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.

Reba Dawn McCoy (Attempt to Match) -- Missing Since March 28th, 1999 (Sunday)

Missing Person: Reba Dawn McCoy

Details from a government source (might be paraphrased): Family last saw Reba in March 1999 in Columbus, Ohio. She had a possible destination for travel, being New York (note: presumptively NYC as opposed to New York state).

Last contact: March 28th, 1999 (Sunday)

Last location: Columbus, Ohio (one source said the Southfield area of Ohio)

Age when Reba Dawn McCoy disappeared: 32

Sex: Female

Height in inches: 62 (which is 5'2")

Weight in pounds (lbs): 110

Ethnicity: White/Caucasian

Hair color: Brown, long

Eye Color: Green

Scar or distinctive characteristic: Tattoo on upper left arm (in the picture, it looks like the tattoo is of a word that starts with a "D" and maybe "Da".

Link to Government Source: MP137310 (right click to open)

Websleuths discussion page: Reba Dawn McCoy (right click to open)

BMI means body mass index. It is meant to describe someone's healthy body weight relative to the individual's height. It is only food for thought because it does not account for all body types. Reba Dawn McCoy had a BMI of 20.12. She was at a healthy weight by BMI standards at the time of her disappearance.

Commentary and Research

By: Shane Lambert

Original time of writing: January 28th, 2025

Has Reba Dawn McCoy been found?

I started to research the missing person case of Reba Dawn McCoy tonight. I was disappointed to find that there were not many details available on her case.

This missing person did use some aliases. In cases like this, it can be hard to find information. However, I did locate her picture associated with a Facebook page under the name Reba Williams McCoy. Her NamUs page also has "Reba Barry" and "Rebbie" as potential aliases.

It was my understanding that someone who knew and cared about Reba created the Facebook profile for her. It only featured old photos.

I had a lot of questions in this case. Mainly, I wondered why anyone thought that she was going to New York. Then, I wondered what her method of transportation was. Was she known to be a hitchhiker? I did find someone online who identified as the MP's daughter.

In place of being able to find any solid information online, I contacted some people on her Facebook profile. Furthermore, I decided to look at the Jane Does in NamUs for some potential matches.

Reba Dawn McCoy - Attempt to Match to Unidentified Jane Does

Based on the limited information there is concerning this missing person, she could be the following Jane Does:

• NamUs #UP6054
  

• NamUs #UP6124

Reba McCoy vs #UP6054

NamUs #UP6054 is a white-female Jane Doe who was found dead in Brooklyn, New York on a shoreline. She was estimated to be 100 lbs and 5'5" tall, which is in the ballpark of Reba Dawn McCoy. Furthermore, the Jane Doe had long brown hair. Lastly, the Jane Doe was found in Brooklyn, which is in the New York City area, the area that Reba was thought to be traveling to.

This Jane Doe was found on June 17th, 2000, a year and three months after Reba was last seen. The Jane Doe was thought to have died in the year 2000. Furthermore, she was given a broad age range of 18-35 years old. Reba was 32 years old when she went missing and would have been at the upper end of the age range on June 17th, 2000.

The Jane Doe had a size 32B bra size, which is not busty. I don't know if that is a match to Reba, but only going by her circulated photos, she didn't seem voluptuous.

In summary, the date of death, the sex and race, the location in New York, the close height and weight estimates, the hair color, and the figure between Reba and Jane Doe #UP6054 do reasonably match up.

Reba McCoy vs #UP6124: Comparisons Summarized in a Table

Here’s a table comparing Reba Dawn McCoy to NamUs #UP6124:

Attribute	Reba Dawn McCoy	NamUs #UP6124	Comparison Notes
Sex	Female	Female	Match
Ethnicity/Race	White/Caucasian	White	Match
Height	5'2" (62 inches)	5'3" (63 inches)	Very close (1-inch difference)
Weight	110 lbs	125 lbs	Close (15-lb difference)
Hair Color	Brown, long	Straight brown	Match (both brown; length unspecified for #UP6124)
Eye Color	Green	Not specified	No data to compare
Age	32 (at disappearance, 1999)	Estimated 25-35 (in 1999)	Match (32 falls within range)
Last Seen/Found Date	March 28, 1999	Found May 8, 1999	5-6 weeks apart; plausible timeline
Location	Columbus, Ohio (last seen)	New York, NY (found)	Reba possibly headed to NY; aligns
Distinctive Marks	Tattoo on upper left arm ("D" or "Da")	Not specified	No tattoo info for #UP6124; inconclusive
Date of Death	Unknown (disappeared 1999)	Estimated 1999	Consistent with disappearance year

Observations:

• Strengths: Sex, race, hair color, age range, and New York connection align well. The height and weight are close, and the timeline (5-6 weeks) is plausible for a match.
• Weaknesses: Lack of eye color or tattoo details for #UP6124 limits certainty. The 15-lb weight difference could be due to estimation or post-mortem changes.
• Conclusion: The similarities suggest a reasonable possibility of a match, but without forensic confirmation (e.g., DNA or tattoo verification), it remains speculative.

#UP6124 is the most likely match, in my opinion, of all the unidentified Jane Does in NamUs, due to the timeline and physical similarities. AI (X's Grok) suggests a 50% chance that Reba is UP6124. I don't consider this to be forensic evidence, but I do see it as validation that we humans are not simply seeing something we want to see. The percentage chance will go up or down based on new information and should only be treated with caution, critical thinking, and skepticism.

Please advise if more details become available in the chat comments regarding either Reba or the Jane Doe.