Glenn Pennie set to inherit $1M. Then he vanished 20 years ago
DALLAS, Ore. (KOIN) — The mystery surrounding the sudden disappearance of a 56-year-old father -- who was an electrician and potentially very wealthy man -- will mark 20 years in early October.
Glenn Pennie vanished from his rural Polk County property in 2004, just days ahead of when he was supposed to inherit the vast majority of $1 million-plus family estate.
Cold case investigators are hopeful this milestone anniversary will bring in fresh leads and tips, perhaps even one that solves the case.
"There's always somebody dying to tell you something. They can't keep it welled up inside forever," said Bob Acevas of the Polk County Cold Case Unit.
Most of the people in the cold case unit are one-time law enforcement that now volunteer to investigate a handful of unsolved, complicated cases in and around Dallas, about 20 miles west of Salem.
Pennie's case remains the most high-profile and perhaps most intriguing.
"You never know, someone may remember something a little bit differently, a little bit fresh," said Michael Black, another one of the investigators.
Pennie disappeared only one day before he was set to drive to Oakland, California for a final probate hearing, where detectives say he was due to inherit most of his father's estate of old properties, rare coins and cash, worth over $1 million.
Retired detective John Williams, who led the investigation for years, told KOIN 6 News they've "made runs at this case several times. We just keep hitting that wall."
For one thing, there wasn’t a lot of direct evidence at the scene.
Williams said the house was a cluttered mess, and that the only thing they found was Pennie’s pickup packed for the trip to Oakland.
Neighbors never saw anything suspicious, and only alerted authorities after Pennie wasn’t seen for a couple of days.
The subsequent, days long search of 53-square miles by law enforcement and volunteers netted nothing.
The only thing investigators did learn is that the larger Pennie family dynamic was complicated.
"Glenn told people, ‘If anything happens to me, tell the police to look at my brother,’" Williams said.
In a KOIN 6 investigation from 2012, authorities also strongly suspected a family component to Pennie’s disappearance, although in a phone interview his brother Dale denied he was involved.
“I had nothing to do with his disappearance," he told KOIN 6 News at that time.
In a series of more recent emails, Dale wouldn't do a phone or ZOOM interview, but did say "This is going nowhere. People talk, I pass it on to the police."
To this day, there has never been an arrest in the case, and detectives exhausted other leads and tips that went nowhere.
Authorities say over the years, the value of the estate dwindled because of attorney and court costs, while the properties fell into disrepair. A good chunk of those valuable, gold coins also went missing from the father’s house.
Court documents from California suggest Glenn's daughter eventually received a low, six-figure payout, while Dale got more than $25,000 worth of coins.
If Glenn were to disappear today, the Polk County team believe it’s likely the case would be solved.
"You have dash cams in cars, you would've had traffic cams, more cell phone records of everyone involved,” said Williams.
Law enforcement say there are still people in Oregon who know what happened, but short of a confession or huge tip the case will be tough to solve.
“Finding Glenn’s body? That opens up a whole new avenue,” said Williams. “If we find Glenn, maybe that'll help us get to a point where we can pin it on someone."
Cold Case Unit Lead Investigator Ron Glaus said even something small could end up being something big if it’s the right information.
He believes someone might be thinking, "'There is something about that case I've been thinking about for 20 years. Maybe it’s now time to share that.'"
If you have any information on Glenn Pennie’s disappearance, leave a voice message for a detective at 503.623.9251, or e-mail: coldcase@co.polk.or.us