sister Bethany feels something was going on in the days before Brittany went missing, but what?

Brittany is described as 5-foot-6 inches tall and 120 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a black winter coat, a hoodie, jeans, and work boots. If you have information that could help bring Brittany Tee home, please contact Massachusetts State Police at (508) 829-8326 or Brookfield Police at (508) 867-5570.

Brittany is Missing

It was Thursday night, January 12, 2023 and Susan Tee could already feel that something was wrong. Her daughter, 35-year old Brittany Tee, hadn’t answered her phone or returned any calls for almost two days. It wasn’t like Brittany at all.

Brittany’s older sister, Bethany, hadn’t heard from Brittany for a few days either. Bethany was working long hours and had picked up an extra shift that week, but she tried calling her sister, too, and every time the phone rang and rang until it went to voicemail. As far as Bethany can remember, the text messages that accompanied her phone calls seemed to be going through, but Brittany wasn’t responding to anything.

“We’re close. We talked to each other all the time, multiple times a week, if not daily,” Bethany explained, “So we knew something was really wrong.”

At the time, Brittany was living on Main Street in Brookfield, Massachusetts with her boyfriend, her boyfriend’s brother, and one other roommate. The last time anyone in Brittany’s family heard from her was Tuesday night, January 10th, when Brittany called her mom from her boyfriend’s cell phone. 

“So that’s when I’d said, mom, why don’t you just text [her boyfriend] and see what’s up. So that’s when my mom, Thursday night had texted [him] and said, hey, Brit’s not answering her phone, is she okay? And then that’s when he called my mom and said, what do you mean, I thought she was with you guys?”

Bethany continued, “That’s when my mom called me and said we don’t know where Britt is. That sinking feeling…I’ll never forget.”

That moment changed everything for Bethany and her mother. Soon, nearly the entire town of Brookfield and the surrounding communities would know the name Brittany Tee. 

Circumstances of Brittany’s Life

Brittany and Bethany Tee were extremely close, both in age and in their relationship. Being the big sister, Bethany played the protector role for Brittany when they were younger, but that role almost reversed as they grew up.

“She was much more the protector of me. I feel like she always wanted to make sure I was okay,” Bethany shared.

So many of Bethany’s most favorite memories with her sister are set against the backdrop of a New England summer.

“We love being outside together. We grew up on a lake, just being by water,” Bethany said, “We love boating and skiing, water skiing and swimming. Yeah, we had the best, best times on our lake.”

Though the soundtrack may have evolved from Spice Girls and NSync, there was a simple ritual that survived their teenage years.

Bethany reflected, “Driving in the car and listening to music was something we loved to do. Yeah, chasing sunsets. That was always fun.”

Bethany and Brittany have always shared a deep, unbreakable bond, but there was a time when being physically together wasn’t possible or even safe. Bethany is a nurse and when the global Coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, it changed things.

“ I had to keep my distance from her so she didn’t get sick,” Bethany explained. “I feel like at that period of time she was living, like maybe a half hour away, we grew a little bit apart. I feel that it was at that time, maybe a little bit after 2020 where she had started an alcohol problem that she was not proud of, very embarrassed about.”

When COVID-19 related restrictions eased, Bethany still didn’t see as much of her sister as she used to. Bethany believes that her sister’s challenges with alcohol use disorder kept her isolated from family and friends for a time.

“By spring of 2022, we were back on track. We went on a sister’s trip up to Maine. We had a really good time, but I think it was the first time I really did see her drinking problem come out. And she at that time was just very honest with me about it.”

Brittany’s physical and emotional well-being began to deteriorate as her reliance on alcohol deepened. Bethany was very candid describing her sister’s ongoing battle with alcohol use disorder. It took a severe toll on her body that resulted in hospitalizations and chronic conditions.

“She ended up later on, like towards the summer of that year being hospitalized for electrolyte imbalances and just getting really sick with a skin disease called psoriasis. It got pretty, pretty bad,” Bethany shared.

