Investigators looking for long-missing Michigan woman find human remains on husband’s property

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, MI — During a search of a home in southeastern Michigan, investigators discovered the human remains of a man whose wife disappeared more than three years ago and is presumed dead.

Dee Warner’s family reported her missing in April 2021. Her husband, Dale John Warner, 56, was charged in november with open murder and tampering with evidence in her disappearance. He has pleaded not guilty.

Michigan State Police said in a statement Sunday that they recently searched the Lenawee County home of Dale Warner and found human remains.

“The remains are currently being recovered and much work and testing will need to be done before a positive identification can be made,” the agency said in a social media post. “The family of Dee Warner has been contacted and informed of the findings. This is still an ongoing investigation.”

Family members told WTVG-TV And WTOL-TV that the remains were found Friday in a sealed, empty tank intended for anhydrous ammonia, which is used as a fertilizer for crops.

An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.

Dee Warner was 52 when she was last seen on the morning of April 25, 2021, on a road in Franklin Township, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) southwest of Detroit. She has not been in contact with her family or friends since then.

Dale Warner remains in the Lenawee County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court on September 4 for a preliminary hearing.

“We believe that a fair and objective review of the evidence — or more precisely, the lack of evidence in this case — will show that Mr. Warner did not murder his wife,” his attorney, Mary Chartier, told The Associated Press when he was charged in November.