Margie Dabney
Remains found last year in Lewisville have been identified as Margie Dabney, and the medical examiner ruled that the Alzheimer's patient was the victim of a homicide.
The 70-year-old grandmother disappeared Dec. 5, 2001, during a stop at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. She and her husband, Joe Dabney, were moving from Indiana to California.
Dabney died from blunt-force trauma to the head, the Tarrant County medical examiner's office said.
Assistant Lewisville Police Chief Joni Eddy said her office received confirmation Monday that the skeletal remains have been identified as Dabney.
Chief Eddy declined to comment on Dabney's cause of death or the condition of her body.
Dabney's remains were found last November near Lake Lewisville.
Last month, her clothing and an ID card bearing her name were found near a dam at Lewisville Lake. The discovery gave hope to her loved ones that she had finally been located, while deepening the mystery of how she wound up - or was taken - 15 miles off course.
On the day she went missing, Dabney was wearing a dark two-piece knit suit, a black faux leather jacket, and a rainbow-color scarf. She carried a beige purse and a shopping bag but did not have money, her family told investigators at the time.
She wore a tag identifying her as an Alzheimer's patient.
Dabney and her husband landed at D/FW for a layover. They were to board another plane for Bakersfield, Calif.
Authorities said Mr. Dabney, who uses a wheelchair, yelled for her as she wandered away from him and an airport escort who was supposed to get them to their next flight. Mrs. Dabney did not respond and eventually got lost in the crowd at the congested airport.
Mr. Dabney, who flew on to California the same day, later sued American Airlines for $10 million, saying the airline was reckless for not escorting his wife to the connecting gate. The suit was settled out of court in 2003 for an undisclosed sum, officials said.
For weeks after Dabney disappeared, searchers scoured D/FW and surrounding areas looking for the frail 94-pound woman.
They found nothing.
The trail remained cold for six years until last November, when the skeletal remains were found near Lewisville Lake.
