'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Dee Ann Warner's missing case is one of the most talked about cases in the U.S.
While it is unclear as to when exactly Warner went missing, her daughter from first marriage and Warner's brother filed a missing report on April 25, 2021. She was last seen that morning at her house on Munger Road in the Franklin Township of Lenawee County.
Dee Ann Warner's case, which is currently under investigation, was a part of Dateline NBC's Missing In America podcast in August 2022. It is now the subject of the latest episode of Disappeared on the ID network. The episode, titled Vanished in the Heartland, will be broadcast at 10 pm on Wednesday, October 5 on ID.
Dee Ann Warner was an entrepreneur from Franklin Township, Michigan, who ran a trucking company. She married her current husband, Dale Warner, in 2006. It was a second marriage for both Dee and Dale.
However, things were not as rosy as they seemed to be. Dale owns his own agricultural business and had sought financial help from Dee's company at some point in time. Dee Ann Warner's family members told NBC News that the marriage was more about their respective businesses than about the individuals.
A few days before she went missing, Dee Ann Warner told daughter Rikkell Bock that she wanted to divorce Dale. Numerous fights pocked up their over-a-decade-long marriage, from which the couple also had their 9-year-old daughter Angelina.
Continue reading to learn more about what happened to Dee Ann Warner.
When did Dee Ann Warner go missing, and when was she last seen?
Dale Warner claimed to have seen his wife asleep on the couch at 6 am on April 25, 2021. He initially claimed that the couple had a fight on the night of April 24, but later ruled it as a minor disagreement.
Attorney and former investigator for the U.S. Navy Billy Little told NBC that Dale initially told investigators that the couple had had the "worst fight of their life" that night. However, he later changed his story and said that the fight wasn't so bad and that he gave her a massage on the living room floor.
Little continued that Dale said that after Dee fell asleep, he lifted her and put her on the couch, where she stayed all night after which Dale went to the bedroom and slept. After he woke up the next morning and left the house at around 6 am, he saw Dee asleep and snoring on the couch.
Little added that that was the last Dale saw of his wife.
Dee Ann Warner's disappearance came to light after her elder daughter arrived at her mother's place for a regular Sunday breakfast on April 25, 2021. Upon not finding Dee, Dale, or Angelina, Rikkell began to prepare breakfast, a ritual that the family followed.
A few hours later, Rikkell found out that Angelina was at a family friend's place. She found it unusual because Dee never left her younger daughter alone. When Dee’s brother, Gregg Hardy, contacted Dale, he said that Dee left with her purse, travel bag, phone, and curling iron.
Dale also suggested that Dee could have run away with another man with all the money. He also kept delaying filing a missing report until Dee's family took the step.
The Lenawee police department searched Dale's property and house and carried out searches, but to no avail. The investigation also revealed that Dale was seen near his father’s house between 3 am and 4:30 am on April 25, collecting digging equipment and some chemicals. Over a year later, officials could only recover Dee's car keys and nothing else.
Billy Little believed that Dale killed his wife and hid the body, but no conclusions can be reached as the investigation continues to remain open.
Dale could not be apprehended due to lack of evidence, but Dee's family members said that theirs was a broken marriage. Rikkell, who spent the first few years of her life with her mother and stepdad, told Dateline NBC:
"Their marriage consisted of their businesses. That's what kept them together for so long."
Rikkell added that it was their work that drove Dale and Dee Ann Warner apart and said that the couple was always fighting about work and that it was never pretty. She noted that she had had a conversation with her mother the day before she went missing where Dee said that she planned to leave Dale.
Both Hardy and Little corroborated Rikkell's statement and said that Dee had talked to everyone about separating from Dale. Lenawee County Sheriff Troy Bevier told Dateline NBC that they had not ruled out anyone or anything focused on everyone in particular.
Little said,
"I don't know where she is. Again, I don't think we're ever going to find her, but I haven't given up looking because the family wants to find her body so she can get a proper funeral."
According to reports, Dale killed his wife after their fight and hid her body, which has yet to be found. However, no arrests have been made and the disappearance is still under investigation.
MLive News from Michigan has asked anyone with information to contact the Michigan State Police at their tip line 855-MICHTIP (855-642-4847).
The Disappeared episode will be broadcast at 10 pm on Wednesday on ID and will also be available to stream on Discovery+.
