TIPTON, Mich. — The Jackson County Medical Examiner's Office has positively identified the remains found on a Lenawee County property as Dee Warner.
According to Michigan State Police, Dee's death has been ruled a homicide but the manner of death is being withheld pending further investigation.
Authorities with MSP found on Aug. 16 what they believed to be Dee's remains welded shut inside one of two tanks removed from Dale Warner's property off of Paragon Road in Lenawee County.
MSP said in a social media post that "although there has been positive identification on the remains and manner of death has been confirmed, this is an ongoing investigation."
RELATED: Full timeline of Dee Warner's case
Dee Warner was first reported missing on April 25, 2021. 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.
Dee's husband, Dale Warner, was charged by the Lenawee County Sheriff's Department for allegedly killing his wife after she was legally declared dead. The declaration of Dee Warner's death was a decision for which her family had been waiting nearly two and a half years.
“I was heartbroken but at the same time happy for the family. Putting myself in their shoes, so I can only imagine the heartbreak and the questions that they’ve had all along and so I was happy to see that she was found, but of course devastated," Tecumseh resident Katie Richelmann said of the identification. "I just hope that the family can find peace and comfort and knowing that maybe they’ll see her again one day and the community and just rest and know that this is what happened and just have some closure, some answers.”
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