ADRIAN, Mich. — On Sunday, Aug. 18, Michigan State Police released new details in the case of a missing Lenawee County woman. A body police believe is that of Dee Warner, a 53-year-old wife and mother from Adrian, Michigan has been found in an anhydrous tank on a secluded property owned by Dee's husband, Dale Warner.
The discovery was made Friday afternoon when authorities executed a search warrant for one of Dale's properties off of Paragon road.
An autopsy on the body to confirm cause of death is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 20.
The new developments are the most recent update in a multi-year long timeline of Dee's missing person case.
Timeline of Dee Warner's Case
April 25, 2021
Warner's friend says she saw her drop off her daughter. Court documents indicate that Warner told her friend that she was going to meet her husband, Dale Warner.
Family and friends worked with police in the following days to find the missing woman, searching wooded areas and properties near the family home.
Lenawee County Sheriff Troy Bevier said that Dee did not have her cell phone on her when she went missing.
Tip lines for any leads on Dee's whereabouts were in operation through the summer.
October 2021
Several months passed and no signs on Dee's whereabouts had surfaced to authorities or on social media.
The Lenawee County Sheriff's Department brought in federal agencies to help locate the missing woman. The Michigan State Police, FBI and DNR were all brought in to help locate Dee.
March 2022
Nearly a year after Dee initially went missing, authorities issued new search warrants in her case. Teams scoured Lenawee County as her family offered a $50,000 reward for anyone who could help find her remains, as they no longer believed she was alive.
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Dee's family had hired private investigator Billy Little to look into her case. Little said he and the family came up with a new game plan on how to approach the case. Due to this, the family considered the possibility of a wrongful death case.
April 2022
A vigil was held by Dee Warner's family to remember their loved one a year after she went missing.
September 2022
As the family's $50,000 remained unclaimed, they sought out a judge to have Dee legally declared dead by the courts so other pieces of her case could move forward.
Hearings on the petition for Dee's death declaration continued for months, leaving the family awaiting a decision.
Despite this, Dale Warner, Dee's husband, and his lawyer argued that Dee was still alive.
April 2023
Eventually, the two-year milestone of Dee's disappearance came and went with no answers.
Throughout the investigation into Dee's disappearance, Dale's attorney argued that Dee had packed up and left, citing that Dee had done this with Dale before.
But Dee's family did not believe what Dale's attorney was stating.
Authorities confirmed that Dale and Dee had in fact got into an argument before Dee went missing.
May 2023
No one had been charged in Dee's disappearance, but that didn't stop her family from filing a wrongful death lawsuit against her husband, Dale.
September 2023
A judge ruled that he could not sell off his and Dee's assets. He was later charged with contempt of court after selling assets that belonged to both him and Dee.
November 2023
Dale was charged by the Lenawee County Sheriff's Department for allegedly killing his wife, Dee Warner, after she was legally declared dead. A decision Dee's family had been waiting nearly two and a half years for.
May 2024
A judge heard evidence to determine whether or not Dale Warner would go to trial in May of 2024.
The preliminary hearing lasted three days and was continued into June.
On June 7, 2024 a judge ruled that Dale Warner would face a jury on charges of murder and tampering with evidence.
Dale's trial was set without Dee's body.
Aug. 16, 2024
Authorities found what they believe to be Dee Warner's remains welded shut inside one of two tanks removed from Dale Warner's property off of Paragon Road in Lenawee County.
An official confirmation through lab testing has yet to identify the remains as belonging to Dee Warner.
An autopsy on the remains is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 20
Michigan State Police state that an investigation into Dee's case still continues.
This is a developing story. WTOL 11 will provide updates as they become available.