Found Deceased OK - Amanda Harms, 46, school teacher, last seen walking 44th & Denison, Muskogee, 13 Jan 2024

[GraceG]

She was reported as being found in a yard at a house on Martin Luther King Drive by a man when he returned from work. Cause of death pending medical examiner. Missing teacher found dead in yard Update: The distance between the two addresses (seen/found) reported in MSM is a little shy of 4 miles, not a short distance in those temps. Here is the mapquest for Dennison to Martin Luther King STREET. Looking at the street address (600 MLK St.) I think where she was found was West of the spot mapquest drew out (which is the MLK Center on MLK St.) but still a fairly long walk in the cold. https://www.mapquest.com/directions...us/oklahoma/martin-luther-king-center-8918583 UPDATE: I got a better mapquest picture that shows the Dennison St. to the street location she was found. Not quite as far. 4400 Denison St to 600 W Martin Luther King St

 

[vls12345]

If she was going to the store like originally reported, there is a Family Dollar across the main street from her neighborhood area. A little further down is a Dollar General. Per the map in the previous post & if she walked some or all of that same route, she passed lots of stores (pharmacies, convenience stores, fast food places, etc.) during the 4-mile walk. So was she walking just to get away? Did she get a ride from someone at some point? Did she walk until she collapsed & could go no further?

 

[sasha17]

She was reported as being found in a yard at a house on Martin Luther King Drive by a man when he returned from work. Cause of death pending medical examiner. Missing teacher found dead in yard Update: The distance between the two addresses (seen/found) reported in MSM is a little shy of 4 miles, not a short distance in those temps. Here is the mapquest for Dennison to Martin Luther King STREET. Looking at the street address (600 MLK St.) I think where she was found was West of the spot mapquest drew out (which is the MLK Center on MLK St.) but still a fairly long walk in the cold. https://www.mapquest.com/directions...us/oklahoma/martin-luther-king-center-8918583 UPDATE: I got a better mapquest picture that shows the Dennison St. to the street location she was found. Not quite as far. 4400 Denison St to 600 W Martin Luther King St

My goodness. Walking that far in bitter cold sounds miserable. I wonder if she did, in fact, walk that distance or caught a ride? And why did she go off route and just not to the store, as she had told her family? Many unanswered questions. Rest in peace, Amanda.

 

[BuySellTrade]

My goodness. Walking that far in bitter cold sounds miserable. I wonder if she did, in fact, walk that distance or caught a ride? And why did she go off route and just not to the store, as she had told her family? Many unanswered questions. Rest in peace, Amanda.

Perhaps Amanda did not walk all the way and she was found where her body was dumped. Be interesting to see what the happens now she has been found but unfortunately not found alive.

 

[ifindedout]

View attachment 475662
They found her deceased.

Thank you for sharing this post, @antmat. Welcome to Websleuths (ETA: after all these years)!

 

[Knox]

It sounds like Amanda was struggling, my thoughts are with her family - terrible news for them

 

[Unalienable Rights]

Family of missing Muskogee school teacher found dead says they have questions

The family of a school teacher found dead in Muskogee say they have questions and need the community’s help figuring out what happened.

www.fox23.com

MUSKOGEE, Okla. — The family of a school teacher found dead in Muskogee say they have questions and need the community’s help figuring out what happened.

******
Muskogee police have told FOX23 they don’t think her death is suspicious, but her family disagrees.

Her family says they have no idea how or why she would have ended up a ten minute drive away from her home. They say someone must know something.

********
Her family says she was last seen around 8 p.m. on Saturday. They say she set off walking to a store but didn’t take her phone or money.

She left her home near 44th and Denison and was spotted on video around 40th and Broadway.

Police say that Amanda’s body was found in a backyard near 6th Street and Martin Luther King Street, which is nearly a ten minute drive away from her home.

****
More at link

ETA: Her family said she was found in a shed.

 

[Knox]

"We’ve had a person call in today with what they said they believed was a deceased person in their backyard," said Officer Lynn Hamlin.

"She was found in a shed four miles from here," said Townsend.

At the moment police do not suspect foul play.

"There’s nothing suspicious at the scene, no signs of foul play," said Officer Hamlin.

But for family members, foul play is most definitely involved.

"I believe that somewhere along her route that she was, somebody picked her up, somebody offered her a ride possibly and because it was so cold I believe she got in the vehicle with them, they offered her a ride, she got in, and it was the wrong person," said her mother.

What happened to Amanda Harms?

