Found Deceased OK - Mark Chastain, Billy Chastain, Mike Sparks, Alex Stevens, Okmulgee, 9 Oct 2022

[5W's]

Snipped from video at link - Search for four missing men continues in Okmulgee County

• Pings from Mark's phone indicate they went to a salvage yard, just a couple miles south and spent three hours at that location, before heading to another salvage yard just off Hwy 75.
• Marks phone was shut off at the second salvage yard. The phone still had 28% battery life.

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What would they be doing for three hours? I don't believe they were up to anything nefarious at this point. Jessica said that they went out often for short bike rides together but never stayed out long. IMO three hours is a long time. They spent time hanging out at their homes and with the beloved red car one of them owned.

 

[5W's]

"In this update from Thursday, the Chief is saying they do not have any of the men on video-" :0

The four could have gone missing from anywhere then. Maybe never even made it to the first scrapyard willingly or alive.

Most likely if their not on any footage.

 

[Ladyotm]

Mark's wife tracked his phone to a salvage yard, where it turned off although it still had 28% battery. (How anyone would know that without having the phone, I don't know).

Reagan Ledbetter

**NEW INFO** 4 OKMULGEE MEN MISSING: “Someone out there knows something. I don’t care if it’s good or bad please just come forward. These men have families.” -Mark Chastain’s Wife, Jessica. Four...

www.facebook.com

edited to add: apparently there's an ap where you can check a friend's phone battery charge status

Battery Share, An App for Friends to Track Each Other's Mobile Device Battery Level

Battery Share is a new iOS app by Terry Demco that lets friends track each other's battery levels. Groups of friends can now see when someone is running

laughingsquid.com

Google Maps share location and Life 360 will show you battery levels.

 

[5W's]

My take is this is a formal identification thing. I’m sure they have enough to know informally if these are the missing men.

I agree. I was just trying to answer an OP post on the subject.

 

[Elley Mae]

Meanwhile on Saturday, Police and FBI were seen searching a salvage yard around a mile away from where the bodies were found.

Medical Examiner’s Office working to identify bodies found in river near Okmulgee

The Medical Examiner’s Office is working to confirm the identity of four bodies found in a river in rural Okmulgee on Friday.

www.fox23.com

 

[Elley Mae]

Meanwhile on Saturday, Police and FBI were seen searching a salvage yard around a mile away from where the bodies were found.

Medical Examiner’s Office working to identify bodies found in river near Okmulgee

The Medical Examiner’s Office is working to confirm the identity of four bodies found in a river in rural Okmulgee on Friday.

www.fox23.com

Video at link shows the river where they were found.

 

[UnapologeticallyAspie]

Okmulgee Police Department

Update from Chief Prentice 10/15/2022:

We have received no identifications from the medical examiner's office. They continue to work to identify the remains, but I am told it will likely be tomorrow or later. Officers continue to sift through digital evidence already obtained and await phone records from search warrants, while we wait for identification.

RSBM

This leads me to believe that the remains didn’t include their heads. And/or their fingers. Essentially any body part that could identify them quickly. mOo

The case that originally brought me here was Riley Crossman. Her body wasn’t found for 8 days later and was identified much quicker than these 4 bodies were. Now granted she wasn’t submerged in water, but it had heavily rained for many days in warmer than usual weather for May in Martinsburg, WV [Berkeley County]. Not to mention the wildlife and such thyhad gotten to her as well. But still, she was identified much quicker than these men.

 

[Speculaytor]

What would they be doing for three hours? I don't believe they were up to anything nefarious at this point. Jessica said that they went out often for short bike rides together but never stayed out long. IMO three hours is a long time. They spent time hanging out at their homes and with the beloved red car one of them owned.

Especially when they allegedly left for the bike ride around 8 pm? It would have been 11 pm when they headed to the other SY? What time were they seen at the gas station though? Times seem off?

 

[FrostedGlass]

Meanwhile on Saturday, Police and FBI were seen searching a salvage yard around a mile away from where the bodies were found.

