September 3, 2025 • 17 mins
In this episode of Hunting 4 Answers: In June 1990, 22-year-old Navy reservist and college student Gina Marie Ellison laced up her running shoes for her usual 2.7-mile jog through San Jose—and vanished without a trace. Despite massive searches, decades of investigation, and a husband whose story raised more questions than answers, Gina has never been found. Anyone with information about her case should contact the San Jose Police Department at 408-227-4141.
This is the story of Gina Marie Ellison.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hunting for Answers is a production of the Black Effect
Podcast Network and iHeartRadio. Welcome to Hunting for Answers, a
true crime podcast. I'm your host Hunter, and today we're
highlighting a case about a young woman who was last
seen alive by her husband. Two hours later, he was
flagging down a police car reporting her missing. What started
(00:24):
as a routine evening on a warm June night in
nineteen ninety became the beginning of a mystery that would
span over three decades. A twenty two year old naval
reservist and college student disappeared without a trace from the
streets of San Jose, California. Despite extensive searches, police investigations,
(00:46):
and a husband who seemed desperate for answers, the young
woman simply vanished into the California night. But as investigators
dug deeper, they would discover that this seemingly voted marriage
harbored dark secret. This is the story of Gina Marie Ellison.
(01:12):
Gina Marie Ellison was someone who believed in service and ambition.
At twenty two years old in June nineteen ninety, she
was juggling multiple responsibilities with the kind of determination that
impressed everyone who knew her. She's described as being five
to one, one hundred and twenty eight pounds with black
hair and brown eyes. She was pursuing her dreams on
(01:35):
multiple fronts. She served as a petty officer in the
Naval Reserves while simultaneously being enrolled in accounting classes at
San Jose State University, working toward a degree that would
secure her future. To her friends and fellow service members,
Gina was known for her reliability and positive attitude. She
(01:58):
was the kind of person who set routines and stuck
to them, including her regular evening runs through her San
Jose neighborhood. Gina had recently married Andre Vance Ellison, and
the couple lived together in an apartment at the San
Marino Apartments on Nieman Boulevard. To outsiders, they appeared to
(02:21):
be a young military couple building a life together, but appearances,
as investigators would later learn, can be deceiving. June nineteenth,
nineteen ninety that evening, Gina set out for her regular job.
It was a routine that she had done many times before.
(02:44):
At approximately eight o'clock PM, Gina prepared for what would
be her final run. She put on a light blue
and pink tank top, black spandex jogging shorts, and a
thin gold chain with an attack one half Mitzvah coin,
a sentimental piece of jewelry that would become one of
(03:06):
the key identifying details investigators would search for in the
months ahead. Her route was well established south from San
Marino Apartments on Niman Boulevard to Daniel Maloney Drive, then
west to Silver Creek Road, north to Aborne Road and
(03:27):
back home, a total distance of two point seven miles
through a neighborhood she knew very well. It was a
route she had taken countless times before, but on this night,
she would never make it home. According to Andre's account,
he remained at their apartment while Gina went for her run.
(03:50):
He told police he spent that time practicing bass guitar,
a detail that seemed innocent enough at the time, but
would later be scrutinized by investigators looking for inconsistencies in
his story. As the minutes turned into an hour, then
two hours, Andre claims he became concerned about his wife's
(04:13):
prolonged absence. Gina was nothing but if punctual. Her evening
runs typically lasted about forty five minutes to an hour
by ten o'clock PM, she had been gone for two hours.
