FL FL - Joanne Benner, 21, Bayou George, 1 May 1976

[Rle7]

As an example McKeithen points to his oldest cold case, Joanne Benner. Benner was a 21 year old mother of two who, according to her husband Gary, vanished in the middle of the night without a trace from her Bayou George home.

"We're pretty much convinced that her husband was responsible for her disappearance," the Sheriff said.

Gary Benner was said to have behaved suspiciously right after Joanne's disappearance including removing sections of their carpet and asking friends to mail toys and letters back to his children pretending to be Joanne.

McKeithen says Benner's case is a perfect example of the problems law enforcement runs into when dealing with missing and murdered women.

"Unfortunately it's a case where there are absolutely no witnesses but we have submitted evidence as recently as last year trying to get some DNA matches for this case," said McKeithen.

Investigators are hoping with technological advances happening everyday that there will no longer be a "perfect crime." They're also hoping to use new DNA databases and updated fingerprint records like AFIS to put to rest their many "Cold Cases."

http://www.wmbb.com/gulfcoastwest/mbb/news/special_reports/jan08/women_s_cold_cases.html

 

[Richard]

Joanne Benner

Missing since May 1976 from Bayou George, Bay County, Florida
Classification: Missing

Vital Statistics

Age at Time of Disappearance: 21 years old



Circumstances of Disappearance

Benner was a 21 year old mother of two who.

According to her husband, who is suspect, she vanished in the middle of the night without a trace from her Bayou George home.

Her body was never found. Circumstances lead detectives to believe she was the victim of foul play.

An Aunt said the daughter, then a toddler, told her that something was wrong with mommy, she was bleeding from the stomach, and it was running all down her leg.

Investigators searched Benner’s house not long after his wife went missing, they found some of the carpet had been removed.

Later the carpet was found set on fire in a trach can.

Shortly after Joanne Benner went missing, her husband disappeared in his truck. When he returned, there was fresh mud on his clothes and on the vehicle.



Investigators

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Bay County Sheriff's Office
850-747-4700
Source Information:

WMBB News
News Herald 4/27/08
Doenetwork Case 2473DLFFL

LINK:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2473dffl.html

 

[Anubis]

Cases like this just chap my hide. Anybody know what kind of forensic evidence was/is available? Is the husband still alive?

 

[Sleuthster]

Looks like Gary's been a busy man over the years

Marriages
GARY SYDNEY BENNER / LYDONNA SUE KEITH
GARY SYDNEY BENNER / BEVERLY ILENE HALL
GARY SYDNEY BENNER / JO ANN PITTS

Divorces

GARY SYDNEY BENNER / JOANN PITTS
GARY S BENNER / BEVERLY I



I wonder why he didnt just have Joann declared dead instead of divorcing her.
Also, I wonder if the other 2 wives also did a disapearing act in the middle of the night. Reminds me of Drew Peterson.

 

[meggilyweggily]

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/benner_joanne.html

I wonder why he didnt just have Joann declared dead instead of divorcing her.
Also, I wonder if the other 2 wives also did a disapearing act in the middle of the night. Reminds me of Drew Peterson.

Divorce is usually much quicker than having a person declared dead. Death declarations typically take seven years, unless there's a lot of evidence the person is dead (like WTC deaths).

A search of the FDLE missing persons database didn't turn up either of his other wives' names.

 

[Kat]

http://www.newsherald.com/news/missing-85978-persons-cases.html

August 08, 2010 12:01:00 AM

• Jo Ann Benner was 21 years old when she went missing May 1, 1976, from her home on Titus Road in Bayou George. Her body hasn’t been found, but investigators said they are convinced she was killed, and they know who killed her, but have never been able to prove it. Benner’s then 3-year-old daughter is reported to have told her grandmother on the day of Benner’s disappearance that “Mommy had to go away because she was bleeding from the stomach.”

The Benner case has been active since 1976, and just last year great strides were made that investigators believed were going to be lead to an arrest, but at the last minute they fell through.

“We were probably as close as we’ll ever be about a year ago,” Stanford said.

 

[tibm]

Hello- I'm the 3 year old who said I saw mmmy bleeding from the stomach. She is my mom and I desperately want to know what happened to her. I have no memories of her what occured that night. The only things I remember is what I have been told over the years. If anyone knows, please send a message.

