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Search For Missing 21-Year-Old In Brooklyn

phpR6fJ8rPM.jpg Twitter has been filled with pleas to help find Brooklyn resident Brianna Zani. The 21-year-old, who may be disoriented, originally went missing Tuesday night, leaving her wallet and cell phone in her Bushwick apartment. She was later found by police officers passed out in an alley and brought to Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn—where she promptly escaped. Last night a team of friends and family searched the surrounding area for her, with no luck, and have now set up a website with more information. Zani is around 5' 5", has blond hair (that she has just shaved off), blue eyes, and is wearing a green shirt with blue jeans. A friend tells us, "She's INCREDIBLY intelligent, clever, and one of the sweetest girls I've had the pleasure of knowing. Her disappearance and recent erratic behavior is not like her." They ask if you find her, to please call 911.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

Comments [rss]

  • Radbecca

    A happy ending for the Zani family. I just hope she comes to grips with what she put her family through and is mentally stable enough to feel guilty... and if she does, I hope she's not too hard on herself.

  • kittycatgirlmeow

    O lawd I saw more pics of her today. From the full body shots, she is no 165 lbs. lol. People have no idea what weight women are cause they lie all the time! I am 5'6.5 and about 155, and I'm fairly slim...at least compared to what people imagine thanks to girls who weigh at least in the 180's being described as 20 lbs. less.

  • I looked at the pics on her myspace page



    http://www.myspace.com/xyzani



    She's definitely a big woman (especially her breasts) - and her claimed "165" weight might indeed be closer to 180.

  • Krooklyn

    yeah i don't get it...they want to find her by giving a not too accurate description? She's hitting closer to 180-200 for sure.

  • Maybe they're embarrassed that she's heavy.



    And if that's the case, no wonder she has issues!



    Which is really sad, because, on the real side, in the pics on her myspace, she actually looks really attractive and sexy (much better than the pics her family selected - which don't even show her true appearance)

  • Krooklyn

    yeah, mosdef, she ain't fugly...but she doesn't have a thin waist either. Yeah, I find a lot of holes in this missing persons case. especially from her supposed friends and what not. weird.

  • Yes, she's got a beautiful face and awesome breasts - but no, she's not slim. But every woman is beautiful in her own way and, in her own way, she's quite good looking (although I'd bet money that she doesn't think so - because pretty much all women think they are ugly, no matter how pretty they actually are).



    And if her family and friends are ashamed of her size (which might explain why they didn't provide an accurate description or picture - and she had plenty of pics they could have used on her myspace) then I'm sure she probably feels pretty bad about herself and how she looks, which is really sad, considering how important appearance is to many women's self esteem.



    Considering her mental health history, she might actually be missing (or laying low somewhere) - and, all jokes aside, I really do hope she gets the psychiatric help that she needs, because I hate to see people suffering and I'm sure she's gone through a lot.

  • SeasTooFarToReach

    According to the Daily News, she's bipolar and had stopped taking her medication. That's why she's missing. Stop being jerks!



    http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2010/03/20/2010-03-20_missing_woman_sought_on_twitter__facebook.html

  • greeen

    hoax or no hoax. hope it's not the next hipster grifter. something strange about this story beyond what her friends + family are saying.

  • Did you have to mention Korean Abdul-Jabar???



    Now we're going to have to read another 10,000 posts about her!

  • LB

    Does she have mental issues ? Or did she just overdose on some meds. ? Hate to say this but maybe she just wants to be alone .

  • kittycatgirlmeow

    I bet this is like the movies...she's trying to get away from the government or some shit.

  • SirDentes

    I hope she's alright, but damn that picture has mentally unstable written all over it.

  • microphalic

    Why did they leave her weight out of this article? You would think that info would be of great help..Survey Said!she is 165 lbs!

