Benefit concert slated for missing Renick woman
By Sarah Mansheim
Nearly a year has elapsed since a Greenbrier County woman went missing. Dee Ann Keene of Renick was last seen on Feb. 28, 2014. She was reported missing Mar. 5, 2014, but so far, police have had few leads as to her whereabouts.
Last year, West Virginia State Police arrested Renick resident Ron McMillion on Mar. 6, after a witness told police he had last seen Keene at McMillion’s home on Leonard Long Road in the Friars Hill area. Police reported that the witness said McMillion was intoxicated, and he fired a gun at her, just missing her head but close enough to ruffle her hair. The witness left the McMillion residence at that time, and told police that Keene refused to leave.
McMillion was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, but police never charged him in connection to Keene’s disappearance. Police have stated to various media outlets that they suspect foul play in her disappearance.
Meanwhile, Keene’s friends and family just want to know what happened to her. A $10,000 reward was offered last September for anyone able to provide information that lead to Keene’s whereabouts, but so far that has not yielded any results. Keene’s friend, Krista Osborne, worries that people, including police, have forgotten about Keene.
“My goal is to get her some attention. She is not a disposable person,” said Osborne, who has known Keene so long, they used to share a telephone party line.
“Dee Ann isn’t listed on any national missing persons index. We just recently got her listed on the statewide one,” Osborne says. In addition to trying to get Keene listed on national missing person lists, Osborne has planned an event on the one-year anniversary of when Keene was last seen to raise awareness and funds to help track her down.
“Hopefully, it’s just one in a series of events to keep her name out there,” she says. The event, Rock to Remember, a benefit for Dee Ann Keene, will be held at the Circle J Bar and Grill in Fairlea on Feb. 28 beginning at 6 p.m. Mini Muk, Folk-N-Mama, the Viney Mountain Boys and other local musicians will take the stage, and art by local, young talent will raffled.
All proceeds at the door will be donated by the owner of Circle J Bar and Grill, and will be used to try to find Keene.
Osborne hopes to use the money to hire a private investigator or to pay for a billboard on Rt. 219 in the Frankford or Renick area.
“I’d like to do the billboard because I want people to see her face every day, until someone finally speaks up about where she is,” says Osborne.
Osborne also wants people to remember Keene this spring when they go into the woods digging for ramps or morel mushrooms, because her body could be lying anywhere in the woods. And, if she’s found out of state, Osborne wants to make sure she’s listed in the databases – otherwise, she could be found but never identified.
“I’m sure her family just wants to lay her to rest,” says Osborne. “As a mother who has lost a child, I know how hard it is for them, and I just want to honor Dee Ann.”
Dee Ann Keene is listed as being 5 feet, five inches tall and 120 pounds. Anyone with any information about Keene’s whereabouts is asked to call Cpl. D.H. Blevins with the Lewisburg detachment of the West Virginia State Police at 304-647-7600.
