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Unsolved Cases
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May 14, 2009, Joe Neff, 61, was reported missing after an employee of Neff’s Long Branch Saloon near Poteau found a large amount of blood on the floor of the bar. The LeFlore County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and requested OSBI assist in the investigation.
An OSBI Crime Scene Agent processed the scene for evidence while other law enforcement, including several agents, searched for Neff’s whereabouts. For several days, dozens of people scoured the area for Neff, hoping he was still alive. However, May 17th, a fisherman found Neff’s body in a strip pit approximately 30 miles from the bar near Pocola. Neff had been shot to death. Investigators believe his body had been in the water for several days.
This case is far from cold. Over the past two years, investigators have run numerous leads searching for Neff’s killer. If anyone has information about this case, please contact the OSBI at 1-800-522-8017 or the LeFlore County Sheriff’s Office.
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The OSBI is offering up to a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the May 21, 2007, homicide of James (Jim) Shaw. The 73 year old was found stabbed to death inside his home. That day, the retired professor made trips to a local bank and Wal-Mart before returning home that afternoon. The assailant likely walked in the front door of the home. Agents believe robbery was likely the motive.
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The OSBI and LeFlore County Sheriff’s Office continue to investigate the death of Jody Rilee-Wilson. The young mother was found dead May 8, 2009, in the area of Poteau Mountain near Heavener Runestone State Park. A paraglider spotted her from the air. She was last known to be alive on May 5, 2009.
The body was too badly decomposed for identification and was sent to the medical examiner’s office for identification and for the cause and manner of death. The body had tattoos consistent with a white female reported missing from Wister, Oklahoma. Jody Wilson’s husband, Bo, reported her missing. The two lived in Wister. The body was eventually identified as Wilson’s. However, the 23 year old’s cause and manner of death has not been determined. Regardless of the lack of a manner of death in this case, the OSBI is investigating Wilson’s death as a homicide.
Wilson’s Chevy S-10 Blazer was found at the Pig Out Palace off 1-40 in Henryetta June 12, 2009, more than 100 miles away from where Wilson’s body was found. The SUV had been parked at that location for several weeks before the restaurant called for a tow truck to haul it away.
Since her death, investigators have run numerous leads. Currently, OSBI agents are tracking information in this case. However, law enforcement needs the public’s continued help to solve this case. If anyone saw someone leaving that vehicle at the restaurant or knows anything about the death of Wilson, please contact either the OSBI at 1-800-522-8017 or the LeFlore County Sheriff’s Office.
Wilson’s family in New Jersey is offering a reward for information on this case.
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On June 17, 2007, 73-year-old Rosemary Wolfe was found shot to death inside her Langley home by her husband. The Medical Examiner’s Office ruled she died of several gunshot wounds. The Mayes County Sheriff’s Office requested OSBI help investigate the death. Since then, agents have conducted numerous interviews and collected evidence in the case.
Investigators believe they know what happened to Ms. Wolfe. However, they need a few more pieces of evidence/information in order to resolve the case. OSBI hopes someone with that information will come forward to help solve the case and allow her family some peace. Since her death happened on Father’s Day – that day is an especially difficult one.
Wolfe’s family is offering up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for her death.
If anyone has any information on this case, please call the OSBI hotline at 1-800-522-8017.
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In the early morning hours of December 30, 1999, assailant(s) entered the rural Craig County, Oklahoma, home of Danny and Kathy Freeman. The couple was murdered and left in the flames of their burning home. Their daughter was celebrating her 16th birthday and had a friend over to spend the night. Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman were never found.
Because the crime scene was set on fire, very little forensic evidence was obtained. Due to the remoteness of the residence, no witnesses to the crime have been found. Investigators have run on hundreds of leads.
Information has been gathered by law enforcement concerning two vehicles leaving the area of the crime scene between 5:30 and 6:30 o’clock the morning of the murders and arson. One vehicle is described as a small, dark colored, four door sedan traveling east toward the town of Welch. Investigators gleaned this information in the early stages of the investigation. The second vehicle is a dark colored, heavy duty pickup truck traveling north toward the town of Chetopa, Kansas. Investigators developed this information during a recent interview.
