The Disappearance of Melissa Brannen

On this day in 1989, 5-year-old Melissa Brannen disappeared from a Christmas party for residents of the Fairfax, Virginia, apartment complex where she lived with her mother Tammy. The two were leaving the party when Melissa went to grab a handful of potato chips and never came back. Over 300 people immediately started searching for her but found no trace of the child. It was then that foul play was suspected and the apartment complex's groundskeeper, Caleb Hughes, became the main focus of investigators. Witnesses told police that he had left the party at around the same time that Melissa had gone missing. Several female attendees also claimed that the married Hughes had propositioned them sexually and that he was paying an unusual amount of attention to the children at the party, including Melissa.

When investigators arrived at the home of Caleb Hughes, they found him washing his clothes, shoes, and belt. This was at one in the morning. Hughes' wife Carol told the detectives that he had arrived home from work several hours later than usual and that there was extra mileage on his car's odometer. Caleb Hughes denied having any involvement in Melissa's disappearance, claiming that he got home late from work because he had stopped to buy beer and had taken the long way home from the store. Police knew he couldn't have bought beer at the time he claimed because Virginia law prohibits the sale of alcohol after midnight. They immediately seized the clothes that Hughes had been washing along with his Honda Civic. When they examined his shoes they noticed that the sides of the soles had been cut off, possibly to get rid of blood evidence.

Police were able to extract fibers from Caleb Hughes' Honda Civic. Even though Melissa was still missing, they were able to purchase an outfit identical to the one she had been wearing at the party. When they compared the blue fibers found in Hughes' car they were a match. Investigators also found fibers from the rabbit fur coat that Tammy Brannen had been wearing. This was enough evidence to determine that Melissa had been sitting in the passenger seat and that Hughes had removed her coat. Prosecutors would argue that there was no innocent reason for her coat being removed while she was with Caleb Hughes. However, while Virginia law does not require a body for murder charges to be filed, the state does require that the location of the murder be identified. Investigators were unable to determine where the murder had been committed, so Caleb Hughes could only be charged with kidnapping with intent to defile. On March 8, 1991, Caleb Hughes was found guilty and sentenced to fifty years in prison. On June 22, 1993, a Virginia appeals court overturned Hughes' conviction for intent to defile. After this ruling, he was set to be paroled in 2013. However, he is still incarcerated in Fairfax County’s Augusta Correctional Center. His new parole date is August 2, 2019.

Melissa Brannen has never been found. Shortly after her disappearance, two men contacted Tammy Brannen and told her that they had Melissa and would release her for a ransom of $75,000. The two men were subsequently arrested by the FBI and charged with extortion. They received prison sentences of 7 years 8 months and 3 years 10 months.

Eight years after Melissa's disappearance, Tammy remarried. Even though her name is now Tammy Graybill, she is still listed in the telephone directory as Brannen, in the hopes that if Melissa is still alive she will be able to find her. Tammy Graybill has raised four stepchildren with her new husband and continues to advocate for missing and exploited children.

Related Reading:

The Charley Project - Melissa Lee Brannen


Tammy Brannen talks to People Magazine