ALEXANDRIA, La. — A man who is a person of interest in the disappearance of a Louisiana woman, who went missing after reportedly driving a Lyft to Texas, has been extradited back to Louisiana after being arrested in Missouri last month.
(Editor's Note: The video above is from a March 18, 2022 newscast)
Brandon Jermaine Francisco, 36, was booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center on April 6, according to jail records from the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office.
He was booked on two counts of contempt of court, and is being held without bond at the request of The Rapides Parish District Attorney’s Office.
Francisco was arrested on March 25 in Missouri for unlawful possession of a firearm.
Ella Goodie, 33, has not been seen or heard from by family members since Wednesday, March 9. She was driving her 2012 Audi Q5 with Texas license plate NRN6551 on Interstate 10 toward Texas. Traffic cameras saw her vehicle coming back into Louisiana 12 hours later.
The Louisiana State Police Bureau of Investigations announced on Friday, April 1, that the St. Joseph Police Department in Missouri found Goodie’s vehicle.
On March 16, the Scott Police Department in Louisiana named Francisco as a person of interest in connection with Goodie’s disappearance. Police believed Francisco was the last person to be in contact with Goodie, according to a Scott Police Department release.
He had an active warrant out for his arrest for failing to appear in court in Rapides Parish on the date Goodie was last seen.
Additional details surrounding the discovery of the vehicle are unknown at this time.
Family members said when they last spoke to Goodie, she said she was headed to Texas to drop someone off through Lyft.
Some social media posts claimed Goodie was dropping off a Lyft customer in Port Arthur before she was last heard from. 12News was not able to confirm this report.
Scott Police Department Chief Chad Leger said that police knew "she went to Texas, but we cannot confirm the exact location."
Investigators from Louisiana State Police, Scott Police Department, and St. Joseph Police Department said they are continuing to search for the missing woman.
Goodie is described as 5 foot 3 inches tall and weighing 168 pounds. She was last seen wearing a denim jacket with blue pants.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Louisiana State Police at (318) 484-2194 or Scott Police Department at (337) 233-3715.
