UPDATE: PERSON OF INTEREST FOUND IN MISSING BRAXTON WOMAN CASE

(09/12/2019)
UPDATE - A person of interest involved in a missing persons case in Braxton County has been taken into custody.

According to the Braxton County detachment of the West Virginia State Police, Christopher Speas, 37, of Linn, was captured in the early morning hours of Sept. 10.

In a multi-county effort, Lewis County Sheriff’s deputies found a vehicle known to be driven by Speas, and Sargent Hiddleston with the Braxton County detachment of the West Virginia State Police took him into custody without incident.

Chandice Cochran is still considered to be missing, and anyone with information on her whereabouts or any other information are encouraged to contact the West Virginia State Police at 304-765-2101.

ORIGINAL STORY - A missing Braxton person investigation performed by State Police has led to a person of interest being named.

On September 1, West Virginia State Police were contacted by a woman saying that her daughter, Chandice Cochran, 28, of Sutton, had been missing since August 20 and that she feared for her daughter because ’she was involved in drugs and dangerous people’,” according to the release.

Cochran had left a note for her mother stating she was “in good hands and would be back shortly,” but hasn’t been seen since, troopers said. Her last known location, according to state police, was the Birch River area of Nicholas County, and an investigation of the area yielded no useful information.

Troopers discovered in interviews and conversations with multiple individuals Cochran’s last contact was with Kristopher Speas, 37, of Linn, who is wanted on warrants of failure to register as a sex offender from both Gilmer and Lewis counties, according to the release.

Speas is considered a person of interest in Cochran’s disappearance and is believed to be a danger to others, according to West Virginia State Police. Speas was last known to be driving a dark blue Chrysler 300 with a West Virginia license plate, troopers said.

Anyone with information on the locations of Cochran and/or Speas are encouraged to call the Sutton detachment of the West Virginia State Police at (304) 765-2101.