Massive Search In Rogers County Connected To Cold Case

Law officers in Rogers County are searching property south of Claremore for a woman who disappeared 18 years ago. They've longed believed she was the victim of foul play, but haven't been able to prove it, but finding her remains could do just that.

It’s a huge operation involving a lot of different agencies and they have a lot of ground to cover.

They are looking for a well that might contain the remains of a 25-year-old woman who has been missing from Rogers County since 1996.

Dione Fox had a young daughter and son when she disappeared. Her daughter is now 24 and has a very clear memory of the last time she saw her mother, the night before 7th birthday party.

"I remember walking into the back door and she was sitting at the glass door looking at a baby deer and mama deer and she said come look and then she made fried chicken, green beans and mashed potatoes and I got an easy bake oven and the next day, she was gone," Desiree Fox said.

Records show Dione Fox and her husband Tony Fox divorced in November of 1993, the same year she got a permanent protective order against him.

Reports show she filed a police report a few years later. It said, in part, Tony told her, “I'm going to get you in the dark when nobody's around," and he hit her and the "kids were crying because they heard their dad say he was going to kill mommy."

Records show Tony Fox was charged with violating the protective order and assault. He pleaded not guilty.

She disappeared a couple of weeks later and the charges were later dropped when she didn't show up for court.

Tony Fox said court records do not accurately reflect his relationship with his ex-wife.

He said they got back together for a couple of years after their divorce and she was sometimes violent toward him. He said he offered, years ago, to take a polygraph to prove he did not assault her, but police refused.

He said Dione told him she was going to her mother's home in Noel, Missouri and that she didn't want to go to court against him in the assault and VPO case. Her car was later found in Noel.

He said two witnesses saw Dione alive after she supposedly went missing but police never interviewed them. He said he is not guilty of anything concerning his ex-wife's disappearance.

Desiree said she just misses her mother, "I just want to hug her. I just see how much I look like her and she has a granddaughter and is about to have a grandson."

Police said information led them to search for Dione's remains in the area, possibly in a dry well or a shallow grave.

Rogers County Sheriff Scott Walton said, "It's heavy vegetation, bugs, chiggers and snakes. It's not like on TV. This area is 20 acres and could extend to surrounding properties. We could well have 50 acres of ground to cover. We have cadaver dogs, ATVs, horses and people on foot."

If they find Fox's remains, the next step is determining how she died, then getting evidence to prove who was involved.

All the officers and deputies are prepared to search the property the next three days. It's not just about solving a cold case for them it's about giving the family some deeply needed answers.

Agencies involved in the search include:

    1) Rogers County Sheriff’s Office

    2) Rogers County District Attorney’s Office

    3) Rogers County Emergency Management

    4) Wagoner County Emergency Management

    5) Claremore Police Department

    6) Rogers County Commissioner District 1

    7) Marshall's Office Noel, Missouri

    8) University of Oklahoma

    9) Northeastern State University Police Department

    10) Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office

    11) Oklahoma Bureau of Investigations

    12) Red Cross of Oklahoma

    13) Tiawah Fire Department

    14) Pafford EMS