MI MI - Joanne Garr, 30, Dearborn Heights, Nov 1971

[truecrimereview]

Here is the podcast episode I did which features a discussion of Joanne's case:

http://truecrimereview.net/podcast/13/

 

[madamx]

http://www.missingin.org/reg4172/joanne_gladys_garr.htm



Missing
Last seen alive: January 07, 1971 at 11:59

Circumstances: Police at 12th Precent (Palmer Park) were notifed on Dec 31, 1971 she failed to appear over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Letter from City of detroit and Police Officers Card sent via e-mail.
First Name: Joanne Gladys
Middle Name: Gladys
Last Name: Garr

Details
Age When Last Known Alive: 30
Race: White
Ethnicity: Other
Sex: Female
Height: 63.0 to
Weight: 110.0 to

Location
City: Dearborn Heights
State: Michigan
County: Wayne

Appearance
Hair: Red/Auburn
Head Hair: medium in length
Body Hair: none
Facial Hair: none
Eye: Blue
Other Distinctive: freckles on face arms legs assume rest of body

 

[madamx]

wow that is interesting.. the only thing they found it says was a mans shoe?.. were they able to identify who the license plate went to?

What ever happened to her children??

''Human remains were found in a 1937 Dodge found west of the Greenfield bridge in
the Rouge River. The river was being drained at the time of the discovery. 1957
licence plates were found with the vehicle."

The distance between Dearborn Heights and Greenfield Bridge is around seven miles, and the vehicle was recovered around a year after Joanne disappeared.

https://www.identifyus.org/en/cases/12106

 

[jpo74]

beautiful lady and love that wedding dress

 

[dexter75]

Philip said he "couldn't remember" the exact date that he last saw Joanne...anyone think that's a little weird? This is the man's wife, supposedly coming to pack up and leave the marriage permanently! You would imagine that sort of thing would be emblazoned on a person's mind.

This was my thought 100%

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

 

[pfranko]

I bought her car from Phillip after she disappeared. 1969 white Beetle. The Dearborn Heights police came to our house to inspect it but found nothing. I believe Phillip and her lived in the 7 mile Lahser area. I worked for Phillip for around 5 or so years when he had the Warren Valley Golf Course restaurant concession. I was in high school then.

 

[Satch]

Joanne Gladys Garr - Michigan Missing Person Directory

View attachment 115952View attachment 115953View attachment 115954View attachment 115955View attachment 115956

Missing
Last seen alive: January 07, 1971 at 11:59

Circumstances: Police at 12th Precent (Palmer Park) were notifed on Dec 31, 1971 she failed to appear over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Letter from City of detroit and Police Officers Card sent via e-mail.
First Name: Joanne Gladys
Middle Name: Gladys
Last Name: Garr

Details
Age When Last Known Alive: 30
Race: White
Ethnicity: Other
Sex: Female
Height: 63.0 to
Weight: 110.0 to

Location
City: Dearborn Heights
State: Michigan
County: Wayne

Appearance
Hair: Red/Auburn
Head Hair: medium in length
Body Hair: none
Facial Hair: none
Eye: Blue


Missing
Last seen alive: January 07, 1971 at 11:59
Other Distinctive: freckles on face arms legs assume rest of body

The January 7, 1971 date is not correct AFAIK. Joanne has been missing since November of 1971. I don't believe Phillip at all about the story about where the bruises came from. I think he murdered Joanne in a rage of anger and hid her body.

Satch

 

[Ozoner]

''Human remains were found in a 1937 Dodge found west of the Greenfield bridge in
the Rouge River. The river was being drained at the time of the discovery. 1957
licence plates were found with the vehicle."

The distance between Dearborn Heights and Greenfield Bridge is around seven miles, and the vehicle was recovered around a year after Joanne disappeared.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

That page wouldn't load for me; maybe the remains have been identified.
This article mentions those remains and some others:
A list of unidentified human remains cases in the Downriver area

 

[Richard]

Joanne Gladys Garr
Missing since November 1971 from Dearborn Heights, Wayne County, Michigan
Classification: Missing

Vital Statistics

• • Date Of Birth: December 1, 1940
  • Age at Time of Disappearance: 30 years old
  • Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'3-5'4"; 110-130 lbs.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Red, medium length hair; blue eyes. Freckles.
  • AKA: Joan

Circumstances of Disappearance
Joanne Garr was last seen at her northwest Detroit home.
At the time Garr had been married for less than a year to her second husband, and had two children.

The husband stated that Joanne returned to their home after an estrangement in late 1971, packed her bags and said she would leave permanently.

She failed to appear at appointments over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and last reported to work the day before Thanksgiving. Her car was found abandoned.
Police were notified on December 31, 1971 by Joanne's mother after she had been unable to reach her.