The description of the first vehicle was not released earlier in the investigation due to its vagueness. Investigators kept the description within the law enforcement ranks to use it to pursue further leads. OSBI believes it has exhausted all possibilities through law enforcement to find this vehicle and now call on the public for help.
If anyone has any information on either of the vehicles or the case, please contact either the Craig County Sheriff’s Office at 918-256-6466 or the OSBI at 1-800-522-8017.
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April 26, 2008, Carter Wayne Leach’s badly decomposed body was found in the back of a pickup truck parked at the Kick’s 66 Truck Stop in Catoosa. Since then OSBI agents and Catoosa Police have run numerous leads on the case.
Investigators believe 33-year-old Leach was last seen on March 28th, 2008, and was on his way to visit Perry Scott “Scotty” Williams at a Tulsa motel. All efforts to locate the 37 year old have failed. Agents believe Williams may be accompanied by his girlfriend, 36-year-old Shannon Raye Johnson.
These two individuals are not considered suspects; however, investigators believe they may be able to help give direction to the case.
If anyone has recently seen these two, please call the OSBI hotline at 1-800-522-8017 or the Catoosa Police Department at 1-918-266-0854.
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The OSBI is offering up to a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the murder of 61-year-old Carol Daniels. Daniels was found inside an Anadarko church where she worked as a pastor.
An Anadarko police officer found her body about noon on Sunday, August 23, after an individual requested police check her welfare inside the Christ Holy Sanctified Church at 305 E. First Street. Daniels lived in Oklahoma City and commuted to Anadarko each Sunday for possible services at the church.
OSBI and Anadarko Police are conducting interviews, collecting possible evidence, and building a timeline of events. Agents have no suspects at this time. “We are hopeful a large reward will entice someone with information to come forward,” Jessica Brown, OSBI PIO, says.
Anyone with information is urged to call the OSBI at 1-800-522-8017.
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The family of Sam Sanders, 64, has increased a reward of $5,000 to $8,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the persons responsible for his murder.
The family’s rural Ottawa County home was invaded by at least two masked gunmen in the early morning hours of March 24, 2009. Sanders was shot and killed by the intruders and other family members inside the home were assaulted by them. Investigators believe robbery was likely the motive and that the suspects live in the Northwest Missouri or Northeast Oklahoma area.
If you have any information about this crime, please call either the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office at (918) 542-2806 or the OSBI hotline at 1-800-522-8017.
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Richard Piersall was working the nightshift as a store clerk at the Kum & Go Convenience Store at 2221 State Highway 51 in Wagoner April 9, 2001, when he was shot and killed. OSBI agents believe in an attempt to rob the store, the suspect(s) took Piersall to the back in the office area and killed him. A store patron found Piersall and called Wagoner Police.
If anyone has information in this case, they are encouraged to call either the OSBI hotline at 800-522-8017 or the Wagoner Police Department at 918-485-5511.
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The OSBI needs your help to identify of the person or persons responsible for the murder of 67-year-old Marie Dighton. The victim was found inside her Buffalo Valley home June 5, 2008, when the Latimer County Sheriff’s Office checked on her welfare at the request of her daughter. Dighton was found inside her bedroom with a cut to her throat.
Agents need the public’s help. If anyone has any information on this case, please call the OSBI hotline at 1-800-522-8017.
Twenty-six-year-old Hope Danelle Meek of Valliant was last seen on Thursday, February 21st, 2002, by her husband Jerry who reported her missing the following Tuesday. Meek is described as a white female, 5 feet 2 inches tall, 105 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing gray sweats and tennis shoes.
