Missing Michigan Woman’s Home And Surrounding Property Scoured As Search Intensifies Months After Vanishing

The rural property of a missing Michigan woman who vanished nearly six months ago was excavated by investigators this week in an effort to dig up any clues that could assist in the search.

Dee Warner, 52, who was last seen alive at her home in Franklin County, Michigan, vanished sometime during the evening of April 24 and the early morning hours of April 25, officials said.

Since going missing, Warner hasn’t contacted friends or family by phone or social media. It’s unclear if foul play contributed to her disappearance, police said.

“As part of the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Franklin Township resident Dee Warner, the Lenawee County Sheriff's Office is conducting another search of her residence and the surrounding property in an attempt to gather information into her whereabouts," the sheriff’s office said in an Oct. 11 statement.

On Monday, FBI agents could be seen scouring fields surrounding Warner’s property using high-tech ground sonar technology and K9 units. A backhoe was also utilized to dig up certain areas which investigators had marked in their efforts. But no signs of the missing woman were uncovered.

"The extensive search utilizing a vast number of personnel, canines and ground sonar did not locate Dee Warner," a separate sheriff’s news release stated.

It’s unclear what specific evidence law enforcement was hoping to unearth during the search. Officials said they plan to review information gathered from the search as the investigation into the missing woman’s disappearance continues.

"We're just looking for evidence — any evidence that could point us toward her whereabouts or her well-being," Lenawee County Sheriff Troy Bevier told WTOL this week.

Bevier explained that search units had waited for the summer’s harvest to be completed and for crops to be cleared from nearby fields before executing a mass sweep of Warner’s rural property. 

“We thought that this was a very prudent time to do an even more thorough search,”  Bevier said. “We wanted to make sure that we covered every base and got out here and did a thorough search one more time.”

The sheriff also disclosed that radar picked up on something during their search this week, which led to a effort.

“This is kind of a culmination of the work that we’ve been doing over the summer,” Bevier also told WDIV. “We’ve been pretty much following up on every lead and all of the information.”

The Michigan State Police, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and the FBI are assisting in the case.

Lenawee County Sheriff’s Office didn’t immediately respond to Oxygen.com’s request for comment regarding the ongoing search on Wednesday and the spokesperson for the FBI also declined to comment on the case this week.

Anyone with more information related to Warner’s whereabouts is urged to call Lenawee County Sheriff’s Office Detective Kevin Greca at 517-264-5364 or by submitting an anonymous online tip via Crime Stoppers.