DNA testing confirmed remains found by a fisherman in Montague County belonged to Rana Soluri, who disappeared from Fort Worth in March 2025.
FORT WORTH, TX — Human remains discovered along a North Texas creek have been identified as Rana Nofal Soluri, a 47-year-old flight attendant who disappeared more than a year earlier, providing investigators with a major development in a pending murder case.
A fisherman found the remains June 13 on the bank of Brushy Creek near FM 1749 in Montague County, northwest of Fort Worth. The remains were taken to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, where DNA testing confirmed they belonged to Soluri. Fort Worth police said the identification gives investigators and Soluri’s family an answer after an extended search that began when she was reported missing in June 2025.
Soluri worked for Envoy Air, an American Airlines regional carrier, for about five years. A colleague reported her missing June 11, 2025, after becoming concerned about the lack of contact. Investigators determined that Soluri had not been in regular contact with others since March 2025. Authorities have said she was last seen alive around March 21.
Dennis William Day, a longtime friend who had been living with Soluri, is under indictment on a murder charge in connection with her death. He remains in the Tarrant County Jail on a $200,000 bond. The criminal case is pending, and the charge against him has not resulted in a conviction.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Day told investigators that he strangled Soluri during an encounter inside their Fort Worth home. Investigators reviewing surveillance footage from the residence found video from the night of March 21 that appeared to show Day dragging a motionless person from the home into the backyard. The surveillance system stopped recording after that footage, according to court records cited in news reports.
Day later told investigators that he put Soluri’s body in a trash bin and transported it from Fort Worth to an area near Bowie, roughly 65 miles away, according to the affidavit. He told police he disposed of the body from a bridge. Investigators searched bridges, waterways and surrounding areas based on information provided during the investigation but did not locate Soluri at the time.
Authorities said flooding in the area complicated the search and raised the possibility that remains could have moved downstream. The fisherman ultimately discovered Soluri’s remains more than a year after her disappearance. A Fort Worth homicide detective said the body may have been covered by mud when investigators previously searched near the location where it was eventually found.
Police also allege another woman, Joanne Walters, also known as Joni Thomas, assisted Day in disposing of Soluri’s body. Walters was indicted on a charge of tampering with evidence with intent to impair a human corpse. Her case also remains pending, and the allegation against her has not been proven in court.
The identification strengthens the physical evidence available in the murder investigation after months in which authorities had not recovered Soluri’s remains. Fort Worth police spokesperson Daniel Segura told FOX 4 that investigators were grateful to provide Soluri’s family with additional answers. Authorities have not publicly announced a final pathologist’s determination of the cause and manner of death.
Soluri’s remains have been released to her family. Her daughter plans to have them transported to Seattle for burial, according to a fundraiser organized on the family’s behalf. Day remains jailed while the murder prosecution continues, and Walters’ evidence-tampering case also remains pending.
Author note: Last updated Oct. 6, 2026.