At that point, Andre flagged down a passing police car
and reported his wife missing. On the surface, it seemed
(04:37):
like the actions of a concerned husband, but investigators would
later question whether two hours was really enough time to panic,
or whether there was another reason Andre knew his wife
wasn't coming home. The San Jose Police Department immediately launched
an extensive search for Gina. Search teams methodically come through
(05:01):
her usual jogging route, looking for any sign of the
missing woman, her clothing, her distinctive coin necklace, or any
clues that might explain her disappearance. They searched wooded areas,
drainage ditches, abandoned buildings, and anywhere else where someone might
(05:21):
have been taken against their will or where a body
might have been concealed. Officers knocked on doors along her
jogging route, asking residents if anyone had seen a young
African American woman in jogging attire the previous evening. They
also distributed flyers with her description and photograph. The search
(05:44):
produced no clues as to Gina's whereabouts, No witnesses came forward,
no physical evidence was found. It was as if she
had simply vanished into thin air. During the initial month
of the investigation, Andre Ellison played the role of aggrieving
(06:04):
and cooperative husband. He remained actively involved in the search
for his wife, participated in media interviews, and reportedly cooperated
fully with law enforcement. He regularly called the police for
updates on the case, asking if there had been any
leads or developments. To anyone watching, he appeared to be
(06:27):
a man desperately seeking answers about his missing wife. But
as investigators dug deeper into Gina's life and relationships, they
began to uncover troubling details that painted a very different
picture of the Ellison marriage. The first crack in Andre's
(06:47):
facade came when authorities learned that Gina had confided in
two friends about her plans to leave her husband prior
to June nineteen ninety. This revelation was significant. Gina wasn't
just considering leaving casually, she was actively planning her exit
from the marriage. Further investigation revealed that this wasn't the
(07:12):
first time Gina had tried to leave Andre. She had
apparently left him once before, but have returned shortly thereafter
due to financial problems. This pattern of wanting to leave
but feeling trapped by circumstances is tragically common In cases
of domestic abuse. Victims often face enormous barriers to leaving,
(07:37):
including financial dependence, isolation from friends and family, and threats
of violence. Perhaps most disturbing of all was what investigators
learned about an incident that had occurred less than two
years before Gina's disappearance. During an argument with Andre, Gina
had attempted to end her life and subsequently underwent a
(08:01):
psychiatric evaluation. This revelation painted a picture of a relationship
that was far from the happy union it appeared to
be on the surface. It suggested a pattern of psychological
abuse and control that had escalated to the point where
Gina felt desperate and trapped. Statistics show that domestic violence
(08:27):
is particularly prevalent in military families, with rates significantly higher
than in civilian populations. The stressors of military life may
have taken a toll on their union. For investigators, this
detail would prove crucial in how they came to view
Andre Ellison not as a grieving husband, but as a
(08:51):
possible suspect. However, he's never been charged in connection to
Gina's disappearance. But as the investigation continued, more concerning information
about Andre's stability began to emerge. He was employed as
an information systems operator at the US Air Force's Blue
(09:14):
Cube facility in Sunnyvale, California, But in October nineteen ninety,
just four months after Jina's disappearance, Andre was discharged from
his position after testing positive for drug use. The timing
raised serious questions for investigators. Had Andre been using drugs
(09:35):
before Juna's disappearance, Could substance abuse have contributed to marital
problems and potentially to violence, or had he turned to
drugs as a way of coping after his wife had vanished.
The discharge also meant that Andrea had lost his study
income and security clearance. It was a devastating blow. The
(10:00):
financial pressure would soon drive him to make decisions that
would transform him from a potential suspect into a convicted criminal.
What happen next removed any doubt about Andre's capacity for violence.
In January nineteen ninety one, seven months after Genu's disappearance,
(10:22):
Andrea confessed to committing several bank robberies in the San
Jose area. His motive, he claimed, was financial desperation. Following
the loss of his job, but the confession revealed something
far more sinister about his character. He was willing to
threaten innocent people with violence for money. When investigator searched
(10:48):
his residence upon his arrest, they discovered a gun inside
his home. The discovery of the weapon raised immediate questions
had this been the gun used used in the bank robberies,
More importantly, had it ever been used against Gina. Andre
(11:08):
was convicted of two bank robberies and sentenced to sixteen
years in prison. He would eventually be parolled in nineteen
ninety nine, having served eight years behind bars. The revelation
that Andre was capable of planning and executing violent crimes,
and that he had access to a firearm fundamentally changed
(11:32):
how investigators viewed Gena's disappearance. This wasn't just a case
of a missing person anymore. They were likely dealing with
a homicide, but there still wasn't any evidence of foul play.
