August 27, 2024
Dee Ann Warner, 52, went missing from Franklin Township, Michigan, on April 25, 2021.
Dee was a businesswoman who owned trucking and agricultural companies. She was assertive, tough and always on the go. She loved shopping, and stayed close to her family, who all lived in Franklin Township and saw each other every week. She loved to socialise, and had a very caring and loving side to her when it came to friends and family.
Dee and her daughter, Rikkell Bock, who lived with her boyfriend nearby, had breakfast with her mother every Sunday, before going grocery shopping together. On April 25, however, Dee was nowhere to be found. Her daughter pressed on without her, making breakfast for her sister, Angelina, and their kids, expecting Dee to show up at any minute- but she never did. Phone calls went to voicemail and messages to Dee's phone went unanswered, and the more time that elapsed between contact, the more concerned Dee's daughters became.
They noticed that both Dee’s vehicles were still parked up in front of her home and office, which were on the same property, so wherever she had disappeared to, she either wasn’t alone, or had used another form of transportation.
Regardless, this was unusual for Dee, and her family quickly became concerned.
Dee’s husband, Dale Warner, called Dee’s daughter a few hours later, asking Rikkell about the whereabouts of Dee and if anyone had heard from her. He said he had tried to call her a couple of times and received no answer. Rikkell recalled that the phone call was over quickly.
Dee and Dale had been married for 15 years at the time she went missing, and they had issues in their relationship, which her daughters said was toxic. The pair met at a previous workplace, and had become close while working in sales for a local agricultural company and got married in 2006 in Seline, Michigan.
They had arguments over their work and businesses, which they ran together on the farm property the family lived on. These arguments drove the pair apart, and Rikkell admitted that Dee had told her the marriage was “over” and it seemed would only end in divorce.
She told Rikkell that she could end up on a true crime show one day at the hands of Dale.
Dee’s son, Greg, began making phone calls too, he called Dale and questioned him further, to which Dale told him that Dee had packed a travel bag, grabbed her purse and phone, and left. He added that she took her curling iron, something she would usually take if she were going somewhere for a night or longer.
Greg was instantly suspicious. His mother would never leave without telling family members and she would never ignore her children’s calls. In addition to this strange behaviour, Dee had neglected to take either of her vehicles.
Dale said she must have left with someone else. He would later say she “probably” ran away with a richer man to Mexico, or Australia. Dee never left the country; her passport was never used.
It was so out-of-character for Dee to go off the grid, that her family reported her missing, as Dale was putting it off.
Dale was the last person to see Dee alive. He told the family that on Saturday night he and dee had “the worst fight of their life.” He would later downplay this.
He said Dee slept on the couch that night, and claimed he saw her still sleeping at 6am on Sunday, on the day she went missing.
Initially Dee’s family considered she had committed suicide, perhaps Dee was stressed about her marriage, but they felt the signs were not there.
Soon, they suspected Dale had something to do with it. Her daughters were not the only ones who knew that Dee intended to file for divorce, friends also knew, and Dee’s family felt Dee had discussed it with Dale before she went missing. She was so distraught about telling Dale that she had been crying and vomiting with fear the day before.
The family began looking at the farm properties cameras to see if any vehicles drove onto the property to pick their mother up. They saw nothing.
Searches turned up nothing.
No body was recovered.
The family gave up hope of Dee being alive, but hoped they could recover her body to give their loved one a proper burial.
Dale continued to be the main person of interest, but there was no arrest in the case until November of 2023, when Dale Warner was arrested in connection with the death of Dee Warner, on charges of open murder and tampering with evidence. Warner’s bond was set at twenty million dollars.
Dale Warner was arrested at his home by Michigan State Police. At the time they did not have Dee’s body, however, Detective First Lieutenant Michael Dillon, Commander of the First District Special Investigative Section, said in a statement: “Working a no body homicide brings on unique challenges. The detectives on this case have done a phenomenal job with the investigation, and working collaboratively with the Lenawee County Prosecutor,” “I have the utmost confidence in this case moving forward.”
In August 2024, police announced that Dee Warner’s body had been found in a sealed propane tank used for fertilizer, located in a barn on a property off Paragon Road, owned by Dale Warner.
Media outlets report that a sign instructing people not to use was found on the tank.
The Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office positively identified the remains as that of Dee Warner.
Rikkell Bock said of the discovery: "It’s the news we’ve waited 3 1/2 years to hear but we never wanted," Bock wrote. "We can now lay our beautiful mother down properly to rest. This is not over, it’s only beginning. We will fight even harder to make sure we get the justice she deserves. She will forever be missed absolutely NEVER forgotten. We love you so much momma."
Dale warner is scheduled to appear back in court for a pretrial hearing on September 04, 2024, in Lenawee Circuit Court.
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