 

[bessie]

Cold cases: Former police chief says ‘No one gets forgotten’
By ZACK McDONALD | News Herald Writer | Twitter: @pcnhzack
Published: Saturday, January 24, 2015 at 06:25 PM.

PANAMA CITY — When investigators searched Joanne Benner’s home not long after the 21-year-old wife went missing, they found a patch of carpet removed from her Titus Road home in Bayou George.

To date, her body has not been found after the suspicious disappearance in 1976; however, investigators still are convinced Benner was killed.

And they claim to know who killed her, but have never been able to prove it.

--- UNSOLVED BAY COUNTY MURDERS

Along with specks of what investigators suspect is blood throughout the home, Benner’s then-3-year-old daughter is reported to have told a relative that on the day of Benner’s disappearance, “Mommy had to go away because she was bleeding from the stomach,” according to Bay County Sheriff’s Office records.

Investigators also later found the patch of carpet in a trash can. It had been set on fire, BCSO reported.

 

[bessie]

Charley Project

Doe Network

 

[The Whistler]

Any new news??

 

[The Whistler]

Bump for joann

 

[Coffee56]

Demographics
Missing Age21 Years
Current Age65 Years
First NameJoAnn
Middle Name--
Last NameBenner
Nickname/Alias--

SexFemale
Height5' 7" (67 Inches)
Weight200 lbs
Race / EthnicityWhite / Caucasian

Circumstances
Date of Last ContactMay 14, 1976
NamUs Case CreatedMarch 25, 2014
Last Known Location Map
LocationBayou George, Florida
CountyBay County

Circumstances of DisappearanceBenner a mother of two disappeared on May 14, 1976 from Bayou George, Bay County, Florida.
Circumstance Notes
JoAnn's name is frequently spelled as Joanne on missing persons sites, but the correct spelling appears to be JoAnn according to obituary and marriage documents.

Physical Description
Hair ColorBrown
Head Hair DescriptionBrown
Body Hair Description--
Facial Hair Description--
Left Eye ColorGreen
Right Eye ColorGreen

R/O



The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[theshadow45]

JoAnn has been missing for 44 years today.

 

[PayrollNerd]

Most of the links from years ago no longer work. I found this from 2/10/2019

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newsherald.com/news/20190210/unsolved-homicide-of-joanne-benner?template=ampart

Editor's note: This story is the second in a new weekly series looking at unsolved murders and disappearances in Bay County. Information is gathered from the Crime Stoppers website and past News Herald articles.

More at link. Snips:
Gary Benner was quickly developed as a suspect and remains so, but the case is like a puzzle, all these pieces but no way to concretely fit them together.

"You're right there," said Kimberly Dee, Joanne Benner's daughter. "You just want to touch it, but you can't, because it's not enough."

At one point, according to past News Herald stories, detectives had hopes that the case would hinge on Joanne Benner's older daughter, Tonya, who told her aunt that she'd seen her mother bleeding from the stomach and that she had to "go away." But, as investigators interviewed both daughters as they grew older, it became apparent that line would be a dead end.

"They remember ... well, nothing, really," Investigator Mitch Pitts with the Bay County Sheriff's Office said at the time.

Later, hopes were raised again as DNA testing became more mainstream. BCSO sent the blood samples to a lab to be tested, but heard back that the sample was too degraded to accurately test. It would be the last major development, and setback, of the case. Now, the house has been demolished. Even if Joanne Benner was found, it's unlikely any evidence could be recovered. Time, it seems, has kept its secrets.

“As old as the case is getting and as old as we're getting," said Susan Oost, Joanne Benner's youngest sister. "These people who may know something about it may be wiling to clear their conscience."

Shortly after the disappearance, Gary Benner put his youngest daughter, Dee, up for adoption, but kept his older daughter with him. Dee was adopted by Gary Benner's best friend's sister so she was able to somewhat stay in contact with her biological family, however she feels the experience robbed her of two families. Her sister, she said, looks "just like" her mother Joanne Benner. She believes it's why her father kept her. For Oost, the adoption and subsequent loss of contact with her other niece, was like a second and third death in an already nightmarish scenario.“

Attempts to reach Gary Benner, both for this article and in past articles, were unsuccessful.

 

[PayrollNerd]

Facebook post from 9/15/2019 mentions a fractured femur bone as a result of a car accident. I wonder if there are any newspaper clippings on it. Who was driving?

