Brackett was last seen near a wooded area in Surf City, North Carolina on August 1, 2009. He is from Carolina Beach, North Carolina, but was visiting relatives in Surf City on the day he disappeared. He was in the company of some people who worked for a carnival in Carolina Beach when he disappeared. When Brackett picked up his last paycheck, he told a friend he wouldn't be in to work the next day because he was leaving. He has never been heard from again. A few days prior to his disappearance, Brackett told his mother he planned to join the military. She stated he was in a good mood at the time of the conversation. He was on probation at the time he went missing, and his family doesn't believe he would have left before his probation was completed.