In January nineteen ninety one, while Andre was facing charges
(11:52):
for the bank robberies, the investigation into genus disappearance took
an unexpected and ultimate lead disappointing turn. An anonymous caller
contacted San Jose authorities with a tip that seemed to
offer hope. The caller claimed that Gina was being held
against her will at a residence on Mountain View Road
(12:15):
in mountain View, California. For investigators who had been working
the case for seven months without a single lead, the
tip was alluring, could Gina still be alive? Could they
actually rescue her and bring her home safely. Police immediately
responded to the address and conducted a thorough search of
(12:37):
the home. They found a family, a couple with two children,
who had no connection to Gina whatsoever. The family had
never heard of her, and there was no evidence she
had ever been in the house. Investigators concluded that the
tip was a cruel hoax. Whether it came from someone
(12:59):
genuinely mistaken or from someone desperately trying to mislead the
investigation remains unknown. What it did do was waste precious
investigative resources and raise false hopes for anyone who cared
about finding Gina. More than three decades have passed since
(13:19):
Gina Marie Ellison disappeared on that June evening. There have
been no arrests in her case, and the trail has
gone cold. With each passing year. Authorities continue to regard
Andre as a possible suspect given his violent history, criminal
behavior following Gana's disappearance, and his access to weapons all
(13:44):
make him a compelling suspect, but suspicion is not the
same as evidence, and he has never been charged in
connection with his wife's disappearance. The case has been classified
as a possible homicide, though investigator's acknowledg there is no
direct evidence a foul play. Without a body, physical evidence,
(14:06):
or witnesses to her crime, building a case against any
suspect becomes extremely challenging. Gina had no money with her
when she vanished, only the clothes on her back and
that necklace that she was wearing. This makes it highly
unlikely that she simply chose to disappear on her own accord. Today,
(14:30):
Jeana Marie Ellison would be fifty seven years old. She
has been missing for over thirty five years. Her case
remains officially open. Investigators continue to hope that someone will
come forward with information that could finally solve this decade's
old mystery. Perhaps someone saw Gina on her job that night,
(14:53):
perhaps someone noticed unusual activity in the area, or perhaps
someone knows what Andre was really doing during those two
hours when his wife was supposed to be running. For
over three decades, the family and friends of Jeana Marie
Ellison have been left without answers. They don't know where
she is, what happened to her during those final moments,
(15:17):
or whether the person responsible is even still alive to
be brought to justice. What they do know is that
Gina was loved. She was a daughter, a friend, a
fellow service member. The questions that haunt this case remains
what happened to Gina on her evening jog on June nineteenth,
(15:38):
nineteen ninety Did she encounter a stranger who met her harm,
was her husband involved? Or is there another explanation that
investigators haven't considered. My thoughts and prayers are with the
family and friends of Jeana Marie Ellison. Anyone with information
(15:58):
about her disappearance to contact the San Jose Police Department.
You can find their number in the description box below.
As we close out this episode, don't forget to click
the follow button to stay updated on Gina's case and
others like it. Be sure to subscribe to Hunting for
Answers on YouTube and follow us on Instagram and TikTok
(16:20):
for more true crime content and case updates. Share Gina's story.
Keeping her name alive could be the key to finding answers. Also,
if you're watching us on YouTube, drop your thoughts on
this case in the comments below. Thank you so much
for joining us on another episode. Until next time. Hunting
(16:53):
for Answers is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network.
For more podcasts from the Black Effect Podcast Network, visit
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows.
Hunting for Answers is a production of the Black Effect
Podcast Network and iHeartRadio. Welcome to Hunting for Answers, a
true crime podcast. I'm your host Hunter, and today we're
highlighting a case about a young woman who was last
seen alive by her husband. Two hours later, he was
flagging down a police car reporting her missing. What started
(00:24):
as a routine evening on a warm June night in
nineteen ninety became the beginning of a mystery that would
span over three decades. A twenty two year old naval
reservist and college student disappeared without a trace from the
streets of San Jose, California. Despite extensive searches, police investigations,
(00:46):
and a husband who seemed desperate for answers, the young
woman simply vanished into the California night. But as investigators
dug deeper, they would discover that this seemingly voted marriage
harbored dark secret. This is the story of Gina Marie Ellison.
(01:12):
Gina Marie Ellison was someone who believed in service and ambition.
At twenty two years old in June nineteen ninety, she
was juggling multiple responsibilities with the kind of determination that
impressed everyone who knew her. She's described as being five
to one, one hundred and twenty eight pounds with black
hair and brown eyes. She was pursuing her dreams on
(01:35):
multiple fronts. She served as a petty officer in the
Naval Reserves while simultaneously being enrolled in accounting classes at
San Jose State University, working toward a degree that would
secure her future. To her friends and fellow service members,
Gina was known for her reliability and positive attitude. She
(01:58):
was the kind of person who set routines and stuck
to them, including her regular evening runs through her San
Jose neighborhood. Gina had recently married Andre Vance Ellison, and
the couple lived together in an apartment at the San
Marino Apartments on Nieman Boulevard. To outsiders, they appeared to
(02:21):
be a young military couple building a life together, but appearances,
as investigators would later learn, can be deceiving. June nineteenth,
nineteen ninety that evening, Gina set out for her regular job.
It was a routine that she had done many times before.
