A 16-year-old Nevada girl disappeared after leaving home to spend time with a friend, but investigators later concluded that the friend who helped search for her was also the person responsible for her death.
In a new case breakdown, EWU Crime Storytime examined the 2020 killing of Gabrielle “Britney” Ujlaky, a Spring Creek teenager whose disappearance quickly turned into a homicide investigation. The channel’s host said the case became especially disturbing because the person who claimed to have dropped her off with a stranger was later convicted of murdering her.
Britney’s final Snapchat photos appeared ordinary at first. They showed a teenager spending time outside with someone she trusted. But investigators later used location data, surveillance video, and DNA evidence to argue that the young man beside her had never told police the truth about where he took her.
The case began with a worried mother, a missing teenager, and a story about a dark green pickup truck driven by an unknown man in a cowboy hat. Within days, that story would begin to unravel.
A Mother Reports Her Daughter Missing
According to the EWU Crime Storytime report, Britney was reported missing on March 9, 2020, after she failed to return home the night before.
Her mother, Alicia, told deputies that Britney had left with a friend and was supposed to meet someone described only as a “new friend.” She said the last known plan involved a ride to the local high school, where Britney was allegedly picked up by a man she did not know.
Alicia described her daughter as a typical 16-year-old who had not run away before. She acknowledged that Britney had gotten into trouble in the past, including a marijuana-related incident, but said she normally contacted family when something went wrong.
“She just said, ‘My new friend,’” Alicia told deputies in body-camera footage included by EWU Crime Storytime. “And now nobody can find her. None of her friends. Her phone’s not on.”
The mother also said Britney had conflicts with some people and had been assaulted by other girls after a rodeo event. She was frightened that someone might have hurt her, though she did not know who.
That early uncertainty is one of the hardest parts of missing-person cases. Family members often know details that may sound small at first, such as a sudden silence on a phone or a change in routine, but those details can become significant once investigators begin building a timeline.
Bryce Dickey Describes A Mystery Man
Police learned that Britney had been with 18-year-old Bryce Dickey, a longtime friend she reportedly called “big brother.”
Dickey told investigators he had picked Britney up and spent several hours driving around with her before dropping her near Spring Creek High School. He claimed she met a man in a dark green Ford F-150, describing him only as tall and wearing a cowboy hat.
According to the footage shown by EWU Crime Storytime, Dickey said he did not get a good look at the man. He told officers the truck had stickers in the rear window, but he could not identify the stickers or provide much more information.
The story immediately gave police something to investigate. If Britney had entered an unfamiliar truck with a stranger, then the vehicle and driver could be the key to finding her.
But investigators also appeared uneasy with Dickey’s account. During one interview, a sergeant pressed him on the timeline, pointing out that he had supposedly spent more than three hours simply driving around with Britney before dropping her off.
“I usually can smell somebody that’s leaving out something,” the sergeant told Dickey. “So, what are you leaving out?”
Dickey denied hiding anything. He showed police Snapchat messages that appeared to confirm Britney had asked him to pick her up, and he said he became concerned when she stopped responding later that evening.
At that stage, he presented himself as a worried friend. He joined search efforts and told investigators that he regretted dropping Britney off where he did.
Searchers Find A Body In Burner Basin
The search ended in tragedy days later.
EWU Crime Storytime reported that volunteers searching in an area known as Burner Basin, about seven miles from the school where Dickey claimed he left Britney, found a blue tarp.
Underneath it was the body of a young woman.
The girl was partially clothed and still wearing black high-heeled boots. Investigators later confirmed the victim was Britney.
According to the channel’s account of police records, the medical examiner determined she died from a stab wound to the neck and strangulation. Investigators also collected evidence from the scene, including chewing tobacco spit, Britney’s keys, and tire-track evidence that was limited because of the rocky terrain.
The most painful footage in the report shows an investigator informing Alicia that a body had been found. The officer stressed that identification had not yet been confirmed, but the news overwhelmed Britney’s mother.
“I’m going to pass out,” Alicia said. “Can you get me some help?”
