Key facts
- Name: Dana Lynn Turner (also listed as Dana Canady Turner)
- Born: ~1968
- Age at disappearance: 43
- Last seen: September 22, 2011 (last contact: a phone call with her sister)
- Location: Chesapeake, Virginia
- Height / build: 5’9″, 150 lbs, white woman, sandy/blonde hair, blue eyes
- Vehicles: Her personal vehicle and a rented Honda Accord — both found at the Avis agency on Battlefield Boulevard North, Chesapeake
- Status: Still missing — declared legally dead in 2012; foul play strongly suspected; body never found
- Investigating agency: Chesapeake Police Department ((757) 382-6251); Crime Line 1-888-LOCK-U-UP
Two cars at the Avis lot
In the fall of 2011, Dana Lynn Turner was coming apart at the seams: 43, going through a divorce, under crushing financial strain — she had lost her job at a home restoration company, and her unemployment benefits had run out.
On September 22, 2011, Dana spoke with her sister, Tammy Spanninger, on the telephone — their last contact. Days earlier she had told her mother, Patricia Merna, that she was leaving for North Carolina for a three-day job cleaning model homes and would be back by the 22nd. She never came back.
The next day, Spanninger contacted Chesapeake police. A friend had seen Dana’s car at the Avis rental agency on Battlefield Boulevard North — and the picture there made no sense. A regular Avis customer for about a year, Dana had her own vehicle sitting in the lot — and a Honda Accord she had rented had been returned, but not by her. Nobody knew who had dropped it off: it came back after hours, the key left in the drop box, the tank nearly empty, the car dirty — completely out of character for Dana, who was known to be meticulous about her returns.
A man had also come to the home Dana shared with her sister, looking for her, saying he could take her family to the Honda Accord. Police listed Dana as an “endangered” missing person; her cell phone was never used again.
Who Dana was
Her sister said it plainly to WVEC that October: “She was gone in thin air. How can a 43-year-old woman just disappear like that?”
After her disappearance, a friend told her mother that Dana had been picking up marijuana in New York City and Atlanta and transporting it to Chesapeake — something her mother hadn’t known. Her family came to believe it may have contributed to her disappearance.
In 2012, her mother had Dana declared legally dead to settle her affairs. At the hearing, a witness testified she had seen Dana’s body in Gene Morris’s apartment bedroom — and had helped cover it up, donning a blonde wig to look like Dana, returning the car to Avis, and wiping down its interior.
The man called “Bones”
Gene “Bones” Morris II became the name the case would not let go of: he had served time for manslaughter in a 1996 shooting, and Dana knew him — she had helped repair his house.
Morris told her mother he had dropped Dana off in Chesapeake City on September 22, agreed to meet with her parents — and never arrived.
In early 2012, Morris and Dale L. Sparrow were charged with burglary; Sparrow was found guilty and sentenced to 45 years. Morris never stood trial: he died by suicide in his jail cell in February 2012, after telling his father he had information about a woman who had disappeared from Chesapeake.
His apartment held an overnight bag with Dana’s mail and prescription medication, trash bags with her clothing and hairbrush, and traces of blood in the bathtub matching her DNA.
After Morris’s death, Sparrow claimed Morris had confessed to killing Dana — shot her in the head, put her body in a restaurant dumpster, stole more than 70 pounds of marijuana from her. The account comes from a convicted co-accused, has never been tested in court, and no body has ever been found.
Morris was named a person of interest. He never faced charges in connection with Dana’s disappearance — and neither has anyone else.
The investigation
Police have treated the case as a suspected homicide from the early days, covered by the Daily Press, WVEC, the Virginian-Pilot, and C-VILLE Weekly.
Fifteen years on, the case is unsolved. The family keeps its “Bring Dana Canady Turner Home” advocacy page in circulation. Who returned that Honda Accord after hours — and where Dana was when they did — remains unanswered.
Theories: what might have happened
Homicide connected to Gene Morris. The investigative posture from early on. Supports it: Morris was one of the last to say he saw her; her belongings and blood matching her DNA were found in his apartment; Sparrow’s reported confession; the after-hours car return. Unresolved: Morris was never charged and died before the case could be tested; Sparrow’s claim is secondhand from a convicted co-accused; no body has ever been found.
The drug-transport angle. A friend’s account puts Dana in the marijuana trade between New York, Atlanta, and Chesapeake. Unresolved: it comes from a single account to Dana’s mother and has never been publicly confirmed by investigators.
Voluntary disappearance. Nothing supports it: no contact, no phone use, no financial activity, fifteen years of silence.
Have information?
Contact the Chesapeake Police Department at (757) 382-6251, or the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP. In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- ~1968 — Dana Lynn Turner is born.
- 2011 — Divorce; loses her job at a home restoration company; unemployment benefits run out.
- September 22, 2011 — Last contact: a phone call with her sister.
- September 23, 2011 — Reported missing after a friend spots her car at the Avis lot.
- September 30, 2011 — Daily Press coverage; listed as an endangered missing person.
- October 2011 — WVEC: “Missing person’s sister doesn’t believe she is missing by choice.”
- February 2012 — Morris dies by suicide in his jail cell; search of his apartment finds Dana’s belongings and blood matching her DNA.
- 2012 — Dana declared legally dead; a witness testifies to seeing her body in Morris’s apartment.
- Today — Still missing.
FAQ
Is Dana Lynn Turner still missing?
Yes. As of October 2026, she has been missing for 15 years; declared legally dead in 2012, but her body has never been found.
Was Dana Lynn Turner ever found?
No. No trace of Dana has ever been found.
Where was Dana Lynn Turner’s car found?
Both her personal vehicle and a rented Honda Accord were found at the Avis rental agency on Battlefield Boulevard North in Chesapeake. The rental had been returned after hours by an unknown person — dirty, tank nearly empty, uncharacteristic of her.
Who is Gene “Bones” Morris?
He had served time for manslaughter and knew Dana — she had helped repair his house. He told her mother he dropped Dana off in Chesapeake City on September 22, 2011, then failed to show for a meeting. Jailed on burglary charges in 2012, he died by suicide in his cell; his apartment held Dana’s belongings and blood matching her DNA. Named a person of interest, he was never charged in her case.
Was anyone charged in Dana Lynn Turner’s disappearance?
No. Morris was named a person of interest but died in 2012; no one else has been charged.
How old would Dana Lynn Turner be today?
She was 43 in September 2011 — about 58 now.
How can I help?
Share this case file, and contact the Chesapeake Police Department at (757) 382-6251 with any information.
Sources
- Official / law enforcement: Chesapeake Police Department ((757) 382-6251); Crime Line (1-888-LOCK-U-UP).
- Reference: The Charley Project; NamUs; Uncovered.
- News: Daily Press; WVEC; The Virginian-Pilot; C-VILLE Weekly.
- Community: “Bring Dana Canady Turner Home” family advocacy page (Facebook).
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.