  • potsmoker

    im teabagging her right now!

    really why is a 21 year old white woman who walked out of a hospital news?

    really according to the blog it says make your way to the nieghborhood and please restrain her?

    lets guess how that works, i go to the hood around woodhulll, pick a random white girl out of the crowd and restrain her calling the cops because gothamist or a blog said so?

    you cannot restrain anybody on the street, they have to be wanted for a crime or committing a crime.

    restraining anyone on the street against their will is a crime, stupid people.

  • robingee

    Yes, we are clearly the stupid ones. Not you.

  • "We"???



    What are you, Queen Victoria?



    "We are not amused!"



    Do you always refer to yourself in the third person, or just when you post on Gothamist

  • robingee

    Who's talking to you?

  • You are

  • So, you're protesting her support of President Obama's health care plan?

  • Amanda Harletsch

    Poor girl, she seems to be immerse in some sort of schizophrenic episode, early stages.



    Hope she gets the mental health attention and care she needs.

  • Amelia

    I am Brianna Zani's sister. I cannot thank enough all of those who are doing what they can to help. My sister has been missing for 4 days now, and was actually taken in for the night by a sympathetic stranger. The people of Brooklyn are working tirelessly to bring her home and I am so grateful. Please visit http://tinyurl.com/yln8avd to view more and updated information about Brianna. This is not a hoax, and it hurts so much to think that some may have be deterred in their search because of that false information. Keep searching and keep the faith.

  • matty

    You can thank Jen Carlson with her relentless hoax "news" stories for people thinking that this might be a guerilla advertising campaign.

  • wow 14th street

    I ran away from home when i was 21 in 1952

    never been back. so what else is news?.

  • wow 14th street

    Funny, yes no facebook, we shared a phone that was

    about it for communication, called a party line.



    My family figured I was staying with friends

    in "the village" on Perry Street which I had been doing since I got my military draft card and they were right.

    Never to return to Queens NY to their home ,"how yah gonna

    keep them down on the farm after they see Paree"or Perry street .

  • wow 14th street

    Time for your Haldol prescription.Your comments just reflect your face in a public mirror.I am a stranger

    that you try to portray as sort of selfish.

    I may have the last joke.

    I may be a computer at an M.I.T.lab. that you are a little

    angry at trying to communicate with "Generation Debt and

    a carpal tunnel Twitterat" 666.





  • hunter.blatherer

    I suspect that you are in fact Perley J. Thibodeau. If so, I tip my hat to you, good sir. If not, I still tip my hat to you.

  • robingee

    It's nice that your family "figured you were staying with friends" but people do disappear and get killed or in serious trouble every day. Just because YOU "ran away" and went to live on your own doesn't mean that every single adult that goes missing is just fine and staying with friends. Your story is not everyone's story. There are other people on this earth besides you. Shocking, eh?

  • And they never even set up a facebook group to find you!

  • Rory Dolan

    Really if you were even on Twitter you'd realize this story isnt true.



    Justin Beabir(sp?) and Coco get more Twitter time then any missing person. Not to mention Gaga, ncaa, march madness, poop, and #youknowyoughettowhen

  • findbriannazani

    No. Sadly it is not a hoax. This is a link to the FB group that the family has asked me to start for them to bring Brianna home: Find Brianna Zani FB Group> http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=110952055586383

  • just saying

    Apparently she's also part of The Urban Prankster Network. Don't know what significance, if any, this might have to her disappearance.



    http://improveverywhere.ning.com/profile/BriannaZani?xg_source=activity

  • matty

    Oh groan. Please tell me this isn't a hoax.

  • 40oz.killa

    8==========================================D

  • Actual size:



    8=D

  • LongShanks

    Is mental illness serious and dangerous? Yes! However, I suspect her friends know more than what's been said and won't come out with the truth.



    Also: the real asshole is the enabler who is chugging cheap whiskey with their mentally unstable "friend."



    Case in point: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=11109236&id=869985044

  • Krooklyn

    right after that I'd like to hear the Seinfeld slap bass and quirky sounds. Good point. I just don't get being online as a friend. Sick or not, I wouldn't be on Gothamist, I'd be in search, right?