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| Between August 9, 1999, and January 2, 2002, there were four suspicious deaths of Lawton, Oklahoma residents. The victims were four white females who were picked up in Lawton while possibly working as prostitutes along the Cache Road portion of town. Their nude bodies were discovered in rural areas surrounding Lawton. Even though they appeared to have been contacted in Lawton, their remains were recovered in the surrounding counties of Comanche, Stephens, and Jefferson. Twenty-nine-year-old Jane Chafton was last seen alive on August 9, 1999, and was found four days later near Velma, Oklahoma, in Stephens County. Twenty-five-year-old Cassandra Ramsey was last seen October 10, 1999, and her skeletal remains were discovered March 22, 2000, off a bridge along a rural road in Jefferson County. Mandy Raite, 25 years old, was last seen on June 15, 2000, and her body found in rural Comanche County two days later. Finally, 29-year-old Janice Buono was last seen sometime around the 1st of January, 2002, and her body was also discovered in rural Comanche County on February 23, 2002. Although there were no obvious signs of trauma to the bodies, agents consider the deaths extremely suspicious and are continuing to investigate the cases under the assumption that foul play was involved. |
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On June 4, 1988, the body of 25-year-old Mary Elizabeth Pewitt was found inside her residence in Comanche, Oklahoma. A divorced mother of two, Mary worked at a local bar and had closed the establishment around midnight June 3. After driving to the bar owner’s house where she dropped off the day’s proceeds, she returned home where she was met by a boyfriend. Mary and her boyfriend visited for a short while before he left the residence becoming the last person known to have seen her alive. It was shortly after the boyfriend’s departure that investigators believe someone entered the house and viciously stabbed Mary to death. Mary had recently been involved in a volatile relationship regarding child support. On the night she was murdered, Mary’s children were not at the home because they had spent the night with Mary’s parents. The OSBI did not enter the case until 1997 when the agency asked to assist the Comanche Police Department.
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| On July 13, 1997, 40-year-old Ricky Lynn Gatewood and his 42-year-old wife Debra Kay were shot to death while sleeping in their rural Pontotoc County home, near Ada, Oklahoma. Ricky’s 16-year-old son discovered their bodies. Both victims were shot in the head. The victim’s1989 gray Chevrolet extended-cab pickup was found in Seminole County the day after the murders. The OSBI is assisting Pontotoc County Sheriff’s Office in the case. |
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| On Saturday, July 26, 1997, Tiffany Johnston, a 19 year old from Bethany, Oklahoma, was abducted from the Sunshine Car Wash, 7709 NW 23rd in Bethany, between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Her body was found the following day about 11 miles west of the car wash, off a rural road near Yukon. The OSBI is assisting Bethany Police Department in the case. |
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| March 27, 1997, was the last time Neatha Humphers saw her husband alive. The 49-year-old Thomas Richard Humphers left his home in Ada, Oklahoma. On March 27, 1997, Humphers’ gray 1996, Ford one ton pickup was found abandoned in a Midwest City shopping mall parking lot. The unlocked truck contained Humphers’ wallet, a change of clothing, and a cellular phone. On April 15, 1997, Humphers’ body was found floating about 200 yards from shore near the Cumberland Cove resort area on western Lake Texoma. His hands and feet were tied with grey duct tape and there were no apparent signs of injury to the body. The OSBI is assisting Marshall County Sheriff's Office in the case. |
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| On February 21, 1996, firefighters responded to a blaze at the home of 48-year-old Danny Oakley. While fighting the blaze, firefighters discovered the bodies of Oakley and 51-year-old Doris Harris in rural Delaware County. The Oklahoma State Fire Marshal’s Office determined that the fire at Oakley’s residence was an arson. Both individuals died of gunshot wounds. The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office requested OSBI assistance. |
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| Amy Lee Schlock Hays, 18, was last seen alive around midnight on the evening of June 17, 1997. She was headed home and walking southbound on She She Street, Hominy, Oklahoma. On July 2, 1997, her body was discovered in the vacant Velma Motel in Hominy. She was strangled to death. The Osage County Sheriff’s Office requested OSBI assistance in the case. |
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On Friday, May 29, 1992, 22-year-old Wendy Camp, her daughter, 6-year-old Cynthia Britto, and Camp’s sister-in-law, 23-year-old Lisa Kregear disappeared after visiting Camp’s son in Shamrock, Oklahoma. Camp’s husband said Wendy called him during the afternoon of May 29, 1992. Camp said she was calling from a pay phone in Shamrock, and was on her way home. None of the three has been seen or heard from since. The Oklahoma City Police Department requested OSBI assistance.
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Jackie Wayne Urich, a white male, date of birth 3/25/58, was last seen on July 9, 1998. On July 21, 1998, Urich’s red Ford Ranger pickup with Oklahoma tag AIM 964 was found wrecked near Coleman Road, Okfuskee County, Oklahoma. No information exists concerning the possible sale or loan of the vehicle to any other person. Witnesses reported seeing a white male and two white females near the vehicle before and after the wreck. These three unidentified individuals were given a ride away from the accident scene. To date, Urich has not been located and the three individuals have not been identified.