But with the support and love of her family to guide her through it, Brittany worked to improve her health and was making great progress. She had previously worked at Bay Path Spirits, a liquor store in Brookfield, and she was a familiar face to many at the shop, but she left her management position there in early 2022 and had since been unemployed. By December of 2022, as she made strides towards a healthier life, Brittany was applying for jobs again and looking ahead to the future.

Bethany explained, “She was really turning herself around. She was looking for jobs and then by Christmas of 2022, I felt like she was back to normal. Like my sister was back. She was back to her silly, happy self.  We had a wonderful Christmas and then two weeks later practically, she disappeared, disappears into thin air. So it was a shock for us ’cause we felt like everything was heading in such a great direction for her.”

Last Contact with Family

Brittany’s mother Susan reported her missing on Friday, January 13, 2023 when they realized that no one could account for Brittany’s whereabouts over the previous two days. As Susan and Bethany recounted the details of their last contact with Brittany to police, they wracked their brains for any sign that something was amiss, that something might be going on with Brittany or that she might be in some sort of trouble. 

She seemed to be doing so much better, but then again, something about their last visit together wasn’t sitting well with Bethany. 

“The Monday before she went missing she had come over to my mom’s house. Myself and my two children were there, and she was coming to meet my mom’s new cat. She came over and she…Was very off,” Bethany shared. “She just burst in the door and was like, I feel like I, I have cancer, don’t I? And she was looking at her phone, she was acting really off.”

Bethany and her mother asked Brittany where this was all coming from, but the conversation didn’t go much further. Bethany’s children were within earshot and so they didn’t want to talk about whatever was going on in front of the kids who absolutely adored their aunt. They didn’t get into it, and it was a quick visit anyway. Bethany had to leave with the kids soon after Brittany arrived, so she resolved to check in on Brittany the next morning. 

“I had texted her the following morning just to check in with her to make sure she was doing okay, and she said, yes, I’m fine. I will chat with you when I come over for my psoriasis injection,” Bethany explained, “We gave her injections monthly for her skin condition. She said I’ll talk with you when I come over this afternoon, which she never came.”

Bethany said she and her mother were surprised that Brittany didn’t show up for the injection because the medication had been helping her tremendously. They don’t know why she didn’t show up, but they heard from her later on that night, January 10th.

“ My mom talked to her Tuesday night around eight o’clock. She had called my mom’s cell phone from her boyfriend’s phone, and she seemed like she was upset about something. My mom asked her what was wrong and she said, oh, nothing, we’ll talk about it later.”

In hindsight, that phone call and Brittany’s emotional state sticks out as a potential warning sign, but what was behind it, Brittany’s family still doesn’t know for sure.

As Bethany remembers it, “She wasn’t hysterically crying or anything. She was just upset so my mom didn’t wanna push her because we’ve learned that if Britt wants to talk about it, she’ll talk about it on her time. If she doesn’t want to, we’ll just keep checking in with her. So, my mom, she regrets it to this day that she didn’t push, push her more about asking what was wrong, but none of us would’ve thought we’d be in this situation. So yeah, it’s, it was a very brief phone call. And then that was the last time my mom talked to her.”

Brittany Tee’s story continues on Dark Downeast. Press place to hear the full episode wherever you get your podcasts.

