Reer, recently sentenced for the 2017 death of Amanda Dean in Ohio, is now a person of interest in the 2018 Pinellas County disappearance of Joseph Andrew Phillips.

HURON COUNTY, Ohio — Just days after he was sentenced to prison in connection with the death and disappearance of Amanda Dean in Huron County, Frederick Reer has been identified as a person of interest in a Florida missing persons case.

According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Reer, 42, is a person of interest in the disappearance of Joseph Andrew Phillips, who was last seen in 2018. 

The missing persons investigation was started on April 6, 2018, after the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office received a report that Phillips missed his flight and his companion dog was found running unsupervised on Gandy Beach. 

“During the investigation, detectives determined that on March 31, 2018, Mr. Phillips had accompanied a group of friends to Gandy Beach and lost his cell phone while at the beach,” Pinellas County Sheriff’s officials told 3News in an email. “Later the same evening, Mr. Phillips requested a ride back to Gandy Beach to search for his phone. In an interview with detectives, Frederick “Fred” Reer acknowledged driving Mr. Phillips and his companion dog to the beach to look for the cell phone but stated he left him there in the early morning hours of April 1, 2018.”

Investigators say Phillips has not been seen or contacted since Reer said he dropped him off at Gandy Beach. 

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office is requesting anyone with information to contact the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit at (727) 582-6454 or email at rchalmers@pcsonet.com or anonymously through Crime Stoppers of Pinellas County at (800) 873-TIPS (8477). 


SENTENCING IN THE AMANDA DEAN CASE

On Monday, Reer was sentenced to serve a total of 14 years in prison by Huron County Common Pleas Court Judge James Conway following his guilty plea in the death of his former girlfriend, Amanda Dean.

“With today’s sentence, a killer has been brought to justice — I pray Amanda’s family finds a measure of peace knowing the man responsible for her death is behind bars,” said Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. “Hats off to the investigators and prosecutors who relentlessly pursued the truth in this difficult case.”

Reer will also have post-release control for a period of two to five years once he completes his time behind bars.

“I would just like to say I’m sorry to the Dean family, I’m sorry to my family and I’m sorry to the community,” Reer said when given the opportunity to make a statement before his sentence was handed down. “Thank you, your Honor, judge. I appreciate your time.”

Reer, of Townsend Township, pleaded guilty on Dec. 8 to the following charges in the case:

Involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felonyTwo counts of tampering with evidence, third-degree feloniesGross abuse of a corpse, a fifth-degree felony


CASE DETAILS

Dean, a 36-year-old mother of four, went missing in July of 2017 in Townsend Township, which is located just outside of Norwalk.

During a 2020 interview, Huron County Sheriff Todd Corbin told 3News the situation was initially treated as a missing persons investigation, but that changed after he talked to a domestic violence shelter and learned she was living there.

Dean’s mother, Caroline Tokar, previously told 3News she didn’t believe her daughter would go this long without contacting her family — including her children.

In January 2023, Dean’s family held a press conference at the Cleveland Family Center for Missing Children and Adults with the hope that she was still alive and would answer their hopes of making contact.

“She’s a family person. I just want her home,” Tokar said during the press conference. “This is out of character for Amanda. She’s never gone hardly any time without a phone call, without communication of some sort with her family. I love her. Love you, Amanda. I hope you’ll come home soon and meet the new additions to the family.”

Ohio BCI began investigating the case in 2022, ultimately executing search warrants at Reer’s property on Wells Road near Collins in Huron County.

“Investigators with BCI determined that Reer killed Dean inside a residence where the couple lived, then cleaned the crime scene and disposed of the evidence,” according to Yost’s office. “Dean’s body has never been found.”

In February of 2024, an indictment was issued against Reer on charges of murder, tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse. The indictment alleged it was on or about July 11, 2017, when Reer dismembered Dean and cleaned up the scene with towels and rags, disposing of bloody sheets and burning a mattress.


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