Human remains have been found on the property of the husband of Dee Ann Warner, a Michigan woman who has been missing since 2021, police said Sunday.
The search with a judge's approval took place in Lenawee County was part of the investigation into her disappearance, Michigan State Police said. The remains have not been identified.
"The remains are currently in the process of being recovered and there will be a great deal of work and testing completed before positive identification is made," state police said in a statement.
Dee Ann Warner's family has been notified of the discovery, the agency said.
Dale Warner was charged last year with one count of open murder and one count of tampering in the matter of his wife's disappearance. In early summer, he pleaded not guilty to all charges; a judge said there was enough evidence for a trial to commence. Dale Warner's lawyer didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday night. His defense last year vehemently denied the charges.
Authorities had said the case was difficult because they lacked a body. It's not clear why the property wasn't searched earlier. The couple lived in Tipton, in Lenawee County, about 65 miles southwest of Detroit.
Dee Ann Warner, a mother of five, ran a trucking company and a farming business. Three of her adult children reported her missing on April 25, 2021, the day Dale Warner said he had last seen her.
The night she disappeared, there had been a business dispute that included Dee Ann Warner, her husband and one or two of the woman's employees, Lenawee County Sheriff Troy Bevier told “Dateline” last year.
Gregg Hardy, Dee Ann Warner’s brother, said after Dale Warner's arrest last year that it has been a gut-wrenching time for the family, not only because his sister remained missing, but also because Dale Warner had been close to it for years.
Dale and Dee Ann had been married for 15 years.
“I have to stay focused on the reality that it happened,” Hardy told "Dateline." “Sometimes it feels almost impossible that it could have happened, but I stay focused on the facts that demonstrate that it did happen and who did it. And I’m a firm believer in justice.”
