Dana Bennett's remains found, 6 years after disappearance
Gag order still in place over details regarding twist in case of the 18-year-old girl who vanished in Tiberias area after leaving work one August night in 2003. Forensic Institute confirms human remains found in Galilee are Bennett's
A tragic ending to one of the most high-profile missing person cases in recent Israeli memory – but there seem to be more questions than answers.
For six years police and civilian volunteers have canvassed northern Israel in search of young Dana Bennett, who disappeared under unexplained circumstances in the Tiberias area at the age of 18. The efforts only yielded results several days ago, when investigators uncovered human remains in the Galilee region – and the national Forensic Institute in Abu Kabir confirmed that they were Bennett's.
The case was cleared for publication after Bennett's family was informed. Her mother Vicky became a well-known public figure, fighting to keep her daughter's case from fading. She had clung fiercely to the belief that Dana was still alive. Her father, Benjamin Bennett, is in the United States and he is currently on his way to Israel.
Apart from the confirmation that the remains in question are indeed Bennett's, the remainder of the case is under a gag order issued by the Nazareth Magistrate's Court. This includes the exact location of the remains and any additional information regarding the suspected circumstances of Bennett's death.
She was last seen leaving the Tiberias restaurant where she had been working on the eve of August 1st 2003, heading towards her uncle's house. She took a taxi from the restaurant to the local stadium, which is near the house, and was not seen again.
The search for Bennett (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
That same evening a soldier reported that several Arab men had tried to abduct him from the Yokneam Junction. The soldier fought off the three attackers, and said they had fled after he cocked his firearm. It is unclear if the two cases are connected.
Police launched a massive manhunt immediately after Bennett's disappearance was reported, hundreds of
civilian volunteers aided the efforts. With no results forthcoming, a month later the Bennett family offered a $50,000 reward for information. As Dana held dual Israeli-American citizenship, and the FBI was also included in the investigation.
In 2004 the investigators working on the case said they believed the Bennett case may be linked to the disappearance of IDF soldier Guy Hever, who went missing from his post in 1997 in the Golan Heights, as well as three additional cases in northern Israel – the 1999 disappearance of a resident of Kibbutz Ginosar, whose body was found in 2003, the disappearance of a Czech tourist from Tzalmon River in 2003, and the murder of a Rosh Pina couple in 1994.
