JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The family of a woman who disappeared with her two children in Germany said they’re trying to keep the faith that they will get answers.
Authorities believe that people in or around the Jacksonville area may have critical information to resolving the disappearance of Tina Grogan and her two sons, Stephon Grogan, 4, and Dale Grogan Jr., 6.
The mother and children have been missing since Nov. 30, 1992, from Würzburg, Germany, where they lived in a U.S. Army base as dependents of U.S. Army Specialist Dale Grogan.
According to Project Cold Case, Dale Grogan was discharged from the U.S. Army and relocated to Jacksonville in March 1994.
Following the disappearance of Tina and her two sons, Army CID and the Würzburg Kriminal Polizei launched an extensive search, but no trace of the mother or the boys was ever found.
Her sister, Shannon Ballenger, said that she tried to contact her during the holiday season in 1992.
“When I did not hear from her when I tried to contact her from Thanksgiving to Christmas, that’s unusual, that is not usual, no that’s not common. No, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. Very suspicious.” Ballenger said.
Ballenger said after that, she tried contacting Dale and his superiors for answers, but it wasn’t until she called the Red Cross, that they helped get her in contact with Dale.
“He told us, ‘Well, she had left a note on the door. Took the boys and I have not seen her since then,” Ballenger said.
It’s an answer she didn’t believe.
The investigation was classified as a cold case in December 2002.
In October 2019, Tina’s mother and sister contacted Project Cold Case, and in 2022, the organization published a UNF student’s Cold Case Spotlight article to help keep the story alive.
“Before God closes my eyes for good, I hope we’ll get closure for Tina and the boys. I can’t take much more,” Cheryl Williams, Tina’s mother, said.
Williams died, never knowing what happened to her daughter and grandchildren.
More than 30 years after Tina Grogan and her sons’ disappearance, authorities believe they may be able to solve the case.
On Jan. 18, Dale Grogan, Tina’s husband, was arrested by the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office after being accused of traveling to meet a minor.
When he was arrested, investigators said he made comments about killing his wife while he was in the military stationed in Germany, so officials said in addition to sex charges, he’s also under investigation by the U.S. military for possible murder.
“I did not even know this had even taken place,” Ballenger said.
She didn’t know the army reopened the case until Project Cold Case contacted her.
This brought back all the memories of what happened to someone she was protective over.
“Tina was shy,” Ballenger said. “She was nice, very humble, a cheerleader, spoke to everyone, and a beautiful soul.
Shannon had a message for those who may be going through something similar.
“My heart is broke,” Shannon said. “It’s been broken for 30 years, but that’s okay. Justice will prevail. To all those who’s going through what my family is going through the same situation, I would like to tell them to keep the faith. Don’t give up, don’t give up hope. Keep praying. The battle was too big for us to handle. Give it to the Lord and he will fight your battle.”
