Missing
Gerald Eugene Rabourn
Rabourn, approximately 2010; Denise Michelle Goodwin
Date and time person was reported missing : 10/21/2010
Missing location (approx) :
San Diego, California
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 03/20/1922 (99)
Age at the time of disappearance: 88 years old
Height / Weight : 5'9, 110 - 175 pounds
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian male. Gray hair, brown eyes. Rabourn is balding. He wears prescription eyeglasses.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Rabourn was last seen in San Diego, California sometime during mid-October 2010. All of his cellular phone use, financial activity and contact with his family stopped on October 21. He has never been heard from again. Eventually, out-of-state relatives reported him missing.
In August 2011, Denise Michelle Goodwin was charged with Rabourn's murder. A photo of Goodwin is posted with this case summary. Rabourn had hired her to take care of his 91-year-old wife, who had end-stAge at the time of disappearance: lung cancer and was in hospice care at home. Rabourn's wife died in September 2010, and afterwards he entrusted Goodwin with all his financial affairs.
Authorities stated Goodwin began appropriating Rabourn's assets for her own personal use soon after she moved into his home; she stole almost $600,000 in total and forged documents to sell Rabourn's home and transfer the title of his car.
She also kept Rabourn's family members from contacting the police for months by providing various explanations for is absence and claiming she had been in contact with him. She even persuaded another woman to call Rabourn's daughter and claim she was Rabourn's new wife and they had gotten married in Las Vegas.
At her trial in the fall of 2014, Goodwin's attorney admitted she'd stolen money from Rabourn, but claimed she hadn't actually killed him.
In October, she was convicted of first-degree murder, caretaker theft from an elder adult, fraudulent appropriation by a trustee, grand theft of personal property, and forgery. She was sentenced to life in prison without parole; she could have faced the death penalty.
Foul play is suspected in Rabourn's case due to the circumstances involved. His body has never been found.
Other information and links : ncy
San Diego Police Department
478-542-2000
September 2021 updates and sources
California Attorney General's Office
San Diego Police Department
The San Diego County News
The North County Times
NBC San Diego
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