Medical Examiner’s Office working to identify bodies found in river near Okmulgee

The Medical Examiner’s Office is working to confirm the identity of four bodies found in a river in rural Okmulgee on Friday.

www.fox23.com

Is this the 3rd salvage yard they've searched?

 

[LauraAnne]

I’m guessing there will be an arrest by the end of the week <modsnip: not victim friendly>

 

[Friday Fan]

I don't believe they road bikes for 20-30 miles. They just don't appear fit enough. Mr Friday Fan rides for exercise. I believe he covers about 9 miles in an hour. Mr Friday Fan is not what one would consider athletic, but a middle aged man who needs to get his exercise. With these guys, they compete with city traffic which slows them down.


I used to ride my bike to school. It was 5 miles. (Unfortunately, I can't remember how long it took)


My grandparents were Armenians living in Turkey and horses were their only source of transportation. (Early 20th Century..no cars or train) It took a day to get to the nearest city, which was about 30 miles away. (Hence they rarely went)

So, no I don't believe they rode 20-30 miles. My hunch is they averaged about 5 miles or so on their average bike trip. I believe their phones may have traveled 20-30, but I don't believe they rode their bikes for 20-30 miles

 

[Cryptic]

The only scenario I can think of would be if they were looking to enter the scrapyard after hours in the hopes of finding items to “scrap” for quick cash, and then encountered ill-intentioned individuals...

Good possibilities.

The following, however, may diminish, but clearly not eliminate your possibility:

- The four were on bikes. Even with bike trailers, loading up enough stolen base metal scrap to make the theft economically viable for four participants might be difficult.

- Breaking down the stolen scrap for efficient transfer going to be hard. Did they have say, high quality battery powered cutting tools?

- The scrap yard seems to be a salvage yard. Sure, there is money in desirable salvaged car parts. But.... these parts need to be cut out and then buyers found (cars can sit for years, being parted out very slowly). The amount of profit for four people in stolen salvaged used car parts seems marginal.

Then figure that salvage yard owners tend to use hired security officers of the large and angry canine sort. The security force roams at night. The possibility of contending large, loud 'n angry dogs might further move the above types of thefts into the "not worth it category".

 

[Elley Mae]

Went back and found this article, missed this info.
…
Police believe all four men left on bicycles. Families held a search party at a nearby salvage yard Tuesday. Jessica told FOX23 she was driving around and searching for Mark and found his car near the salvage yard. While searching, they found a bike. They called law enforcement, and an Okmulgee County Sheriff’s deputy came out to the scene and collected the bike.

Okmulgee police search for four men who disappeared

Okmulgee police are searching for four men who vanished overnight.

www.fox23.com

Mark Chastain’s phone was tracked south of Okmulgee and had 28 percent battery left when the phone turned off.

 

[katydid23]

Good possibilities.

The following, however, may diminish, but clearly not eliminate your possibility:

- The four were on bikes. Even with bike trailers, loading up enough stolen base metal scrap to make the theft economically viable for four participants might be difficult.

- Breaking down the stolen scrap for efficient transfer going to be hard. Did they have say, high quality battery powered cutting tools?

- The scrap yard seems to be a salvage yard. Sure, there is money in desirable salvaged car parts. But.... these parts need to be cut out and then buyers found (cars can sit for years, being parted out very slowly). The amount of profit for four people in stolen salvaged used car parts seems marginal.

Then figure that salvage yard owners tend to use hired security officers of the large and angry canine sort. The security force roams at night. The possibility of contending large, loud 'n angry dogs might further move the above types of thefts into the "not worth it category".

I think a single bike trailer could hold hundreds of dollars of stolen scrap metal and cc's. And there is no need to 'break down' the scrap metal. A CC is all one piece and costs a thousand or more to replace, and can fetch a few hundred from a salvage yard.

The profit is quite high:

"A catalytic converter is an essential emissions control part and is a key component inspected during a Smog Check. It contains rare metals responsible for converting smog-causing pollutants that pass through a vehicle’s exhaust system into less harmful compounds. Because these metals have a high recycle value, catalytic converter theft has become increasingly common.