Missing people found with your Help

This is Joanne Benner born on July 29, 1954. She was a mother of two, she disappeared on May 14, 1976 from Bayou George, Bay County, FL. According to her husband, who is a suspect, said she vanished in the middle of the night without a trace from her Bayou George home. It is strongly believed she was murdered in her bedroom by her husband, and buried somewhere in the Bayou George area of Panama City, FL. An aunt said the daughter of Benner, then toddler told her that something was wrong with mommy, she was bleeding from her stomach, and it was running down her leg said the daughter.
Investigators searched Benner’s house long after she went missing, they found some of the carpet had been removed. Later the carpet was found set on fire in a trash can. Shortly after Benner went missing, her husband disappeared in his truck. When he returned, there was fresh mud on his clothes and vehicle. This still is an open case.
Additional information on Joanne Benner:
Hair Color- Brown
Eye Color- Green
Weight- 200lbs (at time of disappearance)
Height- 5’7 (at time of disappearance)
Race- White
Marks- She recently recovered from a fractured femur from an automobile accident months before her disappearance.

If you have any information regarding this case, please contact the Bay County Sheriff’s Office at (850)-747-4700.
Agency case number- 2473DFFL

 

[PayrollNerd]

An interview with JoAnns sister, Susan Ooost. Dated 2/7/2019.

Unsolved Bay County: The Unsolved Homicide of Joanne Benner - From the Newsroom: The Panama City News Herald - Omny.fm

Description:
21-year-old mother of two vanished from her Titus Road home in mid-May 1976. Law enforcement have treated the case as a homicide, but lacked the evidence to bring anyone to justice. Susan Oost, Joanne's younger sister, speaks about the kind of person her sister was and what she would like to tell her.

 

[Richard]

Joanne Benner

• 
• 

Joanne, circa 1976

• Missing Since 05/01/1976
• Missing From Bayou George, Florida
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Date of Birth 07/19/1954 (65)
• Age 21 years old
• Height and Weight 5'7, 200 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, green eyes. Joanne fractured her femur in a car accident months before her disappearance.

Details of Disappearance

Joanne was last seen at her residence on Titus Road in Bayou George, Florida on May 1, 1976. Her husband, Gary Benner, said she left in the middle of the night and never returned. She has never been heard from again. Her three-year-old daughter allegedly told a relative that "Mommy had to go away because she was bleeding from the stomach."

Gary always insisted his wife left him of her own accord, but he is the prime suspect in Joanne's disappearance. Authorities stated he behaved suspiciously after she went missing, and the couple argued constantly in their marriage.

When investigators searched the Benner residence, they saw what appeared to be blood in several places of the house. Gary told police the stains were nail polish and that Joanne had flung menstrual blood at him during an argument. Some carpeting was missing from the bedroom and was later found burned in a trash can. After Joanne's disappearance, Gary asked friends to mail letters and toys to his children pretending to be Joanne.

Investigators obtained blood evidence from the Benner home, as well as the burned carpet and some of Gary's guns. DNA testing was not available in 1976, so they were unable to match the blood to Joanne at that time. In 2008, authorities tried to have some of the evidence analyzed, but it was too old and degraded. The investigation has been stalled since then.

Gary has never been charged in connection with Joanne's case, but police stated they believed he murdered Joanne and buried her body somewhere in the area. He now lives in Tennessee. He placed his youngest daughter for adoption, but kept the older one. Joanne's disappearance remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency

• Bay County Sheriff's Office 850-747-4700

Source Information

• WMBB TV
• The Doe Network
• The News Herald
• Bay County Sheriff's Office
• Unsolved in the News
• Joanne Benner – The Charley Project

 

[theshadow45]

JoAnn has been missing for 45 years today.

 

[JudgeJoe]

Just seeing this case… From Richard’s article 2 upthread… “He placed his youngest daughter for adoption, but kept the older one.” Wow. Horrible man. Still alive? Did the sisters ever find each other again?

This is another great case for @othram- degraded DNA from 2008 might be very workable with experts today.

 

[othram]

Just seeing this case… From Richard’s article 2 upthread… “He placed his youngest daughter for adoption, but kept the older one.” Wow. Horrible man. Still alive? Did the sisters ever find each other again?

This is another great case for @othram- degraded DNA from 2008 might be very workable with experts today.

Appreciate the mention. We will look into this.