Hello, I'm new to Websleuths, but this case really caught my interest. Okmulgee is about a 30 minute drive to the north of me and a trip I make fairly often for work.
This is merely my opinion as an Oklahoman from a small town, smaller than Okmulgee.
For those going down the cycling route, cycling is not a very big hobby here; most cities and espescially these smaller towns are not equipped for people to cycle safely. It's very common for people who don't have a driver's license, a working vehicle, much money for fuel (which is harder right now due to higher fuel prices) or suspended licenses from DUI's or things of that nature to use bicycles or even riding lawnmowers to get around town; I see it several times a day. These bicycles are normally just your run of the mill $100-$200 bicycles from walmart or ones that are bought secondhand, nothing ever fancy like a road cycle.
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This could very well be the case for some of the people in question. A quick search on
www.odcr.com for their names shows that some have been issued suspended licenses in the past, as well as constrolled substance charges, but this is still purely speculation. This is an important fact to know about small town culture in Oklahoma.
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Assuming that the salvage yard west of Okmulgee that they visited first was "Let's Ride Auto Salvage" (pictured below), then made a stop at Murphy USA on the south end of town, then ended up at the large salvage yard on Catalpa Rd. just north of Schulter, that is a 7.5 mile route with nearly 5 miles of it being on a major highway with constant traffic. The other option would be for them to have rode alongside the railroad tracks which run parallel to the highway on the west side directly along their route, which would also raise the potential of them being struck by the train or hopping the train. But, the odds of them hopping onto the train with all of the bicycles, riding down the line and then getting off the train with all of the bicycles without being caught by railroad workers or seen by bystanders is very slim. I would also assume that LEO would have searched the area surrounding the tracks along this route in search of the people in question.
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The woods around the salvage yard are thick but farmers would most definitely be combing their fields the next day all around that area doing work.
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Interstate 40, one of the most busy stretches of road in the United States runs east/west just 7.5 miles south of the salvage yard where Chastain's phone was last pinged. I-40 is known for being a horrible route for traffickers and smugglers so that raises questions as to whether they were picked up by motorists.
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Also in our area, it is very, very common for people to ride bicycles (because they are quiet) to salvage yards, used vehicle lots, public transit parking lots, etc. to steal catalytic converters from vehicles for their high resale value. But, I assume that if an altercation were to have happened, after searching 25+ acres of the surrounding land, police would have seen some evidence of foul play.
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My hypothesis is they were picked up by traffickers.
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