Six Months

It has been six months since Gail Nowacki Palmgren went missing.

Melpomene asked in comments on the previous post:

I would love to hear from some of the people who knew her, loved her and are missing her..


Did she enjoy celebrating Halloween? Did she enjoy decorating the house, dressing up and handing out treats to the children in the neighborhood?

I think these are terrific questions. While I did not know Gail, my thoughts today are with her children as they get ready for Halloween and as we embark on the winter holiday season. I wish them peace and closure, and most of all to be reunited with their mother.


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Gail was last seen driving away from her home at about 12:15 PM on April 30, 2011. She was driving a 2010 dark red Jeep Rubicon in Red Rock Crystal Pearl color. The Jeep has a tire cover with a blue daisy and "Life is good," and her trailer hitch had a novelty Goofy cover. Her license plate reads "EAZY ST." Gail is 5 foot 8, 135 pounds, with blonde hair and brown eyes.

Gail and her husband Matt Palmgren were about to separate with plans for divorce. In the months before her disappearance, she had given paperwork and evidence to friends to hold for the impending divorce proceedings. Also, Gail had been speaking to friends and relatives for a few weeks prior to her disappearance about fears that she was being followed. She had given several items and even money to relatives and friends to hold in case something happened to her.

Her last phone call was to her husband Matt Palmgren, apparently to let him know she had dropped the kids off at home. She has not been heard from since. Her phone last pinged on May 2nd, the day she was reported missing, and it has not been found. No sightings of her Jeep have been confirmed since the sighting by a neighbor around noon on April 30.

Matt Palmgren did not call police about his wife missing until after her sister Diane Nichols called police first, about 45 hours after last hearing from Gail. Soon after Gail was reported missing, Matt, his girlfriend Tammy Helton, and his mother Julanne Palmgren retained criminal defense attorneys. Neither Matt, Helton, his mother, nor his kids (the last to see Gail before she disappeared) have been questioned by police and no person of interest or suspect has been noted.

Police searched the Suck Creek area in May, reportedly did an aerial search several months ago, and are planning another when the leaves fall. After several months while hashing out an agreement for restricted searches as dictated by Matt's defense attorneys, law enforcement finally began searching the Palmgren homes in July. To our knowledge, nothing was found, but items had been removed from the homes and people had been staying in the homes during the months since Gail disappeared. Volunteers and relatives have searched the Chattanooga area looking for signs of Gail. None have been found, and no signs of an accident have been uncovered.

There are two main theories from the people who say Gail simply ran off. One is that she withdrew (or "stole" as some people put it) $420,000.00 from bank accounts just before she left. Since then it has been stated many times that she did not withdraw money but rather changed PINs on her own retirement accounts. These accounts have not been accessed by Gail since she disappeared, and she never attempted to get the money she gave others to hold for her.

The other theory is that she is in an underground safe shelter for women. Since it has been six full months, I personally feel that by now she would have gotten the legal assistance and protection she needed, and could have resumed returning to her children and her life. No woman would simply languish underground without her kids, her relatives, her friends, her money and her belongings. She would be trying to get her life back. Further, her friends and relatives say she would not have abandoned her kids, and I see no reason for them to lie.

Something happened to Gail. While it's true that she could have been in an accident or done something while despondent, the circumstances and timing of her disappearance point to foul play. To my eyes, it seems evidence of foul play has not been found simply because it has not been seriously searched for.

However, eventually someone will come forward with information or Gail and/or her Jeep will be found. That is simply all that there is to it. It may take time, it may take a lot of luck and even upset a lot of people who would rather this case not even be discussed, but she will be found. When she is found, the truth will come out.