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Missing Gail Lorraine Joiner 
Gail, approximately 1972; Gerald Stano in 1981 Date reported missing : 09/22/1972 Missing location (approx) : Thonotosassa, Florida Missing classification : Endangered Missing Gender : Female Ethnicity : White DOB : 07/22/1959 (62) Age at the time of disappearance: 13 years old Height / Weight : 5'0, 100 pounds Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A navy blue and white striped pullover shirt, Levi's jeans and no shoes. Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos : Caucasian female. Blonde/brown hair, brown eyes. Gail has a scar on her cheek. She has facial freckles. Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Gail was last seen in her hometown of Thonotosassa, Florida on September 22, 1972. She came home from school, ate a sandwich, then left home to walk her pet raccoon, Bandit, on a leash. Witnesses saw her standing near a white car parked on the edge of a wooded area, but nobody saw her get in the vehicle. Gail has never been heard from again. Bandit never returned to the house either. Gail's parents thought they count identify the raccoon by a burn on his foot and a scrape on his nose; the police brought them 17 raccoon carcasses, but they didn't recognize any of them. Gail's parents stated they did not believe their daughter had left of her own free will, because she was close to her older brother and wasn't having trouble at home. They theorized she had been abducted, and stated someone could have gained her trust by taking an interest in Bandit, whom she enjoyed showing to people. Three people have confessed to Gail's murder but none of the accounts have been verified. The serial killer Gerald Stano was one of the those who claimed to have caused her death; he confessed to the murders of 41 women, including Susan Basile, whose body was never found. A photograph of Stano is posted with this case summary. He was executed in 1998. Gail moved to Florida from Romulus, Michigan a few months before her disappearance, and enrolled in Greco Junior High School three weeks before she vanished. She has six siblings. Her case remains unsolved. Other information and links : ncy Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office 813-247-8000 September 2021 updates and sources Florida Department of Law Enforcement Porchlight International for the Missing and Unidentified The Philadelphia Inquirer The Crime Library Florida Today The Tampa Tribune October 12, 2004. March 25, 2020; Description, clothing, jewerly and more : updated. |