  • The Man Bat

    I don't know if she is sick or sad or needs her meds or what, but I do know one thing: This chick is HOT AS FARK!!!

  • If she's hot to you...you need higher standards!

  • ItchyGoiter

    kids these days and their Zani antics...

  • ultragrrrl

    I'm actually a friend and former boss of Brianna... or Zani. I was out til 2am in Bushwick searching every street for her and handing out flyers to all the shopkeeps, bars, bodegas, etc.



    I've got an ear infection and severe cold and I'm doing everything I can - by getting the word out - given how sick I feel. The hospital is located by the subway, so she might be in Manhattan. It's hard to know where she is exactly.



    She's fond of The Strand bookstore. I called in her description and let them know of the situation. Flyers are being faxed and friends are searching bookstores around the city.



    She is not just a runaway, she is sick. This is coming from someone who knows her. Please stop being a dick. Thank you.

  • robingee

    Don't pay attention to these jackoffs, it's the Internet and everyone's a dick. Concentrate on your friend.

  • Boogie Down

    Pay no mind to these internet jerks. Mental illness can be a devastating thing, but I am hoping for a positive outcome from this awful situation. I'll be thinking of you, Brianna and everyone else involved in her search. Please keep us updated, ok?

  • matty

    I really hope she isn't a blackbook.com intern

  • gardengrasscrap

    If this was a small town this would be huge news. Since this is NYC people complain that is not worthy. Regardless if it is or not, someone who is mentally unstable is out on the streets. That must be hard for her friends and family. Hopefully, this ends up alright.



    People are mean and its even more sad when those people choose, make a fucking choice, to be an asshole - faceless - on a website. Grow the fuck up.

  • hunter.blatherer

    There are a lot more mentally unstable people on the streets right now, than at any point in the last ten years. And tomorrow there will be more than today. They got this DE-pression on, ain'tcha heard?

  • Radbecca

    A quote from her FB page: "And the worst part is, if you go bohemian or something crazy like that, you're conforming just as much as everybody else, only in a different way."



    Oh dear, I hope she's okay. Bushwick can be overwhelming, from a non-artist, non-rich kid perspective.

  • Mr. Know-It-All

    I imagine anyplace can be overwhelming for someone who believes that the "worst part" of anything is the dilemma over whether or not to "go bohemian."

  • JenChungsBaby

    Judging solely by that photo she certainly looks like she should reserve the presidential suite at Bellevue.

  • How Ya Doin

    So are we just presuming at this point that everyone that lives in the borough of Brooklyn is pretending to be a starving artist but is really living off of daddy's rent payments and good graces (my working definition of hipster)? Maybe they just like the lower rent and bigger apartments? Or does internet anonymity bring out the jerk in us all.

  • Politburo

    You must be new here.

  • blueballs

    Jen Carlson brings out the jerk in me

  • How Ya Doin

    yea, don't you hate it when your free and entertaining news source isn't up to your discerning reporting standards

  • LongShanks

    I suppose that "trying to escape existence" means she's suicidal? She wasn't deemed suicidal at the hospital, right? Otherwise she would've been on lockdown.



    Those that know her deal should open up and actually explain her mindset outside of pseudo-poetic sentiments. Maybe then people would be more sympathetic.

  • Krooklyn

    In all respect to her friends...if you were missing, I'd hope your friends wouldn't be on Gothamist arguing with anyone's opinion on the matter. Instead, I'd like to think they would be out searching for you. I'd suggest posting up pictures outside on polls and what not, talking to people, going to the alley where she was found and seeing if there ar any near by friends that live close to there, asking anyone in the hospital for video tapes (probably only the police can do that), talking with the police, asking owners of near by shops close to her home and last scene...arguing poetic stuff online isn't gonna help though.

  • JacqueMehoff

    I hope she's safe.

    there are people who would take advantage of her. If I were her friend or family I would go looking and go armed because these people are not nice. wait, sounds like I've seen the movie "Traffic" too many times on cable.

