The Disappearance of Gail Joiner
Episode 186
Gail Lorraine Joiner
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On the first day of Fall in 1972, thirteen year old Gail Joiner rushed home from school to her parents house in Thonotosassa, Florida. An hour later, the teen attached a leash to her beloved pet racoon's collar and strode out of the house to take him on his daily walk. She never returned.
Despite exhaustive searches involving more than 200 people, not a trace of Gail was ever found. Within a month of her disappearance the case had grown cold and the investigation was scaled back. For the next decade, her case lingered in the limbo of joining other cold case files.
Then in October of 1982, a confessed serial killer took credit for Gail's murder. After allegedly leading police to where he had disposed of her body, Gerald Stano retracted his confession and Gail's remains were never found. Had Stano been responsible, or was this another case of a murderer taking credit for crimes he didn't commit?
Sources:
Gail Lorraine Joiner – The Charley Project
FL - FL - Gail Joiner, 13, Thonotosassa, 22 Sept 1972
22 Apr 1973, Page 13 - The Times Herald at Newspapers.com
22 Apr 1973, Page 70 - Detroit Free Press at Newspapers.com
23 Sep 1972, 1 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
24 Sep 1972, 11 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
24 Sep 1972, 15 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
24 Sep 1972, Page 27 - The Orlando Sentinel at Newspapers.com
24 Sep 1972, Page 6B - Florida Today at Newspapers.com
24 Sep 1972, 2 - The Bradenton Herald at Newspapers.com
25 Sep 1972, Page 10 - The Orlando Sentinel at Newspapers.com
25 Sep 1972, 15 - The Tampa Times at Newspapers.com
25 Sep 1972, 13 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
25 Sep 1972, 5 - The Tampa Times at Newspapers.com
25 Sep 1972, 20 - The Miami Herald at Newspapers.com
26 Sep 1972, 30 - Tampa Bay Times at Newspapers.com
26 Sep 1972, 20 - Pensacola News Journal at Newspapers.com
26 Sep 1972, Page 6B - Florida Today at Newspapers.com
26 Sep 1972, 26 - The Miami Herald at Newspapers.com
26 Sep 1972, Page 24 - The Naples Daily News at Newspapers.com
26 Sep 1972, 4 - The Tampa Times at Newspapers.com
26 Sep 1972, 108 - The Miami Herald at Newspapers.com
28 Sep 1972, 25 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
28 Sep 1972, 27 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
06 Oct 1972, 23 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
12 Oct 1972, 8 - The Tampa Times at Newspapers.com
12 Oct 1972, 2 - The Tampa Times at Newspapers.com
22 Oct 1972, 5 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
22 Oct 1972, 34 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
06 Apr 1973, 7 - The Tampa Times at Newspapers.com
22 Apr 1973, Page 8B - Florida Today at Newspapers.com
08 Nov 1973, 1 - The Tampa Times at Newspapers.com
08 Nov 1973, 3 - The Tampa Times at Newspapers.com
09 Nov 1973, 7 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
09 Nov 1973, 31 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
09 Nov 1973, Page 15 - Fort Lauderdale News at Newspapers.com
10 Nov 1973, Page 6B - Florida Today at Newspapers.com
09 Jan 1974, 45 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
29 Dec 1976, 37 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
02 May 1977, 29 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
09 Jul 1977, 29 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
01 Jan 1978, 13 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
25 Apr 1982, 1 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
25 Apr 1982, 3 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
Sarasota Herald Tribune, Nov 10, 1973, p. 11
27 Sep 1953, 47 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
Gail Joiner | International Missing Persons Wiki | Fandom
The Doe Network: Case File 2190DFFL
Daytona Beach Morning Journal - Google News Archive Search
THE_SHERIFFS_STAR_VOL_16,_NO_9,_NOVEMBER_1972.pdf
FL - FL - Gail Joiner, 13, Thonotosassa, 22 Sept 1972 | Page 6
For the Lost Blog » Gail Joiner missing forty-nine years
FL - FL - GERALD STANO -confessed to murdering 41 victims, 1973-80 | Page 4
Gail Joiner missing 1972 from Florida - I Care---missing persons cold cases
Gerald Eugene Stano - Serial Rapist and Murderer - Or Just A Confessor
Gail Lorraine Joiner - Florida Missing Person Directory
17MFFL – Gail Lorraine Joiner – Florida Cold case Missing persons cases
Joiner, Gail 09/22/1972 - Porchlight International for the Missing & Unidentified
28 Jul 1959, 12 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
17 Jan 2002, 36 - Tampa Bay Times at Newspapers.com
23 Sep 1972, 2 - The Tampa Times at Newspapers.com
26 Sep 1972, 15 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
26 Sep 1972, Page 17 - The Palm Beach Post at Newspapers.com
22 Apr 1973, Page 20 - News-Press at Newspapers.com
22 Apr 1973, 2 - The Bradenton Herald at Newspapers.com
09 Jul 1977, 8 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
28 Mar 1981, 33 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
28 Mar 1981, 34 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com
10 Nov 1981, 13 - The Tampa Times at Newspapers.com
22 Apr 1973, Page 40 - Fort Lauderdale News at Newspapers.com
Fran Joiner Obituary (1937 - 2020) - St. Petersburg, FL - Tampa Bay Times
Gail Lorraine Joiner – The Resource Center For Cold Case Missing Children’s Cases
The 1973 murder of Jonathan Kushner shook Tampa. His brother made a podcast about it.
Johnny Paul Witt | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers
SLAYER OF TAMPA BOY ELECTROCUTED IN FLORIDA - The New York Times
The death of American childhood freedom | by Tina Seward | Medium
11912 Thonotosassa Rd to E Sligh Ave, Tampa, FL 33617 - Google Maps
11912 Thonotosassa Road, Thonotosassa, FL to Shady Grove Mobile Home Park - Google Maps
Del Rio, Florida to 11912 Thonotosassa Rd - Google Maps
FLORIDA POLICE SEEK MORE BODIES IN 5-ACRE JUNKYARD - The New York Times
11912 Thonotosassa Rd to Mango Rd, Thonotosassa, FL - Google Maps
Port Orange, FL to Thonotosassa, FL - Google Maps
Serial killer Gerald Stano of Ormond was executed 20 years ago
Microsoft Word - Stano, Eugene Paul - 2005.doc