Police investigating tip missing woman was sold to pay drug debt

NORTH CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - North Charleston Police are investigating a tip that a missing woman was sold to pay a drug debt.

Brandy Hanna went missing in 2005.

Her former boyfriend Garland 'Zeke' Lankford was charged Tuesday with obstruction of justice for lying to investigators.

The son of Michael McAdams Sr. says his son lived with Hanna before she left him to be with Lankford.

McAdams says he's been given information that Hanna was sold to drug dealers.

"I was told that Brandy was collateral for Zeke Lankford's debt. Whether it's true or not I don't know, but I was told she was sent to Houston to pay off the debt," McAdams said Wednesday.

Sgt. Ron Lacher, the lead detective in the Hanna case said there is no credible information that Hanna was sold to drug dealers, but he said investigators will look into that and any other tips or information that come their way.

Lacher also is urging two people they believe to be involved in Hanna's disappearance to come forward or face charges.

Lacher said the two, who were not identified publicly, could face charges of hindering the investigation if they do not come forward. At a news conference Wednesday morning, Lacher said they are Lowcountry residents.

Police are saying Hanna is believed to be the victim of a homicide but stopped short of saying a body would have to be located before a murder charge could be filed.

Police charged Garland Eugene Lankford with obstruction of justice Tuesday in connection with Brandy Hanna's disappearance. A judge set his bond for that charge at $10,000. Bond has not been set for a child support charge.

Lankford was Hanna's boyfriend at the time of her disappearance, police say. Lacher said he hopes the charge filed against Lankford will push others to come forward.

Hanna was last seen in 2005 after leaving work at Alex's Restaurant on Dorchester Road.

An affidavit states Lankford provided false and misleading statements regarding Hanna who was reported missing on May 23, 2005 and officially declared deceased on Aug. 26, 2013.

Lankford's arrest stems from an interview conducted with detectives last week in which authorities say he gave conflicting information.

This past summer, Investigation Discovery aired Hanna's story as an episode of the series "Disappeared." The network sent a crew to North Charleston last November to film the episode, North Charleston Police say.

North Charleston investigators re-opened Hanna's case in 2011. In May, police found what Hanna's family hoped might be a clue that would finally solve the mystery: a sneaker in the Old Navy Yard in North Charleston, just blocks away from Hanna's apartment.

The shoe was tested for Hanna's DNA, but the results were inconclusive.

State archaeologists spent three days digging for clues in the area, but that investigation produced no new leads.

Copyright 2016 WCSC. All rights reserved.