  • Yeah, I think you have

  • Gotham Extremist

    A white girl, blonde hair blue eye....... in Bushwick = sad outcome........

  • Yeah right! Like we're all obsessed with raping White women! Take it easy, D.W. Griffith! Our women are prettier than yours anyway...

  • Carina Enright

    How dare anyone say that she's running away from someone or something. She's clearly having some sort of manic episode and needs medical attention before something worse happens to her. She isn't 'some hipster' who can't handle something stupid she is trying to escape existence and that is a scary situation to be in. She's someone's daughter, sister, friend and she needs to be found and to get help. You can't say shit like that because if I were an insensitive asshole i'd say i hope someone you care for has a melt down and runs away so I can tell you 'oh whoops, he/she is an adult! i don't care!' but the thing is, no one should go through this. not anyone.

  • wonderchimp5

    just like they are speculating that she is running away, you are speculating that she is having a "manic episode" none of us have a clue what she is doing, so stop getting worked up when you have no idea

  • Carina Enright

    i'm speculating? i'm pretty sure i know her.

  • aspiringrapper

    Wherever she is, she probably can't find a damn shamrock shake either.

  • Krooklyn
  • ultragrrrl

    @kurtis - like it said in the posting and like I said before: she went missing on Tuesday. Was found lastnight and then went missing again at 1030pm after walking out of a hospital.

  • ultragrrrl

    @krooklyn - she originally went missing on Tuesday. She was found and brought to Woodhull hospital lastnight, and promptly escaped.



    @steven - not really engaged.

  • LongShanks

    Seems SOME of her friends, namely "The Brenndon Knox", knew where she was last night at 9pm...

  • ultragrrrl

    @ponytears - what's it like on your perch of elitist dickness? Our friend is sick, but you're a fucking asshole.



    @krooklyn - she is ill. She needs medical attention. She is trying to run away like anyone having an episode would be. She's trying to run from existence... not someone. :(

  • Krooklyn

    according to her facebook she's found safe?

  • maevemealone

    She's the target age of schizophrenia kicking in so maybe this is the first appearance that demon?

  • jen

    I was thinking the same thing to myself as I was reading the article

  • brawny

    Something similar happened to a friend of mine last year. She ended up in Massachussets. Schizophrenia.



    Damn PonyTears, your compassion knows no limits eh?

  • brawny

    Massachusetts.

  • Stevennnn

    According to her facebook she is a engaged too.

  • S.K.

    and you believe facebook?

  • mctaco

    and the 2010 award for insensitive prick goes to...

  • Pony Tears

    She left the hospital on her own? Boo-fucking-hoo. Hipster trash runs away and that's news?

  • hunter.blatherer

    If there was ever a hospital to escape from, it's Woodhull.



    I know of a schizophrenic person who was confined there, and had a broken arm. She kept telling them she had a broken arm, but they wouldn't believe her because she was schizophrenic. After two days, with an untreated broken arm, she was rescued and brought somewhere where medical care is provided.



    I have waited for three and a half hours with someone suffering from a serious dog bite and profuse bleeding, in ER triage, on a weekday evening; before he finally gave up and went to Kings County. (Talk about out of the frying pan and into...)



    Oh, and Woodhull even looks like the Death Star, no?

  • robingee

    You're a jerk, Pony Tears.

  • nicemarmot

    Oh yeah, she totally sounds fine. Nobody ever had their first major episode of a severe illness like schizophrenia or bipolar I when they were that age. It's unheard of!



    /adds turn off sarcasm tag to appease people who take everything literally

  • Krooklyn

    well, that may be a tad harsh, but you do have one point. I don't think she's missing. Sounds to me she's running away from something/someone. 21, intelligent, escaped or checked herself out, shaved her head (sounds like she doesn't want to be recognized). Thats not missing, that's peace'ing out.



    Just my opinion though.

  • Krooklyn

    might I add, either way, I hope she's aight.

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