GBI renews appeal in Forsyth, Dawson unsolved 2004 homicide

Nearly 20 years after Patrice Endres disappeared from her Forsyth County salon, the case still turns on a handful of stubborn details: missing cash, an uneaten lunch, a car moved from its usual spot and a wedding ring that has never been found. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, along with the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office and Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, is once again asking for help in the 2004 homicide of the 38-year-old wife and mother.

Endres vanished on Thursday, April 15, 2004, from Tamber’s Trim ‘N Tan at 6195 Matt Highway, also known as Highway 369, in Cumming. She was last seen just before 11:30 a.m. and was discovered missing just after noon. Investigators later learned that money had been taken from the salon, while her lunch was left uneaten, her car keys were still there and her vehicle had been moved from its normal location. Those details continue to shape the investigation into how Endres disappeared in broad daylight from a busy local business.

The search for Endres did not end with her disappearance. On Dec. 6, 2005, skeletal remains were found behind a church off Kelly Bridge Road in Dawson County. Those remains were later identified as Patrice Endres, linking the Forsyth County disappearance to a second crime scene in a neighboring county. The case remains one of the GBI’s active unsolved homicide files.

Investigators are now emphasizing one item they believe could still unlock the case: Endres’ wedding ring. The GBI says the ring was never recovered. It consisted of two bands soldered together with a marquis diamond center stone, a distinctive design investigators hope someone in the community may recognize. The agencies are asking anyone with information to come forward, especially anyone who may remember seeing the ring or hearing something that seemed insignificant at the time.

The GBI said it can only respond to investigations requested by local law enforcement or certain officials under Georgia law, underscoring how much this case depends on continued cooperation from the public. Tips can be called in to the GBI at 800-597-8477 or submitted online. After nearly two decades, investigators are still treating the unanswered questions around Patrice Endres’ disappearance and death as a live case, not a closed chapter.