STORM2K

By APRIL KINSER / WFAA.com



The husband of a Richardson woman who has been missing since last week said Monday he's frightened and trying to figure out what happened to her, but "none of this is making sense."

Sam Geanes said he last spoke to his 40-year-old wife, Shirley Marie Geanes, about 11 a.m. Wednesday, the day she disappeared. Ms. Geanes had called to make sure he picked up her 16-year-old son from school.

"I keep playing the conversation over and over in my mind. She didn't sound worried. She sounded chipper. She said, 'I'm going to finish up here and I'll see y'all later,' " Mr. Geanes said. "I'm trying to put everything together, and none of this is making sense."

Ms. Geanes cleaned a home in Rowlett and then disappeared en route to a Coppell home. "She never showed up to the other home," said Capt. George Robertson of the Richardson Police Department.

The Rowlett homeowner told Mr. Geanes that his wife didn't call like she normally did to alert them that she had finished working, but the home had been cleaned and the gate locked as usual.

Mr. Geanes, 41, said his wife works long and erratic hours cleaning homes by day, and he cleans commercial businesses at night. He wasn't concerned when he couldn't reach her by cellphone because she sometimes couldn't get a signal in Rowlett. But he was worried when he came home that night and she wasn't there, so he contacted police that night.

A Dallas County constable found Ms. Geanes' 1998 Ford Escort on Thursday near Interstate 30 and Samuell Boulevard in Dallas, an area where she had no customers.

"Due to the condition that the vehicle was found in, we feel [Ms. Geanes] could be in danger," Capt. Robertson said.

Mr. Geanes said he was told the back windshield was broken. A vacuum cleaner and inexpensive wheels that her son had bought in anticipation of inheriting the vehicle were gone. Her purse and identification were not in the car.

But his wife's workout bag and binder with information about customers was still there, Mr. Geanes said.

The couple met about 11 years ago, when he was working security at an apartment complex where she lived. They have been married for 10 years. It was a third marriage for each.

They started the cleaning business six years ago. Mr. Geanes said he grumbled about money and the need for more employees, but otherwise they did not argue.

"This not calling, not being here, it's frustrating," he said about his missing wife. "I refuse to think the worst."

Richardson police are continuing to pursue leads and are working with the Dallas Police Department's missing persons unit. Richardson police Sgt. Kevin Perlich said police believe foul play may have taken place in Dallas.

Dallas investigators are borrowing search dogs from the FBI to help look for Ms. Geanes near where her car was found, Deputy Chief Alfredo Saldana said.

Pastor Derwin Harris of St. Paul A.M.E. Church in North Dallas said he spent time with the Geanes family on Thursday morning. "I kept hoping that Shirley would just drive up. ... Unfortunately, that didn't happen. So now we are praying for her."

Police described Ms. Geanes as 5 feet 4 inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes. Mr. Geanes added that she more recently wore her hair in thick braids, with reddish-blond cornrows on the side and wrapped in a bun on the top.

How horrible for the family to go through that. You have to wonder, since most crimes are from people you know, if the ex husbands both have an alibi. Innocent until proven guilty, by all means, but I am sure they will be questioning these individuals.

Look at what happened in Utah, though. After months, they found that girl alive and she is back home now. Let's hope for the same happy ending here.

Husband collapses at vigil for missing Richardson woman

By APRIL KINSER / WFAA.com

RICHARDSON, Texas - Sam Geanes and members of St. Paul A.M.E. Church in North Dallas were gathered to pray for the safe return of his missing wife when Geanes collapsed Tuesday evening.

Church member Richard Calvert said Geanes had a history of heart disease and may not have been taking his medication as the search for his wife, Shirley Marie Geanes, entered its seventh day.

Geanes was transported by ambulance to Medical City in Dallas. His condition was unknown Tuesday evening.

Mr. Geanes last spoke to his wife around 11 a.m. Sept. 23 when she called him after cleaning a home in Rowlett for the business they share. Mr. Geanes called Richardson police late that night when his wife didn't come home. A day later, her car was found with the back windshield broken and the keys still in the ignition.

Before he collapsed, Geanes sat with his head bowed and wept inside the small church as his parents and dozens of friends and church members prayed and sang hymns filled with optimism for his wife's safe return.

"We have hope and faith that Shirley is O.K. unless someone tells us different," said Pastor Derwin Harris. "I am expecting a miracle in this situation."

Outside the church, members lit candles and formed a small circle while Harris prayed aloud.

"I am not understanding what is going on," said Lisa Clark, who has known Shirley for six years. "She's a beautiful person. It's hard to bear. I'm just showing my love and showing that I'm there for them."

Justin Norris said he has known the family for years through church and social gatherings.

"When you think something like this could have just as easily happened to one of your loved ones, it's a difficult scene to think about," he said.

Earlier Tuesday, an FBI cadaver dog searched unsuccessfully for Geanes in two areas of Dallas.

The dog was brought in to search the Cambridge Square Apartments in East Dallas and an area near Interstate 30 and Samuell Boulevard where a Dallas County constable found her abandoned 1998 Ford Escort. Her purse with identification, tire rims and a vacuum cleaner were missing.

A police source said there was a bullet hole in the vehicle.

Sources told WFAA-TV that Geanes, 40, might have known someone who lives at the apartment complex where dogs searched. Sgt. Gil Cerda said the apartment complex is near where the car was found.

Roderick Caraway, Shirley's 25-year-old son, said he believes someone tried to make the crime scene look like a robbery.

"I think she was driven there by someone or someone asked her to meet them there," he said. "I think she's hurt or too weak, that she's laying there and can't help herself."

Cerda said Dallas and Richardson police investigators were continuing to work on the case and were hoping someone could call with a sighting.

A close friend of Shirley Geanes' said Monday she last spoke to her about two weeks ago, "Everything was fine when we spoke." Regina Mobley said they usually chatted at least two to three times a week.

Mobley described the Geanes' relationship as loving. They argued about "normal things," she said, such as "life in general" and their financial situation because the cleaning business was understaffed and the two sometimes worked long hours.

"In the past they have had some problems, but they have always worked them through," she said. "Family is the most important thing for Shirley. She loves her son. He is the most important thing in her life."

Sam Geanes had said Monday the couple were both on their third marriage and Shirley had a 16-year-old son from a previous relationship who lived with them. Caraway said it was his mother's first marriage; state records appear to confirm Caraway's account. He also noted that he and a 20-year-old daughter were born from previous relationships.

Sam Geanes could not be reached for comment Tuesday on the discrepancies.

"Wherever she's at, she just needs to hold on and keep praying," Caraway said. "I know she's scared. I love her and I miss her. We all love her and miss her."

Police described Geanes as 5 feet, 4 inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes. Her husband said Geanes more recently wore her hair in thick braids with reddish cornrows on the side and wrapped in a bun on the top.

WFAA ABC 8's Rebecca Lopez contributed to this report.