More than 100 showed up for vigil seeking justice for Dee Warner

TIPTON — More than 100 people gathered Saturday at the Hardy Farm’s event center in Tipton for a vigil to mark the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of Dee Ann Warner.

Warner, of Tipton, was last seen April 24, 2021. The yard signs have shifted from saying, “Find Dee” to “Justice for Dee” as attention has increasingly focused on Dale Warner, Dee’s husband, as the sole person of interest in the case, according to Warner’s brother, Gregg Hardy.

In an interview, Hardy said that he has hired as many as seven private investigators to work on the case, some from as far away as Arizona.

Hardy said the whole process has been very difficult on the family. Warner has four adult children and a 10-year-old daughter. Hardy said he does not know how the 10-year-old is doing because Dale will not allow the family to see her.

Hardy and the remainder of the family have not been on speaking terms for a few months now.

“I explained to him, the story he told me did not add up," Hardy said. "I'm a pretty direct person. So if I feel like I don’t trust you or you’re not telling me the truth, I’ll just tell you so. It became very obvious to me he wasn’t telling the truth and that’s the last time I spoke with him.

"It was, in my opinion, a toxic relationship.”

An attorney and investigator working with Hardy and his family has released information he said he has learned during his work on the case.

Dee disappeared overnight following a heated argument with Dale on April 24, 2021, the news release from attorney Billy Little Jr. said. Family, friends and neighbors searched for answers but none came. She has never used her credit cards since her disappearance and she has not accessed her bank account. Her phone died that night. None of the vehicles were missing from the family home.

The evidence points toward Dee being a domestic violence victim trapped inside her marriage, the release said.

Hardy said Little is working with the family to discover what happened to Dee Warner. Little offers to find missing persons at no cost to families in need, the release said, and has been working 16-hour days to find Dee.

Multiple searches were conducted, but her body has not been found. Fliers and billboards have been posted all around the community.

Dee’s family offered a $50,000 cash reward for finding Dee or her remains. After 10 months without answers from law enforcement, Dee's family sought help from Little.

Little conducted drone searches, document recovery and review, and multiple witness interviews. Within a matter of weeks, Little said in the release, he discovered this story of Dee Warner's "disappearance."

The last day Dee was seen alive, April 24, 2021, she had been upset over ongoing marital problems with her husband. Witnesses reported seeing Dee crying all day, saying she had a migraine headache and vomiting due to the emotional distress.

Dee sent a text message to a friend saying this was a “bad, bad day” and that she was “done” with her marriage. Several witnesses said Dee told them she intended to tell her husband she was finished with the marriage, they needed to liquidate their shared business and file for divorce, the release said.

That evening, a friend came to Dee’s home at 7:42 p.m. to pick up the couple’s then 9-year-old daughter for a sleepover to give Dee time alone to talk with her husband. This was the last time Dee was seen.

According to people close to the couple, they had a history of loud verbal arguments. Several witnesses reported seeing physical injuries on Dee following her quarrels with Dale, the release said. None of the instances of violence were reported to police.

Initially, Dale Warner said the couple had an argument on April 24, calling it the worst fight they ever had, the release said. Later, he changed his story, saying the fight wasn’t that bad. He also claimed that he gave Dee a massage on the living room floor and, after Dee “fell asleep,” he moved her to the couch.

Dale maintains he last saw her asleep on the living room couch at 6 a.m. April 25, a Sunday, when he left the home to work on the family farm, Little's news release said. Dale maintains after Dee left him, she placed her $50,000 wedding ring on the desk of his business office.

According to Little, Dale said Dee probably went to Jamaica or Mexico. Dale produced a note he claims Dee wrote indicating she had left. However, investigators determined the note was written four years prior.

Two days after Dee’s disappearance, police searched the couple’s farm property. Dale initially gave his consent to search, but later revoked it, Little's release said. Police returned with a search warrant and a cadaver dog. When police tried to enter a barn on the property, Dale told police that solid fertilizer, Urea 46-0-0, stored inside would get on the search dogs and kill them. Police did not search the barn.

Police and the FBI returned to the property on Oct. 11-12 and dug up two areas, looking for remains, but found nothing.

Little has assembled a team of investigative experts, including retired homicide detective Chris McDonough, to help find answers to her disappearance.

“We have been working hard assembling the facts to Dee’s disappearance,” Little said in the release. “We will not stop until we have uncovered the truth. This family deserves justice and to know what happened to Dee.”

During the vigil, Hardy challenged Dale to come forward with any work he has done to find Dee.

“Dale, I'd like you to come forward and to show us what you’ve been doing to find your wife, my sister. I’d like you to come forward and show us where you’ve been looking for her,” Hardy said. “You stated she was in Mexico, Cancun or somewhere like that. What have you done to find her there? We looked. We spent thousands and thousands of dollars looking.”

Hardy also challenged Dale to stop putting out a narrative that Dee took money from the business and left. He said a conservator, a certified public accountant, reviewed the books and found nothing missing. The family is satisfied with the conservator’s word, but in an effort to put that narrative to rest they have a forensic auditor starting on the case, Hardy said.

A group of officers from the Lenawee County Sheriff’s office including Sheriff Troy Bevier were on hand for the vigil. Hardy thanked them for being there but encouraged them to stop saying that there were many persons of interest and narrow it down to Dale. He also encouraged them to do more on the case.

The Lenawee County Sheriff's Office has been leading an investigation since Dee Warner's disappearance. The sheriff's office, Michigan State Police and FBI formed a task force in March to share resources.

Anyone with information that may be helpful in locating Warner is asked to contact the Lenawee County Sheriff’s Office at 517-263-0524.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: More than 100 showed up for vigil seeking justice for Dee Warner