HURON COUNTY, Ohio (WOIO) – The Huron County man convicted of killing his girlfriend, Amanda Dean, is now a “person of interest” in a 2018 Florida disappearance.
On Monday, in Huron County Court of Common Pleas, Frederick Reer was sentenced to 14 years in prison for Dean’s death.
Frederick Reer(Source: Huron County Sheriff’s Office)
Reer had pleaded guilty in December 2025 to four felony charges — involuntary manslaughter, gross abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence.
Dean, a mother of four, was last seen on July 11, 2017 in Collins. Her body has never been found.
During Monday’s sentencing, prosecutors revealed in court that Reer likely cut up Dean’s body, burned it and threw the ashes into a near by creek.
Now, a spokesperson for the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Department in Florida, said they are looking at Reer in connection with the disappearance of Joseph Andrew Phillips.
On April 6, 2018, Pinellas County Sheriff deputies began a missing person investigation into Phillips, after he didn’t make his flight and his companion dog was found running unsupervised on Gandy Beach.
Joseph Andrew Phillips(Julia Thyret | (Source: Pinellas County Sheriff))
According to a spokesperson for the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Department, on March 31, 2018, Phillips went to Gandy Beach with a group of friends and lost his cell phone.
Later that evening, Reer allegedly drove Phillips and his dog back to the beach to search for the phone.
During an interview with detectives, Reer admitted driving Phillips to the beach, but stated he left him there in the early morning hours on April 1, 2018, said a spokesperson for the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Department.
Phillips has not been seen since.
Anyone with information is asked to call 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).
PREVIOUS VIDEO: Former boyfriend of Amanda Dean pleads guilty
Editor’s note: The below video is an interview with Amanda Dean’s family featured on 19 News’ special, 19 Investigates: The Missing.
PREVIOUS VIDEO: MISSING MOM: Family of Amanda Dean urges public to come forward with tips
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