Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation   Stan Florence  Director   Jessica Brown Public Information Director

08/05/11                 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE           

Agents Investigate Possible Murder of Elderly Woman in Welch

The Craig County Sheriff’s Office requested OSBI assistance into a possible homicide in the city of Welch. An elderly woman was found dead inside her home at 289 N.E. 1st Avenue just before midnight Thursday (8/4/11) by a family member. Ruth Rice, 81, was known to be alive earlier in the day.

The medical examiner’s office will perform an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death. In the meantime, OSBI investigators and sheriff’s deputies will collect evidence at the scene and conduct interviews with family members, friends, and neighbors.