Bina Emery

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Detroit Police Department (MI)

Offense Location:

Detroit, Michigan

Summary:

Bina Emery disappeared after leaving her home in Detroit, Michigan during the winter of 1988. Months later, her badly decomposed body was found in the Detroit River. Her cause of death could not be determined. Bina was identified through DNA testing in 2015, 26 years later. The exact cause and circumstances surrounding her death remain a mystery.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

Bina was last seen in Detroit, Michigan on February 23rd 1988. She left her father’s home and went to her mother’s house. Her mother was at work and the only person home was her mother’s male roommate. Bina had written a three page note and asked the roommate to deliver it to her mother. The roommate said he refused which made Bina angry. She then left her mother’s house and said she was going with friends. She reportedly took the note with her. Bina never returned to her father’s house and no one saw her again. She was initially suspected to be a runaway.

Additional Details:

On July 22nd 1988, people were picnicking at the Chestnut Grove picnic area in Willow Metropolitan Park in Huron Township, Michigan when discovered a body floating in the Huron River. The area was in southern Wayne County. The body was initially believed to be that of a young woman in her late teens or early 20s. Autopsy reports suggest she had been beaten and strangled to death. On April 10th 2015, DNA testing officially identified the remains as belonging to Bina Emery. Her case remains unsolved.

Case Last Updated:

May 04, 2025