Experienced thieves can remove a catalytic converter in one to two minutes using basic tools. What can net a thief hundreds of dollars at a scrapyard or recycler can then cost you thousands of dollars to replace, depending on the make and model of your vehicle. Learn more below on how you can protect your catalytic converter and prepare for your vehicle’s next Smog Check."

Catalytic Converter Theft and the Smog Check Program

Learn how you can protect your catalytic converter and prepare for your vehicle’s next Smog Check

www.bar.ca.gov

And check this out:

There was a recent bust in Fresno, Ca, where LE seized 17 pallets of Converters, 5 people arrested, and there was FOUR MILLION DOLLARS worth of illegal cc's seized.

 

[RickshawFan]

Went back and found this article, missed this info.
…
Police believe all four men left on bicycles. Families held a search party at a nearby salvage yard Tuesday. Jessica told FOX23 she was driving around and searching for Mark and found his car near the salvage yard. While searching, they found a bike. They called law enforcement, and an Okmulgee County Sheriff’s deputy came out to the scene and collected the bike.

Okmulgee police search for four men who disappeared

Okmulgee police are searching for four men who vanished overnight.

www.fox23.com

Mark Chastain’s phone was tracked south of Okmulgee and had 28 percent battery left when the phone turned off.

^^^^^ Discussed upthread. These are red herrings. The bike turned out to be a child’s bike, and the car was in not suspicious parking place.

 

[Razz]

If the 4 were murdered, and murdered by a local, why dump the bodies in a local nearby shallow river (bed)? where the bodies of the 4 were sure to be soon discovered quickly turning this into a murder investigation sooner rather than later. And how is it the perps or the victims themselves weren't seen on surveillance video?

It seems, imo, that the 4 men were expected and killed quickly. This appears more nefarious than just stealing scrap metal.
Imo, the killers were not local and are well out of town by now. Moo

 

[Friday Fan]

If the 4 were murdered, and murdered by a local, why dump the bodies in a local nearby shallow river (bed)?

Because criminals aren't that smart. They might be good at killing, but aren't that good at hiding bodies. They've killed four grown men...Now what? It's a lot of work to get rid of a body.

Wayne Williams was local and he dumped his victims in the Chattahoochee River. His victims were children. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Williams

John Wayne Gacy also dumped victims in the Des Plaines River after his crawl space was full.

 

[Cryptic]

I think a single bike trailer could hold hundreds of dollars of stolen scrap metal and cc's.

I think you are correct. In theory, a bicycle cart can hold hundreds, or thousands of dollars in scrap metal and catalytic converters.

And now, the possible practical aspects:

- Does the owner of the scrap yard remove the frequently stolen catalytic converters from the cars immediately upon purchasing them?

- Would an automotive scrap yard have a lot of high dollar metal parts (brass, bronze copper) already cut out of what they came in and lying around for easy load up by thieves into carts?

In the end, the practical profits maybe very different than the theoretical profits.

 

[RickshawFan]

If the 4 were murdered, and murdered by a local, why dump the bodies in a local nearby shallow river (bed)? where the bodies of the 4 were sure to be soon discovered quickly turning this into a murder investigation sooner rather than later. And how is it the perps or the victims themselves weren't seen on surveillance video?

It seems, imo, that the 4 men were expected and killed quickly. This appears more nefarious than just stealing scrap metal.
Imo, the killers were not local and are well out of town by now. Moo

IMO the 4 victims were set up.

 

[RickshawFan]

Because criminals aren't that smart. They might be good at killing, but aren't that good at hiding bodies. They've killed four grown men...Now what? It's a lot of work to get rid of a body.

Wayne Williams was local and he dumped his victims in the Chattahoochee River. His victims were children. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Williams

John Wayne Gacy also dumped victims in the Des Plaines River after his crawl space was full.

Yeppers, these days it doesn't work to dump them in Lake Mead.