How to detach corrupt database in SQL Server
Like gbn commented, if the database is on storage that is not accessible, it is going to be set to suspect and the attempt to set it to single-user will always fail. The call to sp_dbremove will properly remove the entry from the database list, and it won't be attempted to be brought online next time you start the SQL service.

Be aware that sp_dbremove is deprecated, and DROP DATABASE should work just as well if the database is suspect.