The The mysterious disappearance of four friends in Oklahoma On Monday, after police confirmed that their remains were found in a river after they were shot dead and then dismembered.
Joe Prentice, police chief in Okmulgee, a city of about 11,000 about 40 miles south of Tulsa, said at a news conference Monday that the remains have been identified as those of 32-year-old Mark Chastain; Billy Chastain, 30 years old; Mike Sparks, 32 years old; and Alex Stevens, 29, all from Okmulgee. The sheriff said that the Chastains were brothers.
Sheriff Prentice said that investigators believe the men planned to “commit some sort of criminal act” after they left Billy Chastain’s home on the west side of Okmulgee around 8 p.m. October 9. All four were on bicycles, police said.
Their plan to engage in criminal activity was based on information from a witness who had been invited to join the men in “severe blows big enough for all of them,” the sheriff quoted the witness as saying. .
“It’s a common term for engaging in some kind of criminal behavior, but we don’t know what they’re planning or where they’re going to do it,” he added.
Police said the men were reported missing last week after they left Billy Chastain’s home.
Mark Chastain’s wife, Jessica, told 2 Oklahoma News Last Week that her husband had parked his car at a house owned by the Chastain family on Sunday. Four men used to spend time there, she said.
“They don’t go far – never,” Ms. Chastain told the news station.
On Friday, a passerby noticed something suspicious in the Deep Fork River, leading investigators to find what appeared to be human remains protruding from the water.
But it was not until Monday that police confirmed the identities of the rest. Sheriff Prentice said it took some time to be identified as all four had gunshot wounds and appeared to have been dumped in the river after they were dismembered.
Sheriff Prentice said that police were looking for the owner of a local salvage yard, Joe Kennedy, whom he described as “a person of interest” in the investigation. Kennedy’s salvage yard is located next to a property where investigators discovered “evidence of a violent event,” the sheriff said, without elaborating.
He said that a signal from Mark Chastain’s cell phone was pinging to and around the salvage yard. No charges have been filed and the cause and manner of the deaths have yet to be determined, the sheriff said.
When Mr. Kennedy spoke to investigators Friday, he denied knowing the men, Sheriff Prentice said, adding that he had no reason to believe the men had any any relationship with Mr. Kennedy. On Saturday, Mr. Kennedy was reported missing and he may be suicidal, the sheriff said.
There was no immediate response Monday afternoon to a text message sent to a number listed for a salvage yard in Kennedy’s name. Late Monday, the sheriff said Mr. Kennedy’s car was found “abandoned” behind a business in Morris, Okla., about six miles east of Okmulgee.
Police chief Prentice said investigators have yet to recover the gun used in the killings. Nor have they found the bicycles the men rode.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have a description of the bike,” Chief Prentice said. “At least one, and we believe all boys have multiple bikes, and there’s no way to know which one they rode on.”
Sheriff Prentice said that the investigation is continuing and that police are awaiting cell phone records and have requested video surveillance from businesses in the area. He said his best guess is that the remains of the men were dumped in the river on the night of October 9 or the early morning of October 10.
