In April 2021, a 52-year-old housewife, named Dee Ann Warner, vanished into thin air. The last time she was seen was in her home, located on Munger Road in Franklin Township.
Her family had no clue where she disappeared. Furthermore, her cellphone was dead and she hadn’t even used her bank cards. According to members of her family, she ran her own trucking company. Even though Lenawee County deputies were lead investigators in this case, Michigan State Police and FBI officials supported them. The latter two departments conducted digs to find Warner’s body.
According to Click on Detroit, Lenawee County Sheriff Troy Bevier commented on the disappearance of Dee Ann Warner. He stated, “We’re a small community. A lot of people knew Dee, and so this really hits close to home. There’s a lot of people that this is impacting.”
He continued, “There’s no big tip that facilitated this. Really, what this is, is kind of a culmination of all the work that we’ve been doing over the summer. We’ve been pretty much following up on every lead and all the information, and this just seemed like a prudent time to come out and do another search — a really good, thorough search of the property.”
Unfortunately, after a lot of searches, officials could not find any traces of the missing person. However, after two years, there is a huge update on the case. The Michigan State Police announced that on November 21, 2023, they arrested Warner’s husband, Dale John Warner, in connection with her death.
$20 million bond set on Dale John Warner
Dale John Warner is 53 years old and is being charged with open murder and tampering with evidence. Furthermore, Dale is being held on $20 million bond.
The commander of the First District headquarters, Capt. Steve O’Neill, was pleased with the progress on the case. Furthermore, he praised his team for nabbing the victim’s 53-year-old husband. He said, “I am extremely proud of the tireless work our detectives have put in to solve this case. With incredible determination, they have pieced together a very difficult case culminating with an arrest. This arrest is another step in our investigation, and we will continue our efforts to bring closure to the family and to find Dee Warner’s remains so that her family can lay her to rest.”
After everything is said and done, cops still haven’t found the victim’s body. Two and a half years have passed since her disappearance. Members of her family believe that Dee Ann Warner was a victim of domestic violence.
On October 5, 2022, ID’s show, Disappeared, aired an episode titled, Vanished in the Heartland, that shed light on this tragic case.
According to IMDb, the episode’s synopsis read, “Dee Ann Warner, age 52 and a successful businesswoman and mother, was last seen on April 25, 2021, in Lenawee County, Michigan. Her family initially suspects her husband is to blame. However, he insists that he had nothing to do with her disappearance.”
If anyone has any information regarding this case, please dial the number of Michigan State Police Monroe Post, which is 734-242-3500.
