A smiling blond 17-year-old left her parents southeast Brainerd home to spend the night at a friend's house intending to return the next day.

That was more than a week ago.

"She never took off and lost contact with everybody," Shelly Joel said of her daughter. "She's always stayed in contact with someone."

On Sept. 27, Brandie Joel took pajamas and a change of clothes to spend the night at a girlfriend's house. She planned to walk to the friend's house. Her mom said she may have taken a light zip-up hoodie but no jacket. Highs were in the 80s that weekend. Her coat remained at home.

Brandie told her dad she'd be back by noon the next day and would help the family paint a garage. When she wasn't home by 12:30 p.m., he went to the friend's house and learned Brandie never arrived there the night before.

Her family has been scouring neighborhoods and talking to their daughter's friends trying to find out what may have happened.

About five days before she went missing, Brandie began taking an ADHD medication. They aren't sure if she had a reaction to the medication or if something or someone else is involved.

From their daughter's friends, they've heard instead of going to the girlfriend's house she planned to stay with, Brandie got into a white car with two other girls. She reportedly stayed at a different friend's house and then was dropped off at Brainerd Cub Foods on Sept. 28. She was seen there about 4 p.m.

For a teenager constantly with a phone or tablet and often updating her Facebook and Snapchat, there has also been a week of silence. Brandie's last Facebook post updated her cover photo at 9:19 p.m Sept. 26. Her mom said her last Snapchat post was on Sunday, Sept. 28, the last day of a confirmed sighting. The last post reportedly was of a girl and stated "I majorly (expletive) up and I don't know what to do."

Shelly Joel said her daughter was upset after a recent break-up with a boyfriend. But Brandie's mood was upbeat when they last saw her that last Saturday before she went out. The family received a number of reports of sightings in Brainerd. Each time they've rushed over and it turned out to be case of misidentification.

"When we hear locations, we go drive those locations up and down and up and down and nothing," Shelly Joel said. "We've seen absolutely no sign of her. Nothing at all. I'm getting very concerned that someone has her."

Brandie has not been without problems. After a knee surgery, which caused lost time at school, Brandie went to the Alternative Education Center determined to make up time to keep graduation on track. The surgically repaired knee continued to be a concern and the family learned this month Brandie would need another surgery to repair bone.

In addition to the break-up, Brandie was recently fired from a job. But the last check of $500 sits unclaimed at their home. A car Brandie was paying off in anticipation of getting her driver's license, sits idle at her home. Shelly Joel said her daughter was upset about a second surgery but she didn't believe upset enough to drop contact with family and friends and vanish.

After never skipping school, Shelly Joel said her daughter has not shown up for school this past week. And, perhaps most unsettling, Shelly Joel said Brandie hasn't contacted friends or her sister, a college student in Duluth.

Most recently, Shelly Joel said her daughter has been doing wonderfully at school.

"She had goals. She had plans. She wanted to get her driver's license," her mother said. A puppy Brandie wanted was ordered and will be ready in December.

"She's just been doing good, happy all the time," Shelly Joel said. " I just don't know what happened on Saturday to change that."

Since their daughter went missing, the Joels said they learned she may have been hanging out with an older crowd, with young men in their 20s they were not aware of earlier.

One of the reports they've received of a Brandie sighting from their daughter's friends is that she was seen with a "shady character" and didn't look well.

Shelly Joel said some of the crowd her daughter was hanging out with were arrested for felony kidnapping and assault for kidnapping a guy and beating him up. Weapons were also involved, Shelly Joel said. Now she worries her daughter may be being forced to do things against her will.

The Brainerd Police Department reported it has no reason to believe the recent arrests are directly connected to Brandie. After many hours of investigation, the police department reports there is no reason to suspect foul play with Brandie's absence from her family. Both the police department and the Joel family think someone knows something about Brandie's whereabouts they are not sharing.

"I encourage anybody with any information to contact the Brainerd Police Department," said Brainerd Police Department Investigator Craig Katzenberger.

Anyone with information about Brandie may contact the Brainerd Police Department at 218-829-2805.

Missing teen

Brandie Joel has blue eyes and long light to medium blond hair. She is 5 feet 10 inches, 160 pounds and wears glasses. She often wears a gray Spiderman flat-bill hat and since her knee often swells up, she may be walking with a limp.