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| On February 4, 1991, about 6:00 in the evening, 21-year-old Robert Austin Owens was found dead in the living room of his family's rural Healdton, Oklahoma, home. Owens had been shot once in the right chest area, but the Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the head. The murder weapon was lying beside the body. The house appeared to have been ransacked, although there were no signs of forced entry to the doors or windows. Investigators believe the only items taken during the crime were four older .22 caliber rifles. Owens was last seen about 7:00 a.m. as he left home to attend a local junior college. |
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| On August 11, 1997, the body of 81-year-old Gerthie Carolina was found in her rural Seminole County home, near Sasakwa, Oklahoma. Carolina had been beaten to death. Investigators believe she was the victim of a home invasion robbery. The OSBI is assisting the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office in the case. |
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| At 4:00 p.m., June 23, 1996, the body of 50-year-old Janice Powers, was discovered in the back yard of her grandmother’s rural Caddo County, Oklahoma residence. Powers had been shot multiple times with a small caliber weapon. Powers was last seen alive by her boyfriend between 10:30 and 11:00 p.m. the day before her death. Investigators say robbery was not the motive of the homicide. The victim’s jewelry was not stolen, her purse contained a large sum of money, and the keys to her house and her new Ford pickup were recovered at the scene. |
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| At approximately 9:00 a.m., on October 18, 1998, the body of a 26-year-old Alexander S. Williams was discovered in the trunk of a 1999 Ford Contour. The car was parked behind a new building under construction on Country Club Road in Chickasha, Oklahoma. Williams had been bound at the wrists and shot several times with a large caliber weapon. An investigation revealed the car had been rented by Williams on Thursday prior to the homicide. Williams spoke to his girlfriend on the telephone at 8:00 p.m. the night before his murder. Fingerprints recovered at the scene have not yet been identified. |
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| On September 20, 1997, the body of Leah Rochelle Mahseet was discovered on a county road north of Geary, Oklahoma. Mahseet, a 16-year-old Cheyenne-Arapaho female, 5'9", 140 pounds, was a student at Geary High School. She was last seen alive at the north Conoco gas station in Geary at about 9:00 p.m. on September 14, 1997. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office are working together on the homicide investigation. A $15,000 reward is being offered for the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for Mahseet’s murder. |
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Leonard Dirickson, 39 years old, was reported missing from his home near Cheyenne, Oklahoma, on March 14, 1998. He was last seen in a White Ford Pickup truck with a yellow tag on the front. The pickup was driven by an unidentified white male with a full, reddish-brown beard. The two left Dirickson’s house heading for Mobeetie, Texas. Dirickson is 6'1", about 230 pounds, has a distinctive handlebar moustache. He was wearing green jeans and a faded black coat with a hood when he disappeared. A massive air and ground search was conducted with no results. Some reports indicate he may have been seen some months later in a bar in Amarillo, Texas. A lengthy investigation has been conducted to locate the unidentified driver and to gather and follow leads.
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On Monday, January 5, 1981, Tracey Diane Neilson, 21 years of age, was found dead of multiple stab wounds in her apartment in Moore, Oklahoma. Tracey was a junior at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. She lived with her husband of five months who was also a student at the University. Tracey was killed around noon, and she was found neatly dressed. It was Tracey’s 21st birthday.
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On Saturday, November 12, 1988, around 6:00 p.m., Dwayne McCorkendale, 27 years of age, was found dead of a gunshot wound at a rest stop on the Turner Turnpike or Highway I-44 near Chandler, Oklahoma. Dwayne had been shot in the back and was lying near a telephone booth. He was a driver for the Contract Freighter, Inc. (CFI), and his truck was at the rest stop. Dwayne was en route from Joplin to Oklahoma City with a load of auto parts. This homicide case has been highlighted on Unsolved Mysteries.
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Anyone with information on these cases may call the OSBI at
1-800-522-8017
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If you have information on any of the cases or fugitives presented on this web site, you may contact the OSBI by using the email link OSBI Tipline. All submissions will be kept confidential.
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