Episode Source Material

  • Interview with Bethany Tee
  • ‘We are asking for the public’s help’ by Cyrus Moulton and Rick Eggleston, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 15 Jan 2023
  • State, local police search for missing 35-year old Massachusetts woman by David Cifarelli, Norfolk Daily Voice, 16 Jan 2023
  • Worcester DA: ‘We’re really concerned’ by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 17 Jan 2023
  • Brittany Tee: K-9s and police search expanded radius for missing Brookfield woman by Will Katcher, The Republican, 17 Jan 2023
  • Mother of missing Brookfield woman Brittany Tee: ‘I just want her home’ by Craig S. Semon, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 17 Jan 2023
  • Police expand search for woman, Boston Globe, 17 Jan 2023
  • Search expands for missing woman by Will Katcher, The Republican, 18 Jan 2023
  • Search for missing woman continues in Brookfield by Emily Sweeney, Boston Globe, 18 Jan 2023
  • Search expanded for missing woman by Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 18 Jan 2023
  • Search expands for missing woman by Will Katcher, The Republican, 18 Jan 2023
  • New photos released of missing Mass woman days before she disappeared by David Cifarelli, Norfolk Daily Voice, 19 Jan 2023
  • Missing Brookfield woman Brittany Tee: Ground search to resume Saturday by Tom Matthews, The Republican, 19 Jan 2023
  • Police expand search for Brookfield woman by Craig S. Semon, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 19 Jan 2023
  • Search continues for missing woman, Boston Globe, 19 Jan 2023
  • Ground search rekindled by Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 20 Jan 2023
  • Expanded search resumes Saturday in Brookfield with still no sign of Brittany Tee by Henry Schwan, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 21 Jan 2023
  • Police divers will join in search for missing woman by Jackson Cote, The Republican, 22 Jan 2023
  • No sign of missing Brookfield woman by John Hilliard, Boston Globe, 22 Jan 2023
  • Police plan to use a dive team in search for missing woman by John Hilliard, Boston Globe, 23 Jan 2023
  • Search for missing Brookfield woman Brittany Tee continues in woods, ponds by Luis Fieldman, The Republican, 24 Jan 2023
  • Missing woman Brittany Tee: No evidence found in search of Brookfield waters, police say by Tom Matthews, The Republican, 24 Jan 2023
  • Search for Brittany Tee in ‘high tempo’ by Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 25 Jan 2023
  • Divers join the search in Brookfield for Brittany Tee by Veer Mudambi, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 25 Jan 2023
  • ‘Our community here has been shaken’ by Marco Cartolano, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 25 Jan 2023
  • Police: No evidence found in search for missing woman by Tom Matthews, The Republican, 25 Jan 2023
  • Among the missing, many more unknown by Hanna Krueger and Tiana Woodard, Boston Globe, 5 Feb 2023
  • A month on, the investigation for Brookfield’s Brittany Tee continues by Toni Caushi, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 13 Feb 2023
  • Healey to establish missing persons unit by Hanna Krueger, Boston Globe, 9 Mar 2023
  • Four months on, the search for Brookfield’s Brittany Tee continues by Toni Caushi, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 10 May 2023
  • ‘There’s really nothing’: One year after Brittany Tee last seen, still no updates by Toni Caushi, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 27 Dec 2023
  • Tee case remains a mystery on year later by Toni Caushi, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 28 Dec 2023
  • ‘I hope she comes home soon’ by Toni Caushi, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 11 Jan 2024
  • Brittany Tee left her boyfriend’s house and vanished by Carrie Perricone and Marni Hughes, NewsNation, 26 Apr 2024
  • Family turns to private investigators in search for Brittany Tee of Brookfield by Toni Caushi, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 13 Sep 2024
  • Vigil marking 2nd year of Brittany Tee’s disappearance to be held Friday in Brookfield by Toni Caushi, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 7 Jan 2025
  • Private investigator more than two months into Brittany Tee case by Meghan Parsons, Spectrum News, 10 Jan 2025
  • ‘There is always hope’ by Toni Caushi, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 11 Jan 2025
  • Missing man’s body found in Quaboag River, The Republican, 24 Feb 1930
  • Missing man’s body found by Quaboag River, Springfield Evening Union, 28 Oct 1932
  • Mrs. Faulkner’s body recovered, The Springfield Daily Republican, 17 Apr 1945
  • Man held for murder, AP via The Recorder, 14 Aug 1973
  • Body of patient found in River, The Republican, 15 Nov 1974
  • Body pulled from Quaboag, The Republican, 27 Jun 1980
  • Body pulled from Quaboag River by Kim Ring, The Republican, 6 May 2005