Missing for decades: Investigators pursue leads to find Oklahoma escapees
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Teddy Lynn Ellis
Ellis has been missing since May 24, 1986, when he and four other inmates escaped from Dick Conner Correctional Center in Hominy through a storm drainage tunnel. Authorities say the Norman man was involved in a motorcycle gang.
He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in June 1982 in the shooting death of hitchhiker Dale Eugene Spurgin.
Court records show Ellis was 17 at the time of the shooting and was sent to a hospital in Vinita to determine competency. Hospital staff said Ellis didn't need psychiatric care and turned him over to the court.
Witness Andrew Porter, 19 at the time, testified he picked up Spurgin, 27, in Oklahoma City on June 19, 1982. He said Ellis was in the car with him and Spurgin had offered to buy them beer if they would take him to Lake Thunderbird.
Porter said they went to the lake and drove around for half an hour, drinking. He said his friend Johnny was with them and had a gun. Spurgin also had a firearm, and Porter said they all took turns firing the guns. Later, they went to the Little River Bridge on the Harrah and Newalla Road.
Porter told authorities Ellis said," Going to rob this guy. Is anyone going to stop me?"
Spurgin told Ellis "not to kid around" and made a move for the pistol, Porter testified. Ellis then shot Spurgin in the chest and told him to walk toward the vehicle's trunk, Porter said.
According to court documents, Porter's friend said he heard Ellis tell Spurgin to jump off the bridge and when he leaned forward, Ellis shot the hitchhiker in the ear. Spurgin's body was dumped in the river and $20 stolen from his wallet, Porter testified.
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents arrested Ellis on June 27, 1982. He pleaded guilty that September and was sentenced to life in prison.
