Overview

Last seen: July 16, 2021
Location: Cody, Wyoming
Age when missing: 44
Status: Missing / unresolved
NamUs: MP86460
Agency case numbers: 21S0267 / 20201566

Main circumstances: Bennett was last seen in Cody on July 16, 2021. Her destination was unknown to friends and family. Three days later, her black 2000 Chevrolet extended-cab pickup was found abandoned near the Crystal Creek Rest Area off U.S. Highway 14A east of Lovell in the Big Horn Mountains. Her belongings, including her wallet, remained in the vehicle.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Billie Danell Bennett Missing Person Case: Disappearance in Wyoming Remains Unsolved

Billie Danell Bennett, also known as Danell Messick and Brandy Bennett, disappeared from Cody, Wyoming, in July 2021. More than five years later, her whereabouts remain unknown, and her case continues to be listed by the FBI as a missing-person case.

Bennett was 44 years old when she disappeared. The circumstances surrounding her disappearance — particularly the discovery of her pickup truck in the Big Horn Mountains with important personal belongings still inside — have prompted years of searches, investigation and appeals for information.

Brief Case Summary

Last seen: July 16, 2021
Location: Cody, Wyoming
Age when missing: 44
Status: Missing / unresolved
NamUs: MP86460
Agency case numbers: 21S0267 / 20201566

Main circumstances: Bennett was last seen in Cody on July 16, 2021. Her destination was unknown to friends and family. Three days later, her black 2000 Chevrolet extended-cab pickup was found abandoned near the Crystal Creek Rest Area off U.S. Highway 14A east of Lovell in the Big Horn Mountains. Her belongings, including her wallet, remained in the vehicle.

Billie Danell Bennett Disappears From Cody, Wyoming

According to the FBI, Bennett was last seen in Cody, Wyoming, on July 16, 2021. Authorities have said that her intended destination was unknown to her friends and family.

Bennett is described as having brown hair and blue eyes. She stood approximately 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed between 130 and 155 pounds. She had worked in the oil industry and may have had contacts in southern and eastern Wyoming as well as Oklahoma, North Dakota and possibly Texas.

Her Pickup Truck Is Found in the Big Horn Mountains

On July 19, 2021, Bennett’s black 2000 Chevrolet extended-cab pickup was found abandoned near the Crystal Creek Rest Area off U.S. Highway 14A east of Lovell, Wyoming, in the Big Horn Mountains.

One of the most significant details of the case is what remained inside.

The FBI states that Bennett’s belongings, including her wallet, were still in the truck. A later KTVQ report provided additional detail from missing-person advocate Angela Lassiter, who said the vehicle contained Bennett’s identification, birth certificate, debit card and Social Security card.

Lassiter also reported finding imagery showing Bennett’s truck at the location on July 18, 2021, using Google Earth.

Family Described Bennett as Anxious Before Her Disappearance

A 2023 KTVQ investigation revealed additional information about Bennett’s behavior shortly before she vanished.

Her father, Bill Messick, said Bennett had been upset because she believed she may have accidentally started a fire that damaged a man’s home. Her family reported seeing her the day before her truck appeared at the roadside location.

Family members recalled that Bennett appeared frightened or anxious. Her sister, Wendy Salazar, described a change in Bennett’s attitude and said she appeared scared. Her mother, Sheila, similarly recalled that Bennett seemed extremely anxious.

Those observations have become part of the publicly known circumstances preceding her disappearance, but authorities have not publicly established that the fire or Bennett’s anxiety was responsible for what happened to her.

Extensive Searches Failed to Locate Bennett

Multiple agencies became involved in the investigation because Bennett lived in Cody while her vehicle was discovered in another jurisdiction.

KTVQ reported that the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office, Park County Sheriff’s Office and Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation were involved. The FBI was also contacted as the investigation progressed.

Investigators conducted significant searches of the area where Bennett’s truck was discovered. Big Horn County Sheriff Ken Blackburn told KTVQ in 2023 that drones had been deployed to search for evidence or human remains. Dog teams and horse teams were also used, and authorities communicated with agencies elsewhere in Wyoming as well as Montana and South Dakota.

Former DCI investigator and current Park County Sheriff Darrell Steward told the station that investigators had also used polygraphs and profilers as part of efforts to eliminate potential suspects.

Despite those efforts, no publicly announced discovery has explained what happened to Bennett.

FBI ViCAP Alert Brings National Attention to the Case

The FBI’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Program later issued a missing-person alert concerning Bennett.

The ViCAP alert was released November 29, 2023, identifying Bennett’s NamUs number as MP86460 and listing agency case numbers 21S0267 / 20201566. The alert again emphasized the discovery of her truck in the Big Horn Mountains and the belongings left inside.

The FBI continues to maintain a public page for Bennett. As of the latest available FBI listing, she remains a missing person.

Wyoming Cold-Case Resources Could Aid the Investigation

By 2024, Wyoming news reports were describing Bennett’s disappearance as a cold case.

That year, Wyoming approved legislation establishing a statewide cold-case database and providing funding to the Attorney General’s Office for development of the database and assistance with investigations. Unsolved cases at least two years old can be submitted in hopes of generating new leads and bringing additional resources to local investigations.

Park County Sheriff Darrell Steward specifically discussed Bennett’s disappearance when explaining how the new resources could benefit unresolved Wyoming cases.

Latest Information: Public Awareness Efforts Continue in 2026

The most recent significant public development located in this review came in April 2026, when Bennett’s case became part of a Wyoming missing-person awareness campaign.

WyoFind, a Wyoming nonprofit founded to support families and bring attention to unresolved missing-person cases, began placing missing-person information on coffee sleeves distributed through Wyoming businesses.

One of those sleeves asks: “Where is Danell Bennett?”

The campaign is intended to put unresolved cases in front of members of the public who might remember something useful. Organizers emphasized that even seemingly minor information can potentially become an investigative lead.

Importantly, no reliable source located for this article reports that Bennett has been found, that human remains have been identified as hers, or that anyone has been charged in connection with her disappearance.

The FBI continues to publicly list Billie Danell Bennett as missing.

What Happened to Billie Danell Bennett?

The abandoned truck remains at the center of the mystery.

Bennett disappeared from Cody, and within days her vehicle was sitting in the Big Horn Mountains with personal documents and belongings inside. Her family has said they do not believe she simply walked away from her life, while searches involving drones, dogs, horses and multiple law-enforcement agencies have failed to publicly establish where she went.

There is currently no publicly established conclusion that Bennett was the victim of homicide. Her disappearance should therefore be described as an unresolved missing-person case, rather than a confirmed murder.

Anyone with information — including information that may have seemed insignificant at the time — is encouraged to contact investigators.