Some additional information on Tena's disappearance.
Oklahoma Cold Cases
Barbara Berry was found in a Comanche County field in late November 1994. She was in what has been described as a box or a crate, and covered in a plaster like substance. Her body had been wrapped in plastic and in reading the medical examiner’s report it appears that she was likely exposed to the elements for a short time before being placed in the box. No cause of death was able to be determined, there were no obvious wounds, and the only things found in the box with her were two shirts, a single sock, and two nails.
Barbara remains the only victim possibly connected to the Cache Road killings that was found in such a manner.
While researching Barbara’s murder, we discovered not only was she most likely connected to the Cache Road killings that technically began in 1999, but she wasn’t the first girl to have gone missing who was probably connected.
Tena Preast was.
That’s where our story really starts- with the disappearance of Tena Preast in August of 1991. August 4th to be precise. Nineteen-year-old Tena Preast was last known to have been seen in Lawton. At the time, she was married, but on paper only. Her maiden name was Tena Smithpeter.
Tena’s sister, Sandi, worked for years to get someone to listen to her, to look for her sister. Still, no one has seen or heard from Tena since late 1991. At the time she went missing she had been dancing at the Deluxe in Lawton under the name Cameel, however she wasn’t working on the streets and she wasn’t known to have a drug habit.
The last time Tena was reportedly seen, she had left the apartment she shared with her then boyfriend and hadn’t taken anything with her. Her boyfriend went to Sandi’s house trying to find Tena, all in a tizzy because she hadn’t come back. According to him, Tena had left with another man and just hadn’t come back.
Tena is described as having a heart of gold, she would have done just about anything for anyone. She was the life of the party, but even though she had a small stature, she made up for it with a fiery temper. Her sister and Tena were nearly inseparable, and Sandi has never quit fighting to find out what happened to her sister- going as far as to dig up the backyard of where Tena was last seen to look for her. It’s worth mentioning that Tena knew Barbara Berry- they had danced together at the Deluxe. Tena Preast remains missing.