It is an agonizing moment because it captures the instant a family’s fear starts turning into something much worse. The case had begun as a search for a missing teenager, but the discovery in the basin shifted the entire investigation toward homicide.
The Green Pickup Story Starts To Fall Apart
As detectives continued interviewing Dickey, his account began to conflict with evidence.
He maintained that Britney had gone off with another man. He said the green Ford pickup belonged to someone else and later identified a photo of a truck as belonging to a friend named Jared.
But investigators had surveillance footage from the day Britney disappeared.
According to EWU Crime Storytime, the video showed Dickey picking Britney up at Angel Park. It also showed that his vehicle did not make the turn toward the high school where he claimed he dropped her off.
Instead, the footage placed his truck continuing toward Boyd Kennedy Road.
When investigators confronted Dickey with that evidence, he admitted that he had not been truthful about taking Britney to the school. Still, he claimed he lied only because he was afraid police would suspect him.
“The third cop I talked to is the one that called me down to the high school,” Dickey said in the interrogation footage. “He called me a liar about three times and kept asking me if I killed Britney.”
His explanation did little to resolve the larger problem. The false story had sent investigators searching for a green truck and an unidentified cowboy-hat-wearing driver who, police later concluded, did not exist.
A fabricated lead can be especially damaging in a missing-person case because it consumes time, sends officers in the wrong direction, and gives a false sense that the real suspect may still be somewhere else.
DNA And Snapchat Data Point Back To Dickey
Police then built a case using forensic and digital evidence.
The EWU Crime Storytime report said Dickey’s DNA matched chewing tobacco found near Britney’s body. Investigators also said his DNA matched evidence taken from her neck, her fingernails, and a used condom recovered in bushes near the scene.
Dickey initially denied having a sexual relationship with Britney. When confronted with the condom evidence, he changed his account and claimed they had kissed and that there had been sexual contact using protection.
Investigators also reviewed Snapchat location data.
According to court records described in the report, the location data showed Dickey and Britney meeting around 3:22 p.m. on the day she disappeared. Their accounts then placed them at the basin where Britney took two selfies.
Those images became especially haunting after investigators established the location.
The selfies did not look alarming by themselves. They appeared to show a normal afternoon outdoors. But police said they helped place Britney and Dickey together at the same remote area where her body was later found.
Dickey reportedly left the basin around 5:25 p.m. Less than an hour later, he sent Britney several Snapchat messages asking why she was not responding.
That detail became central to the case. Investigators argued that he was trying to create the appearance that he did not know where she was, even though the digital evidence placed both of them together at the final known location.
Conviction Brings The Case To A Close
Dickey was charged with first-degree murder and sexual assault involving the use of a deadly weapon, according to the EWU Crime Storytime report.
He was convicted on all counts after a jury trial.
On August 10, 2022, he received an aggregate life sentence with parole eligibility after 46 years. The report also noted that the Nevada Supreme Court rejected an appeal seeking to overturn his conviction in 2024.
Britney’s mother addressed Dickey in a victim impact statement, saying, “The world owes my daughter Britney a debt of gratitude because her brutal death will prevent you, Bryce Edward Dickey, from ever hurting anybody else.”
The case remains difficult to process because of the betrayal at its center. Britney reportedly trusted Dickey, and he had been part of her circle for years. The person who told police he was helping search for her was eventually convicted of killing her.
EWU Crime Storytime framed the case as one where investigators had to work past an early false story and follow the evidence wherever it led. The green truck, the mystery man, and the supposed drop-off near the high school all became part of a narrative that detectives later dismantled piece by piece.
In the end, the final selfies did not simply mark Britney’s last known moments. Investigators said they became part of the evidence that showed she was never with a stranger at all, but with someone she believed was a friend.
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, John developed a love for the great outdoors early on. With years of experience as a wilderness guide, he’s navigated rugged terrains and unpredictable weather patterns. John is also an avid hunter and fisherman who believes in sustainable living. His focus on practical survival skills, from building shelters to purifying water, reflects his passion for preparedness. When he’s not out in the wild, you can find him sharing his knowledge through writing, hoping to inspire others to embrace self-reliance.
