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Oct 22, 2008 4:04 pm US/Central
Lewisville Police May Have Solved 2001 Mystery
Discovered Remains May Be Those Of Alzheimer's Patient Last Seen At DFW Airport
LEWISVILLE (AP) ―
Police are investigating whether skeletal remains found last year near Lake Lewisville may belong to a California woman with Alzheimer's who vanished while she and her husband were changing airplanes at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in 2001.
Capt. Kevin Deaver with the Lewisville Police Department said a sweater found after a controlled burn Monday was believed to match clothing Margie Dabney was wearing when she disappeared. Thursday, police said her AARP card was also found nearby.
The controlled burn area was near where the remains were found in November. The cause of death hasn't been determined.
The card and sweater were found about 100 yards from the remains.
Police plan to use DNA provided by the Dabney family to try to confirm the identity of the remains.
If the remains are Dabney's, it's not clear how she might have gotten to Lake Lewisville, 11 miles from DFW Airport. But police say the area where the remains were found was only barricaded in 2002, so it's possible someone could have driven to the area.
Dabney disappeared on Dec. 5, 2001, as she and her husband, Joe, were returning to California from Indiana after visiting their daughters.
Joe Dabney had undergone hip surgery and was being escorted to a restroom when his 70-year-old wife apparently wandered away. His attorney said an attendant who was supposed to help her off the plane went to the wrong gate.
Joe Dabney, of Bakersfield, reached a settlement with American Airlines in 2003.
Airline officials said the attendant may not have realized he was responsible for both Dabneys, or that the woman had Alzheimer's.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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