Missing
Julia Dianne Gabriel
Gabriel, approximately 1983
Date and time person was reported missing : 07/18/1983
Missing location (approx) :
Statesville, North Carolina
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 10/09/1944 (76)
Age at the time of disappearance: 38 years old
Height / Weight : 5'5 - 5'6, 120 - 150 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A plain gold ring with ringlets.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Sandy light brown hair, blue eyes. Gabriel goes by her middle name, Dianne.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Gabriel was last seen in Statesville, North Carolina on July 18, 1983. She worked as a real estate Age at the time of disappearance: nt and was en route to meet a prospective client to appraise a property at Lake Norman, north of Charlotte, North Carolina. She has never been heard from again.
Two days later, her pale green 1981 Buick Skylark was found abandoned in a restaurant parking lot. The passenger side window was shattered and there was no sign of Gabriel at the scene.
Seven months later, in February 1984, Gabriel's ripped blue pants, red shoes, pocketbook and car keys were found in the woods not far from where her car had been.
In March 1985, Johnny Joseph Head was convicted of second-degree murder in Gabriel's case. This was only the second time in North Carolina history that a defendant was convicted of murder without the victim's body being located.
Authorities believe Head lured Gabriel to his home at Lake Norman, bound her hands and feet with duct tape and strangled her. Circumstantial evidence and some physical evidence, namely fiber evidence, was used to obtain the conviction.
Head maintains his innocence in Gabriel's case. He was released from prison in 2001, after serving 16 years of a 50-year sentence.
Authorities still hope to recover Gabriel's remains. Foul play is suspected in her case due to the circumstances involved.
Other information and links : ncy
Iredell County Sheriff's Office
704-878-3180
September 2021 updates and sources
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are not known. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2�5% of missing children in Europe.
By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends.
Several organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and imAge at the time of disappearance: s of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Charlotte Observer
North Carolina Department of Correction
October 12, 2004. September 30, 2010; .
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
