Gene Isaac Stees: Missing Person Case from Columbus, Ohio, 1970

Missing Person: Gene Isaac Stees

Details from a government source:

Gene Isaac Stees was last known to be in Columbus, Ohio, on February 21st, 1970. His case was entered into NamUs on March 6, 2025, under case number MP139693. No additional circumstances of his disappearance are detailed.

Last contact: February 21, 1970 (Saturday); sometime in the morning.
Last location: Columbus, Ohio (Franklin County) at the Ohio Penitentiary. From what I gathered, the prison was in an urban area and may have been downtown near the present-day Arena District.

Age when Gene Stees disappeared: 38
Current age: 93 (as of March 2025)
DOB: Estimated between February 22, 1931, and February 21, 1932

Sex: Male
Height: 67 inches (5'7")
Weight: 163 lbs
BMI: 25.55 - Slightly overweight (calculated to help picture what Gene might have looked like)

Race/Ethnicity: White / Caucasian
Hair color: Black
Eye color: Blue (both eyes)
Distinctive Features: Scar near right eye (NamUs lists "scar on right eye," but "near" is clearer)

Link to Government Source: NamUs MP139693 (right-click to open)

Clothing Worn When Last Seen

Item	Description	Details	Source
Khakis	None	He would have been wearing non-standard prison clothes in Khakhi style. He had some privileges as a model inmate.	NamUs

Unraveling the Mystery: Key Insights and Updates

By: Shane Lambert
Original time of writing: March 16th, 2025

Has Gene Isaac Stees been found?

As of March 2025, Gene Isaac Stees remains missing. He was last known to be in Columbus, Ohio, on February 21st, 1970. He was a prisoner who managed to escape custody.

I was a bit surprised that NamUs included his case. You don’t see too many profiles on the website that are for fugitives. A lot of the profiles are apparent victims of crimes, not criminals on the lam. I would think there would be more worthwhile missing people to upload in the backlog than a fugitive who would be 93 years old and probably dead.

January 18th, 2004. Akron Beacon Journal.

If I knew he was a 93-year-old escaped prisoner, I probably wouldn’t have profiled his case. However, since I started working on it, I figured I would publish some details about him. That said, my recommendation is not to try and find a lead in this case due to the likelihood that the former inmate is simply dead or will be soon.

• He was an Ohio University professor in the education department who killed his wife. He bludgeoned her, stuffed her in a barrel while she was still alive, and then threw her into a lake.
• He tried the insanity defense, which is basically admitting to committing the act but in a non-criminal state of mind.
• His security seemed egregious. He simply walked out of prison, through an unguarded and unlocked door, while performing his prison job. It’s thought that he then blended in with the people in public pretty quickly.
• Reportedly, he had an IQ of 140 but his escape seemed quite basic. I did accept his IQ as valid based on his university professor tenure. Probably, he earned the prison guard's trust over the long term as part of a more complex escape plan.

The Cleveland Press. September 7th, 1976.