(02:44):
At approximately eight o'clock PM, Gina prepared for what would
be her final run. She put on a light blue
and pink tank top, black spandex jogging shorts, and a
thin gold chain with an attack one half Mitzvah coin,
a sentimental piece of jewelry that would become one of
(03:06):
the key identifying details investigators would search for in the
months ahead. Her route was well established south from San
Marino Apartments on Niman Boulevard to Daniel Maloney Drive, then
west to Silver Creek Road, north to Aborne Road and
(03:27):
back home, a total distance of two point seven miles
through a neighborhood she knew very well. It was a
route she had taken countless times before, but on this night,
she would never make it home. According to Andre's account,
he remained at their apartment while Gina went for her run.
(03:50):
He told police he spent that time practicing bass guitar,
a detail that seemed innocent enough at the time, but
would later be scrutinized by investigators looking for inconsistencies in
his story. As the minutes turned into an hour, then
two hours, Andre claims he became concerned about his wife's
(04:13):
prolonged absence. Gina was nothing but if punctual. Her evening
runs typically lasted about forty five minutes to an hour
by ten o'clock PM, she had been gone for two hours.
At that point, Andre flagged down a passing police car
and reported his wife missing. On the surface, it seemed
(04:37):
like the actions of a concerned husband, but investigators would
later question whether two hours was really enough time to panic,
or whether there was another reason Andre knew his wife
wasn't coming home. The San Jose Police Department immediately launched
an extensive search for Gina. Search teams methodically come through
(05:01):
her usual jogging route, looking for any sign of the
missing woman, her clothing, her distinctive coin necklace, or any
clues that might explain her disappearance. They searched wooded areas,
drainage ditches, abandoned buildings, and anywhere else where someone might
(05:21):
have been taken against their will or where a body
might have been concealed. Officers knocked on doors along her
jogging route, asking residents if anyone had seen a young
African American woman in jogging attire the previous evening. They
also distributed flyers with her description and photograph. The search
(05:44):
produced no clues as to Gina's whereabouts, No witnesses came forward,
no physical evidence was found. It was as if she
had simply vanished into thin air. During the initial month
of the investigation, Andre Ellison played the role of aggrieving
(06:04):
and cooperative husband. He remained actively involved in the search
for his wife, participated in media interviews, and reportedly cooperated
fully with law enforcement. He regularly called the police for
updates on the case, asking if there had been any
leads or developments. To anyone watching, he appeared to be
(06:27):
a man desperately seeking answers about his missing wife. But
as investigators dug deeper into Gina's life and relationships, they
began to uncover troubling details that painted a very different
picture of the Ellison marriage. The first crack in Andre's
(06:47):
facade came when authorities learned that Gina had confided in
two friends about her plans to leave her husband prior
to June nineteen ninety. This revelation was significant. Gina wasn't
just considering leaving casually, she was actively planning her exit
from the marriage. Further investigation revealed that this wasn't the
(07:12):
first time Gina had tried to leave Andre. She had
apparently left him once before, but have returned shortly thereafter
due to financial problems. This pattern of wanting to leave
but feeling trapped by circumstances is tragically common In cases
of domestic abuse. Victims often face enormous barriers to leaving,
(07:37):
including financial dependence, isolation from friends and family, and threats
of violence. Perhaps most disturbing of all was what investigators
learned about an incident that had occurred less than two
years before Gina's disappearance. During an argument with Andre, Gina
had attempted to end her life and subsequently underwent a
(08:01):
psychiatric evaluation. This revelation painted a picture of a relationship
that was far from the happy union it appeared to
be on the surface. It suggested a pattern of psychological
abuse and control that had escalated to the point where
Gina felt desperate and trapped. Statistics show that domestic violence
(08:27):
is particularly prevalent in military families, with rates significantly higher
than in civilian populations. The stressors of military life may
have taken a toll on their union. For investigators, this
detail would prove crucial in how they came to view
Andre Ellison not as a grieving husband, but as a
(08:51):
possible suspect. However, he's never been charged in connection to
Gina's disappearance. But as the investigation continued, more concerning information
about Andre's stability began to emerge. He was employed as
an information systems operator at the US Air Force's Blue
(09:14):
Cube facility in Sunnyvale, California, But in October nineteen ninety,
just four months after Jina's disappearance, Andre was discharged from
his position after testing positive for drug use. The timing
raised serious questions for investigators. Had Andre been using drugs
(09:35):
before Juna's disappearance, Could substance abuse have contributed to marital
problems and potentially to violence, or had he turned to
drugs as a way of coping after his wife had vanished.
The discharge also meant that Andrea had lost his study
income and security clearance. It was a devastating blow. The
(10:00):
financial pressure would soon drive him to make decisions that
would transform him from a potential suspect into a convicted criminal.
