Brenda Lee Borowski

Borowski, circa 1995; John Noser, circa 2010

  • Missing Since 08/15/1995
  • Missing From Swanton, Ohio
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 02/01/1960 (64)
  • Age 35 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'7, 125 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description White shorts with black polka dots.
  • Associated Vehicle(s) 1983 Pontiac (accounted for)
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Borowski has a scar on the left side of her chest.

Details of Disappearance

Borowski was left her home in the Swanton Meadows mobile home park in Swanton, Ohio sometime between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m. on August 15, 1995. She was en route to work; she was a drapery salesperson at the Elder-Beerman department store. Borowski's two teenage children were asleep when she left. They notified police when she didn't return by mid-evening.

The last sighting of Borowski was at 10:00 a.m., when she withdrew money from an ATM in Toledo, Ohio. She was accompanied by her ex-boyfriend, John Thomas Noser, at the time. They had lived together for a year and broke up two months before her disappearance. Borowski has never been heard from again.

Noser was arrested two days later, in the remote wooded campsite where he was living in Middletown, Ohio. He had been driving Borowski's 1983 Pontiac, and its steering column had been peeled open. Police later searched the nearby woods and found some of Borowski's clothing, makeup and jewelry; the items had been burned recently.

Noser was charged with auto theft, but the charge was dropped because he claimed Borowski had loaned him the vehicle and no one could prove she hadn't. He said Borowski had been shot to death during a botched drug deal and her body was dumped near a landfill in north Toledo. A search of the landfill turned up no clues, however.

In 1999, Noser was charged with Borowski's murder. Investigators believe jealousy was the motive; Noser didn't want Borowski to start dating anyone else. He was convicted in 2000 and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. A photo of him is posted with this case summary.

Borowski has never been located. Foul play is suspected in her case due to the circumstances involved.

Investigating Agency

  • Fulton County Sheriff's Department 419-335-4010
  • Middletown Police Department 513-425-7700

Updated 3 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated August 22, 2010; middle name and date of birth added, distinguishing characteristics updated.