Regina F. Brown Missing Person Case

Jan 27, 2026

Jan 27, 2026

Regina

F. Brown

74

35

5'3 inches

115 lbs

Black

Female

In the spring of 1987, Regina F. Brown, a 35-year-old American Airlines flight attendant and mother of three, was navigating a life filled with turbulence. Residing in Newtown, Connecticut, she was in the midst of a contentious divorce and custody battle with her estranged husband, Willis Brown, an American Airlines pilot. Fear for her safety had become a constant companion, a fear she expressed to those closest to her. On March 26, 1987, after sending her two older children to live with her parents in Texas, Regina drove her youngest child and the family's babysitter to LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York, to do the same. After seeing them off, she made a chilling phone call to her best friend, instructing her that if she wasn't heard from within a few days, it meant her estranged husband had followed through on his threats. This was the last time anyone is known to have seen or heard from Regina Brown. In the days that followed, a series of unsettling events began to unfold. On March 27, a neighbor reported the continuous barking of Regina's dog at her Whippoorwill Hill Road home, but no officer was dispatched to check on the property. When Regina failed to show up for two scheduled flights, her employer contacted her parents and her estranged husband. On April 2, at the request of Regina's parents, her best friend went to the house and found the dog alone inside the garage with an unopened bag of dog food from a store Regina did not frequent. Both her friend and Willis Brown filed missing persons reports. A few days later, on April 6, Regina's Honda Accord was found abandoned in Manhattan with the keys still in the ignition. Despite these signs, a formal search of her home was not conducted by police until May 7, six weeks after she vanished. The search of the home yielded no significant evidence. The investigation into Regina's disappearance quickly focused on her estranged husband, Willis Brown, who was named a person of interest but was never charged in connection with her case. He told police he had been in Newtown for a dental appointment on the day she disappeared but couldn't recall his other activities that day. It was discovered that he was the one who had purchased and left the bag of dog food at the house. Throughout the contentious divorce proceedings, which continued in Regina's absence, Willis made allegations against her and sought custody of their children, a request the court ultimately denied, granting custody to Regina's parents. Over the years, searches were conducted for Regina's remains, including on a piece of land where Willis had rented a trailer, but nothing was ever found. Despite the case growing cold and being reopened by a state Cold Case Unit years later, no arrests were ever made. Regina F. Brown was declared legally dead in 1995, but her body has never been located. Her husband, Willis Brown, died a free man in 2024. The case remains an unsolved and painful mystery, a story of a mother who vanished after expressing a deep fear for her life, leaving behind a legacy of unanswered questions and a family forever marked by her absence.

Mar 26, 1987

Queens

New York

Queens

Newtown Police Departmen

203-426-5841

09/24/2026