What happen next removed any doubt about Andre's capacity for violence.
In January nineteen ninety one, seven months after Genu's disappearance,
(10:22):
Andrea confessed to committing several bank robberies in the San
Jose area. His motive, he claimed, was financial desperation. Following
the loss of his job, but the confession revealed something
far more sinister about his character. He was willing to
threaten innocent people with violence for money. When investigator searched
(10:48):
his residence upon his arrest, they discovered a gun inside
his home. The discovery of the weapon raised immediate questions
had this been the gun used used in the bank robberies,
More importantly, had it ever been used against Gina. Andre
(11:08):
was convicted of two bank robberies and sentenced to sixteen
years in prison. He would eventually be parolled in nineteen
ninety nine, having served eight years behind bars. The revelation
that Andre was capable of planning and executing violent crimes,
and that he had access to a firearm fundamentally changed
(11:32):
how investigators viewed Gena's disappearance. This wasn't just a case
of a missing person anymore. They were likely dealing with
a homicide, but there still wasn't any evidence of foul play.
In January nineteen ninety one, while Andre was facing charges
(11:52):
for the bank robberies, the investigation into genus disappearance took
an unexpected and ultimate lead disappointing turn. An anonymous caller
contacted San Jose authorities with a tip that seemed to
offer hope. The caller claimed that Gina was being held
against her will at a residence on Mountain View Road
(12:15):
in mountain View, California. For investigators who had been working
the case for seven months without a single lead, the
tip was alluring, could Gina still be alive? Could they
actually rescue her and bring her home safely. Police immediately
responded to the address and conducted a thorough search of
(12:37):
the home. They found a family, a couple with two children,
who had no connection to Gina whatsoever. The family had
never heard of her, and there was no evidence she
had ever been in the house. Investigators concluded that the
tip was a cruel hoax. Whether it came from someone
(12:59):
genuinely mistaken or from someone desperately trying to mislead the
investigation remains unknown. What it did do was waste precious
investigative resources and raise false hopes for anyone who cared
about finding Gina. More than three decades have passed since
(13:19):
Gina Marie Ellison disappeared on that June evening. There have
been no arrests in her case, and the trail has
gone cold. With each passing year. Authorities continue to regard
Andre as a possible suspect given his violent history, criminal
behavior following Gana's disappearance, and his access to weapons all
(13:44):
make him a compelling suspect, but suspicion is not the
same as evidence, and he has never been charged in
connection with his wife's disappearance. The case has been classified
as a possible homicide, though investigator's acknowledg there is no
direct evidence a foul play. Without a body, physical evidence,
(14:06):
or witnesses to her crime, building a case against any
suspect becomes extremely challenging. Gina had no money with her
when she vanished, only the clothes on her back and
that necklace that she was wearing. This makes it highly
unlikely that she simply chose to disappear on her own accord. Today,
(14:30):
Jeana Marie Ellison would be fifty seven years old. She
has been missing for over thirty five years. Her case
remains officially open. Investigators continue to hope that someone will
come forward with information that could finally solve this decade's
old mystery. Perhaps someone saw Gina on her job that night,
(14:53):
perhaps someone noticed unusual activity in the area, or perhaps
someone knows what Andre was really doing during those two
hours when his wife was supposed to be running. For
over three decades, the family and friends of Jeana Marie
Ellison have been left without answers. They don't know where
she is, what happened to her during those final moments,
(15:17):
or whether the person responsible is even still alive to
be brought to justice. What they do know is that
Gina was loved. She was a daughter, a friend, a
fellow service member. The questions that haunt this case remains
what happened to Gina on her evening jog on June nineteenth,
(15:38):
nineteen ninety Did she encounter a stranger who met her harm,
was her husband involved? Or is there another explanation that
investigators haven't considered. My thoughts and prayers are with the
family and friends of Jeana Marie Ellison. Anyone with information
(15:58):
about her disappearance to contact the San Jose Police Department.
You can find their number in the description box below.
As we close out this episode, don't forget to click
the follow button to stay updated on Gina's case and
others like it. Be sure to subscribe to Hunting for
Answers on YouTube and follow us on Instagram and TikTok
(16:20):
for more true crime content and case updates. Share Gina's story.
Keeping her name alive could be the key to finding answers. Also,
if you're watching us on YouTube, drop your thoughts on
this case in the comments below. Thank you so much
for joining us on another episode. Until next time. Hunting
(16:53):
for Answers is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network.
For more podcasts from the Black Effect Podcast Network, visit
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows.
Host
Hunter Gilmore
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