Case Studies.

Elderly & Missing Persons — Dallas, TX

Myrtle Polk — 88 Years Old, Missing 13 Months

Case remains active. Covered by NBC DFW — interview with anchor Vince Simms.

On a Sunday morning, 88-year-old Myrtle Polk left her Dallas-area home to attend church — and never arrived. Despite an active missing persons report with the Dallas Police Department, 13 months passed with no answers and no confirmed trace of where she had gone. The family remained without closure, left to wonder what had happened on what should have been an ordinary morning.

When Steve Gelinske was introduced to the family and began working the case, the investigation took on a new dimension. Steve established a close working relationship with DPD and the lead detective assigned to the case, ensuring that the private investigation operated in coordination with — not in isolation from — the official inquiry.

Methodology

Data analysis of known routes, timing patterns, and geographic terrain pointed to a significant probability that Myrtle had been involved in a vehicular accident — most likely driven off the road and coming to rest in a creek, river, or heavily wooded area. This narrowed the search to specific corridors and waterways.

Steve deployed drone-based LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) scanning over the identified areas of interest. LiDAR allowed investigators to penetrate dense tree canopy and map terrain features invisible to conventional aerial or ground search methods — a critical capability in environments where a vehicle could remain hidden for months.

Discovery

The search led to 5-Mile Creek. The vehicle was ultimately located on the creek banks — overturned, upside-down, and significantly damaged from the accident. Multiple windows and the sunroof had been broken out. No human remains were recovered from the scene. Critically, investigators found no evidence of foul play. The evidence was consistent with an accident in which the vehicle left the road and came to rest in the creek.

Outcome & Ongoing Efforts

While the search for Myrtle’s remains continues, the discovery of her vehicle brought critical answers and solace to the family — as well as a path to closure. It gave them a coherent account of that Sunday morning and the knowledge that there were no signs of criminal involvement. The family remains committed to the ongoing search and recovery efforts, and Steve continues to work alongside them toward that goal.

The case remains active. Steve has participated in multiple subsequent search and recovery efforts alongside DPD and Human Remains Detection (HRD) K9 teams as the investigation continues.

Cold Case — Killeen, TX

Deanna Merryfield — 13 Years Old, Missing Since July 1990

Case active — ongoing collaboration with Killeen Police Department.

In July 1990, 13-year-old Deanna Merryfield disappeared from her family’s home in Killeen, Texas. Despite being reported to the Killeen Police Department, the case was closed within approximately one month. For 35 years, Deanna’s family fought to keep her disappearance from being forgotten — reaching out to law enforcement, media, and advocacy organizations in an effort to reopen the investigation.

G3 Missing Persons became involved in the case in 2025, bringing modern investigative capabilities to a disappearance that predated the digital tools and databases that are standard in today’s investigations.

Methodology

Steve Gelinske established a direct working relationship with the Killeen Police Department and the lead detective assigned to the case. The investigation applied current database intelligence, OSINT techniques, and digital footprint analysis to facts and leads that had been documented decades earlier — capabilities that simply did not exist when the case was originally worked.

The approach focused on re-examining the original case file through the lens of modern investigative tools: cross-referencing names, addresses, and known associates against current databases; analyzing historical records that have since been digitized; and identifying persons of interest whose movements and patterns could now be traced through data that has accumulated over 35 years.

Progress

The collaboration between G3 and the Killeen Police Department has produced new evidence and renewed the active investigation into Deanna’s disappearance. While the specifics of active leads remain confidential to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation, the case has been meaningfully advanced beyond where it stood for the previous three decades.

Ongoing Efforts

The investigation remains active. Steve continues to work closely with the Killeen PD detective, sharing intelligence and coordinating investigative efforts. The family, after 35 years of uncertainty, now has a dedicated team actively working to find answers about what happened to Deanna.

A Note On Confidentiality

Every case on this page has been reviewed with the client prior to publication. Names, locations, specific dates, and any detail that could identify the individuals involved have been changed or omitted. Our obligation to client confidentiality does not end when a case does — it is permanent.