Joe Hill Missing Person Case

May 07, 2011

Jan 12, 2024

Joe

Hill

73

29

70 inches

71 inches

170 lbs

Black / African American

Male

In the late summer of 1981, a 29-year-old man named Joe Burnic Hill, also known as Joe Banks, was living in Detroit, Michigan. He had recently returned from a trip to Florida with his children, where they had visited Disney World. After dropping one of his daughters off with her mother in Alabama, he returned to Michigan with his other children. It was shortly after this trip, on September 1, 1981, that Joe Hill was last seen by his family. He left his home and, for reasons that remain unclear, never returned. The father of three, who was also a skilled martial artist with a 2nd-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, had vanished. The days following Joe Hill's disappearance brought troubling discoveries. On September 4th, a torso was found in a garbage dump on Detroit's east side. However, at the time, investigators did not connect these remains to Joe's case, mistakenly believing they belonged to a white male. Four days later, on September 8th, Joe's distinctive 1979 gray Pontiac Firebird Trans Am was found abandoned at a car wash in Clinton Township. The car had been stripped of its wheels, T-top cover, and license plate. The owner of the car wash reported that the vehicle had been parked there since September 3rd. Despite these findings, the investigation into Joe's disappearance stalled, leaving his family with unanswered questions and growing concern. For decades, the family of Joe Hill lived in a state of uncertainty, holding out hope for answers. His brother, Robert Hill, remained a persistent advocate, pushing law enforcement for a more thorough investigation. A significant breakthrough in the case would not come for many years. Decades later, after the description of the partial remains found in 1981 was made public, Robert felt a strong conviction that they belonged to his brother. The family made the difficult decision to have the remains exhumed in August of 2017. In March of 2018, their suspicions were confirmed through DNA testing; the torso was positively identified as Joe Burnic Hill. While this discovery brought a partial sense of closure, it also reopened old wounds for his loved ones. The case, which had been a missing person investigation for 36 years, was now officially a homicide investigation. The circumstances surrounding Joe's death remain unsolved, and his family continues to seek justice and answers for the man who was a beloved father, brother, and a central figure in their family. Anyone with information regarding the unsolved murder of Joe Burnic Hill is encouraged to contact the Detroit Police Department.

Sep 01, 1981

Detroit

Michigan

Wayne County

1968

Detroit Police Department

Detroit

Michigan

Wayne County

48226

Shannon Jones

Sergeant

1301 3rd St, Michigan

3135961800

Local

Law Enforcement

1202110086

Detroit Police Department

Black

Brown

Brown

No

07/02/2026