Four missing people were discovered dismembered and dumped in an Oklahoma river (Picture: Fox 23)
Four dismembered bodies pulled from a river were identified as missing bicyclists last seen over a week ago.
Police in Oklahoma discovered the remains of four people dumped in the Deep Fork River near a salvage yard on Friday.
The bodies were identified as Mark Chastain, his brother Billy Chastain, Mike Sparks, and Alex Stevens. Authorities had been searching for the four men when they disappeared on October 9.
The bodies were discovered on Friday, but it took authorities several days to identify the remains due to their condition.
The cyclists were last seen on Sunday, October 9 (Picture: FOX23 News Tulsa)
‘We recovered the majority of the remains Friday night. We made an additional recovery yesterday, and we recovered what I believe to be the last piece this morning,’ Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice said at a press conference on Monday.
‘Although the official cause and manner of death is still pending, each victim suffered gunshot wounds,’ Prentice said.
After collecting evidence in the missing persons case, Okmulgee Police Department investigators believe the men left a home on October 9 intending to ‘commit some type of criminal act,’ Prentice said.
Prentice said a witness told investigators that the men invited him to join them to ‘hit a lick big enough for all of them.’
The bodies were discovered near a salvage yard in Okmulgee (Picture: FOX23 News Tulsa)
However, there are still a lot of missing details in the case. ‘We do not know what they planned or where they planned to do it,’ Prentice said.
The bodies were found near a salvage yard in Okmulgee, a small city of 11,000 people. The chief estimated the bodies were dumped late on Sunday, October 9 or early the next morning.
‘Nothing remarkable was observed at the salvage yard, but evidence of a violent event was discovered at an adjoining property,’ Prentice said. ‘The owner of both salvage yards, Joe Kennedy, is considered a person of interest, but no charges have been filed.’
Police work the crime scene in Okmulgee (Picture: FOX23 News Tulsa)
Police spoke to Kennedy on Friday afternoon. He was reported missing on Saturday, and may be suicidal. His vehicle was discovered abandoned behind an unrelated business on Monday.
Police said it did not appear that the four men had ever met Kennedy before. ‘Mr Kennedy has denied knowing them. I don’t have any reason to believe there was any preexisting relationship.’
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Okmulgee Police Department investigators believe the men left a home on October 9 intending to ‘commit some type of criminal act.’