FL FL - Donna Sumners, 25, Brooksville, 1 Feb 1994

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2820dffl.html

The Doe Network:
Case File 2820DFFL


Donna Odell Sumners
Missing since February 1, 1994 from Brooksville, Hernando County, Florida
Classification: Missing


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Vital Statistics

•Date Of Birth: December 12, 1968
•Age at Time of Disappearance: 25 years old
•Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'3"; 168 lbs.
•Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Light brown hair; brown eyes. Dark complexion.
•Marks, Scars: She is disabled. She has knee problems and may be walking with a limp.
•Clothing: A green, long-sleeved shirt, pants and black shoes.


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Circumstances of Disappearance
Donna Sumners disappeared from the Candleglow Apartments in Brooksville on February 1, 1994, about 21:30. A neighbor reported that Sumners and her husband argued the night she was last seen. The couple had been living in the apartment since the previous fall. Before Donna Sumners disappeared, police responded to Candleglow Apartments on three occasions.

Donna told officers January 17, 1994, that her husband had beaten her so badly that she could not hear from her left ear. There were other telltale signs of abuse, such as bruising. Yet Donna refused to press charges. Shortly after she was beaten, Donna took her 5-year-old son and headed home to Alabama. Sumners grew up in Heflin, Alabama. But she came back to Brooksville weeks later to try to work out the problems in her marriage. Police returned to their apartment twice more.

Police considered the disappearance suspicious as Sumners was not in the habit of leaving home for long and because she had not been in touch with relatives in Alabama, nor her son. She usually stayed in close contact with the boy. Donna was not working at the time and pawned some of her jewelry before she disappeared.

Her husband later committed suicide. Three days before the couple's eighth wedding anniversary, he shot himself on a sand dune in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where he had been working as a bartender.
Foul play is suspected in Sumner's disappearance.


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

Hernando County Sheriff's Office
352-754-6825

Agency Case Number: BPD1994020063

Source Information:
FDLE
St. Petersburg Times


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Today is the 21st anniversary of Donna's disappearance.

Archived article from 10 years ago.
Clinging to hope, family waits for sister's return
This month is the 11th anniversary of Donna Sumners' disappearance, and her case remains unsolved.
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/02/27/news_pf/Hernando/Clinging_to_hope__fam.shtml

By DUANE BOURNE
Published February 27, 2005
BROOKSVILLE - On the 11th anniversary of Donna Sumners' disappearance, a voice mail message awaited Brooksville police Chief Ed Tincher.
The caller was Sumners' sister, Deborah Bright. She called from the small town of Heflin, Ala., where she and Sumners grew up.
It was not an unexpected call. Bright calls the Brooksville Police Department every year, looking for answers, looking for hope.
"All I could say to her is, "No, we have not gotten any new information,"' Tincher said.
Meanwhile, a box gathers dust inside the Brooksville Police Department. Tincher recently rummaged through it. It holds documents from the case, which has gone dreadfully cold.
Tincher hopes that the box one day can be carted back to the storage room for good, bringing closure to everyone involved in the case, particularly to Sumners' family members, who refuse to give up their dogged pursuit of what happened to the 25-year-old woman on Feb. 1, 1994.

Click to expand...

lots more at link.

Feb 2016:

Twenty-two years ago, Donna Sumners disappeared from the Candleglow apartments in Brooksville. Now that both of her parents have passed away without finding closure, Donna's family is offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to her whereabouts...


The couple's relationship was not ideal preceding her disappearance. According to Bright, for two to three months before Donna's disappearance, Monroe was in a relationship with another woman, 18 year old Christy Bennett who was one of his Army recruits. Bright stated that Donna had hired a private investigator to find out about the affair that Monroe was having. The Brooksville PD had also responded to 911 calls placed by Donna due to physical abuse by her husband, but she never filed charges. She moved back to Alabama with her son, leaving Monroe in Brooksville.
However, in an attempt to reconcile with her husband she went back to Brooksville. Her family never saw her again. Following her disappearance, Monroe moved to Virginia Beach with his sister. There he worked as a bartender. He committed suicide in July of 1994. He left a note apologizing to his son, but revealed nothing more.

Most of the investigations centered around Monroe Sumners, so when he took his life, developments in the case came to a standstill. Following Donna's disappearance, his jeep was wrecked and the inside of the vehicle was wet. Monroe's stories on why were inconsistent. There was also a small amount of blood on a rug inside the apartment.

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https://hernandosun.com/donna_sumners_2_12_16

Unidentified remains found in Hernando County: http://www.tampabay.com/news/public...-in-northeast-Hernando-County-woods_166338682

Remains are about 18 miles from Donna's apartment: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/She...dc53f7db1f888629!2m2!1d-82.407144!2d28.544665

Donna's NamUs profile was modified today, 3/3/22
She currently has 4 rule outs
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
UP1111 05/30/1996 Bay FL
UP8419 01/16/2001 Isle of Wight VA
UP12683 06/06/2014 Newport News VA
UP10162 04/11/2012 Miami-Dade FL

Bump

No new exclusions

I wonder when he moved to VA. Where did he leave her?

Did those remains found in 2018 ever get ID'd? The original article is behind a pay wall for me.

Shortly after Donna’s disappearance, her husband Monroe Sumners was demoted and the Army moved him to MacDill Air Force base in Tampa. He was a recruiter and had improper contact with a recruit according to the article below.

This is so strange. They lived in FL just before her death according to the article above. Then he's in VA after her death, then he gets demoted shortly after and sent back to FL? How long was he in VA and why was he a bartender if he was in the Army? I'm so confused.

BeginnerSleuther said:

This is so strange. They lived in FL just before her death according to the article above. Then he's in VA after her death, then he gets demoted shortly after and sent back to FL? How long was he in VA and why was he a bartender if he was in the Army? I'm so confused.

Click to expand...

The way I am understanding the article is he was demoted and essentially had no duties since he was a POI in Donna’s disappearance. That’s most likely why he was bartending in VA. I don‘t believe he ever went back to FL.

There was an additional article as well stating he had committed suicide in VA right around what would have been their 8th anniversary.