Brooke Farthing

**Brookelyn "Brooke" Shae Farthing** was a young woman who vanished from a friend's house in Kentucky in 2013.

## Background

Brooke was born on August 19, 1994. She grew up in Berea, Kentucky with her older sister, Tasha, and her younger sister, Paige. She was a very social person who was close to her family and had a large group of friends. According to her loved ones, she was a very outgoing person who loved animals and going outdoors, particularly to go four-wheel riding. She was also considered to be a “laid back” person.

At the time of her disappearance, Brooke had recently graduated from Madison Southern High School and was considering whether she was going to go straight on to college or take some time away from academics first. She was considering going to cosmetology school because of her love of makeup.

## Case

Brooke was last seen in the 100 block of Dillon Court in Berea, Kentucky early on June 22, 2013. The previous day she had taken her driving test, along with her sister, Paige. Brooke had passed the test but Paige had not so they had been joking about that most of the day. That evening she had gone to her grandfather’s 70th birthday party before leaving for another birthday party with Paige and one of her cousins. Paige and the cousin left the party at 8:00 p.m., having spent around an hour there, but Brooke decided she wanted to stay for a while longer and spend the night with a friend. Brooke argued with this friend because she wanted to spend the night with a boy and Brooke was uncomfortable with the idea. Brooke’s friend left after the argument leaving her alone at the party with no way to get home.

Shortly after midnight, Brooke left the party with two men, one of whom is unidentified and the other named Josh Hensley. They all when to see some horses before Brooke and Josh arrived at Josh’s home in the early hours of June 22 after dropping the unidentified man off. Josh’s house was in foreclosure at the time and he was in the process of moving out. The building had no running water or electricity as a result.

While at Josh’s home, Brooke called Paige at approximately 4:00 a.m. to ask if her cousin could come and get her. Paige told her that this was not possible because their cousin had been drinking that night. That night she also sent multiple friends texts explaining that she was very afraid and needed someone to take her home. One of the people she messaged was her ex-boyfriend. He agreed to collect her at around 7:00 p.m. After initially calling him she then began repeatedly texting him that she needed him to hurry and that she was scared. He agreed to collect her at around 7:00 p.m., on his way home from work, but around an hour after sending him a message which read “I’m scared” she sent another message telling him that she no longer needed to be collected. In the message, she also claimed that she was going to a party in Rockcastle County. This message, which was sent at 5:30 p.m., was the last text to ever come from her phone.

At some point during the night, Josh left Brooke alone in the house to put the horses away and when he returned at 7:00 A.M. the house was on fire. It burnt through a couch, almost completely destroying it, and burned a hole in the floor underneath it. Luckily, the fire was able to be extinguished before causing more extensive destruction though. The exact cause of the fire is unknown but it started on the couch Brooke was last seen sitting on and, because she was smoking a cigarette when he left, Josh has stated that he thinks Brooke accidentally started the fire.

Brooke had plans to go to a car show with friends at 2:00 p.m. that day but failed to arrive. Brooke’s sister, Tasha, called Josh to try and work out where Brooke was and he told her that he had left her alone at his house while he returned to the horses. He admitted that she didn’t have a ride home but claimed that she had mentioned a party in Rockcastle County before he left. After the call ended, Josh rang Tasha a second time when he returned home to tell her about the fire at his house and that he was worried about the situation. When Brooke’s family went to Josh’s house to look for her they found her possessions, including her shoes had been left out on the porch. However, her phone was missing.

An official missing person’s report was filed for Brooke by her mother on June 23, 2013. Two days later Brooke’s phone let out its last ping from a phone tower in Blue Lick.

In 2020, Josh was arrested for the possession of child pornography.

Brooke's family does not think she would have willingly left the house without all of her possessions. The police also think Brooke may not have left on her own accord and they think there is a strong possibility that she was taken somewhere against her will. Furthermore, they believe the last text sent from her phone was not written by Brooke. Her case remains unsolved.

## Characteristics

* Shoulder-length blonde or strawberry blonde hair.
* Brown eyes.
* Pierced ears.
* She had a birthmark on her left hip.

## Clothing and accessories

* A gray t-shirt with the FFA insignia.
* Blue jeans or light blue denim shorts.

## Sources

* Brooke Farthing at the *Charley Project*
* Brooke Farthing at *NamUs*
* Brooke Farthing at the *Doe Network*
* Uncovered