SALEM -- A man from rural Polk County vanished just days before he was due to collect more than $1 million in an inheritance back in 2004 and the case still remains unsolved.
Glenn Pennie, a 56-year-old electrician, lived alone in his farmhouse until October 6th of 2004. Then he disappeared.
“It is sad to see a good, honest person like that disappear. No trace, no nothing,” said neighbor David Fetter.
Pennie had planned to travel to Northern California where he was due to attend a probate hearing to learn more about the inheritance from his late father. He never made it to the hearing.
Police found Pennie’s pickup truck in the driveway, unlocked with his packed suitcase and snacks still inside. There was no sign of a struggle.
After years of searching for more clues, detectives still don’t know what happened.
“We call it suspicious, but Hollywood would call it mysterious because that is exactly what it is. There is no explanation,” said detective Burney Krauger, who was also a former classmate of Pennie’s.
Investigators thought that money played a role in Pennie’s disappearance. His brother, Dale is considered a suspect but was never arrested. Detectives said the two had been feuding about the inheritance.
Dale told KGW he has an alibi that proves he could not have been at his brother's home the day he vanished. These days, he's running for a seat on the Coos County Commission.
"I was a prime suspect. They were building the case to hang me and when they found out I had nothing to do about it, it got them all ticked off," Dale said.
Now, more than seven years later, police are publicizing a $10,000 reward on a billboard along I-5 in Salem, hoping it will bring new leads. The reward money came from private donors, Crime Stoppers and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Clear Channel also donated the digital billboard space.
As for the inheritance, the money remains in legal limbo.
