The fates of four friends from Okmulgee, Oklahoma who were reported missing following a bike ride together have been revealed. It’s the worst news possible.
Mike Sparks, Alex Stevens, and brothers Billy and Mark Chastain disappeared on October 9 after going out on their bikes together. They all left Billy’s house around 8 p.m. that evening, but unfortunately would never be seen again. A day later, becoming worried for their safety, Mark’s wife reported him, Billy, and Mike missing to police. The same night, Alex’s mother would also report him missing.
In a statement on their social media, Okmulgee Police Department said there were attempts to get ahold of the men, but they had failed as the two of them who had cell phones went straight to voicemail:
“All four are close friends and are believed to have left Billy Chastain’s home on the west side of Okmulgee on Sunday at around 8 PM. All were reportedly on bicycles. Two of the men are believed to have cell phones with them, but attempts to call go straight to voicemail.”
All four… just vanished without a trace… Sadly things got worse once they were finally found.
In a press briefing on Friday via 2 News, police chief Joe Prentice said “suspicious items” had been found by passersby in the river near a bridge. When arriving on the scene, law enforcement found what they believed to be “multiple human remains”. At the time, Prentice prepared the families for the worst — and heartbreakingly on Monday it was confirmed the bodies were of the four missing men.
Even more alarmingly, although the official cause of death has yet to be released, authorities have determined the bodies had been shot and “dismembered” before being thrown into the river, with their bicycles nowhere in sight. Prentice explained:
“All four bodies were dismembered before being placed in the river, and that is what caused difficulty in determining identity. The river appears to be a dump site.”
So awful. Seems like someone didn’t want these men to be identified…
In another shocking twist, the police chief suggested the men may have been on their way to commit a crime (!!!) and stopped by their killer beforehand:
“We believe the men planned to commit some kind of criminal act when they left the residence on W. 6th Street. That belief is based on information supplied by a witness who reports they were invited to go with the men to ‘hit a lick big enough for all of us’.”
As law enforcement dug deeper into the moments leading up to the suspected murder, they came across “evidence of a violent event” at a local scrap yard. They became suspicious of the owner, Joe Kennedy, but have been unsuccessful in locating him. He’s been missing since Saturday! He had previously been cooperating with the police before he disappeared, but he told them he didn’t know the victims. Hmm…
Police warned Kennedy “may be suicidal” but don’t believe he’s a threat to others — they ask that if anyone sees him they report it to the OPD. On Monday, they were able to locate his vehicle but still have no information on his whereabouts. They posted on their Facebook page:
“Joe Kennedy’s blue PT Cruiser has been located and is in police custody. It was abandoned behind a business in Morris Oklahoma. Investigators are looking into how it came to be there. Currently we have no vehicle information for Kennedy.”
Prentice confirmed on Monday during the press briefing he had never dealt with such a violent event before, but he is determined to give the heartbroken families answers:
“We have worked around the clock all week, we were out all weekend and we will continue to work to figure out what exactly happened to their loved ones and who did it. I’ve worked over 80 murders in my career. I have worked murders involving multiple victims. I have worked dismemberings. But this case involves the highest number of victims and it’s a very violent event. I can’t say that I’ve never worked anything like it but it’s right up there.”
Just shocking. We hope the whole community gets answers soon.
[Image via Okmulgee Police Department/KJRH TV/YouTube]
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