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

Michigan State Police
248-584-5774

Agency Case Number: 21-4659-10

Source Information:
Namus
The Doe Network: Case File 2960DFMI

 

[Richard]

Joanne Gladys Garr

Joanne, circa 1971

• Missing Since 11/24/1971
• Missing From Dearborn Heights, Michigan
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Date of Birth 12/01/1940 (79)
• Age 30 years old
• Height and Weight 5'3 - 5'4, 110 - 130 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Red hair, blue eyes. Joanne's nickname is Joan. She has freckles on her face, arms and legs. Her ears are pierced.

Details of Disappearance

Joanne was last seen in Dearborn Heights, Michigan on November 24, 1971. She failed to show up at the holiday celebrations over Thanksgiving weekend. She wasn't reported missing until December 31, however. She has never been heard from again.

Joanne married her second husband, Philip Garr, less than a year before her disappearance. Philip stated his wife returned home in late 1971 after a brief estrangement, packed her bags and left again, and he hadn't seen or heard from her since. He couldn't remember the exact date he last saw her and said he had no idea where she was.

Beside Philip, the last person to speak to Joanne was her first husband, Robert Ross, who is the father of her two young daughters. Joanne called Ross on November 24, the day before Thanksgiving Day, and arranged to meet him early the next morning to take their children, who were in Ross's care, to see a parade in downtown Detroit, Michigan. She didn't keep the appointment, however.

A female friend had invited Joanne over for Thanksgiving dinner, and Joanne never arrived there either. The last day she worked was the day before Thanksgiving. She had held a secretarial job at Hygrade Food Products Corp. in Southfield, Michigan for six years.

When she stopped showing up for work, the company assumed she had quit. They removed her belongings from her desk and mailed them to the home she shared with Philip, but the package was returned undelivered and later disposed of.

In late December, Joanne's mother called Philip to ask why she hadn't heard from her. Philip at first said Joanne was visiting a friend in Ohio. When this statement proved false, he said she was in Illinois. Then he told her mother that Joanne had packed her things and left him, and a man had been waiting to drive her away. He said the man's vehicle had Ohio license plates and he assumed Joanne had gone there.

Joanne's mother reported her missing. She was afraid for her daughter's safety, as she and other people Joanne knew had seen her with black eyes and bruises on her face and body. Joanne claimed she got the injuries accidentally, a statement Philip concurred with. Philip stated the problems in their marriage stemmed from jealousy on Joanne's part.

There has been no trace of Joanne's whereabouts since 1971. Her case remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency

• Michigan State Police 248-584-5774

Source Information

• NamUs
• Joanne Gladys Garr – The Charley Project

 

[Diane Redfern]

According to NamUs, her car was found abandoned, but it's not mentioned who located it, where or when. This also discredits Philip Garr's story, because if she was leaving him, she would have taken her own car, right?
According to one of the articles on NamUs (https://www.namus.gov/api/CaseSets/NamUs/MissingPersons/Cases/7708/Images/4421/Original), there's a mistake on Charley's article: Joanne had been working at Hygrade Food Products Corp for six WEEKS, not years. That would explain why they assumed she had resigned without any further investigation.
This article also mentions that Philip Garr worked at a Golf Club at the time... I would like to know if LE checked the area.

 

[Laughing]

I bought her car from Phillip after she disappeared. 1969 white Beetle. The Dearborn Heights police came to our house to inspect it but found nothing. I believe Phillip and her lived in the 7 mile Lahser area. I worked for Phillip for around 5 or so years when he had the Warren Valley Golf Course restaurant concession. I was in high school then.

@pfranko , any local stories/tales/rumors about anyone involved?

Relived to read that the children were with their other parent when this happened. Wow!

@Nina Michigan , do you anything more about this missing Mom? I know this was a long time ago.

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[Nina Michigan]

I don't know anything about her case beyond what is posted here. DHPD is close lipped about open investigations.

 

[Satch]

Is Phillip still living? Anyone know where he resides?
Here is Joanne's updated Charlie Project link:

Joanne Gladys Garr – The Charley Project

Satch

 

[Satch]

Police Report

(Redacted portions are personal notes that included confidential info)

Seems to be a sloppy report. They spell Joanne's name "Carrr" not "Garr."

Satch

 

[Laughing]

In answer to the question 'what became of the husband'? He moved to Tucson at some point. Ancestry shows he became a naturalised US citizen in Michigan in 1965, changing his name from Philip Selim Garboushian to Philip Garr. In 1992 he was living in Tucson, with the identification confirmed by the same birthdate of 22 September 1925 (although the marriage certificate says 1926). He died in Arizona on 25 May 1997. An article from the Tucson Daily Citizen at Tucson Daily Citizen from Tucson, Arizona on December 23, 1975 · Page 7 shows him in Tucson in 1975 and gives his occupation as a chef.

Is Phillip still living? Anyone know where he resides?
Here is Joanne's updated Charlie Project link:

Joanne Gladys Garr – The Charley Project

Satch

Looks like Phillip is deceased.

 

[Richard]

Missing for 50 years...

Joanne Garr, 30