"Mandi left the house on foot apparently going to the store," said her mother Shelley Townsend.It was a nightmare that began on Saturday, when Amanda, or Mandi,

ktul.com

 

[Curiousobserver]

"We’ve had a person call in today with what they said they believed was a deceased person in their backyard," said Officer Lynn Hamlin.

"She was found in a shed four miles from here," said Townsend.

At the moment police do not suspect foul play.

"There’s nothing suspicious at the scene, no signs of foul play," said Officer Hamlin.

But for family members, foul play is most definitely involved.

"I believe that somewhere along her route that she was, somebody picked her up, somebody offered her a ride possibly and because it was so cold I believe she got in the vehicle with them, they offered her a ride, she got in, and it was the wrong person," said her mother.

What happened to Amanda Harms?

"Mandi left the house on foot apparently going to the store," said her mother Shelley Townsend.It was a nightmare that began on Saturday, when Amanda, or Mandi,

ktul.com

Nothing suspicious about being found in a strangers shed miles from your house is there? Happens to me all the time.

 

[CTPDMom]

Nothing suspicious about being found in a strangers shed miles from your house is there? Happens to me all the time.

I think that we often don't give law enforcement enough credit. Yes, sometimes they do drop the ball. But more often they are trained to see what families don't necessarily want to accept. In this case, the autopsy and toxicology will be important factors in LE determining what really happened. One possibility: She was under the influence, possibly having issues accepting that she was going to have legal consequences for alleged actions, and she walked until she got too cold, found the shed and froze to death. I personally wouldn't want to accept that for a family member's death either, but it's a definite 'not suspicious as to a crime' death.

 

[acutename]

My goodness. Walking that far in bitter cold sounds miserable. I wonder if she did, in fact, walk that distance or caught a ride? And why did she go off route and just not to the store, as she had told her family? Many unanswered questions. Rest in peace, Amanda.

google maps says walking 1hr 4mins. Was she wearing a lot of clothing?
because that would be 2hrs + with a return.

 

[acutename]

If she was going to the store like originally reported, there is a Family Dollar across the main street from her neighborhood area. A little further down is a Dollar General. Per the map in the previous post & if she walked some or all of that same route, she passed lots of stores (pharmacies, convenience stores, fast food places, etc.) during the 4-mile walk. So was she walking just to get away? Did she get a ride from someone at some point? Did she walk until she collapsed & could go no further?

the Dollar General looks "walkable" on Google Maps but I can not imagine walking on US 64 at night (or even in the day..locals know better?) - it is a 4 lane highway....Dollar store closes at 9pm too, so to leave at 8pm, she would not have much shopping time. She could have just taken a small amt of cash if she was going to get... what? detergent? nail polish? cookies? whatever.

 

[Unalienable Rights]

This article has a few more details about her background. Her family acknowledges that she had an addiction problem and that there had been ups and downs, but they're holding on to the good memories.

Family Mourns Muskogee Teacher Found Dead After Reported Missing For Days

The family of a Muskogee teacher was grieving Thursday night after she was found dead earlier that day; she was reported missing last Saturday night.

www.newson6.com

 

[Curiousobserver]

I think that we often don't give law enforcement enough credit. Yes, sometimes they do drop the ball. But more often they are trained to see what families don't necessarily want to accept. In this case, the autopsy and toxicology will be important factors in LE determining what really happened. One possibility: She was under the influence, possibly having issues accepting that she was going to have legal consequences for alleged actions, and she walked until she got too cold, found the shed and froze to death. I personally wouldn't want to accept that for a family member's death either, but it's a definite 'not suspicious as to a crime' death.

I agree that this is a possible scenario and it is of course entirely possible this is self-induced/inflicted.

However, LE also tends to bucket people into categories that get less scrutiny, especially if the victim has a "moral failing" like an addition problem.

This is an unattended death. Yes she had an addition problem, we don't know to what extent. Drug use makes it more likely that she may have overdosed but it also makes it more likely that she may have run into someone unsavory who did her harm. LE should start with the assumption each of those is equally likely. I hope the family makes sure that is what they did.

 

[B4igo2it]

there are apartments near the location she was found. No open businesses, restaurants, etc.

 

[Breazy]

Sad ending! I am curious to find out her cause of death. Hinky about the husband letting her even leave walking in those temps especially because of her addiction issues.

 

[Occam's Zebra]

Sad ending! I am curious to find out her cause of death. Hinky about the husband letting her even leave walking in those temps especially because of her addiction issues.

She was not a child; she did not need to ask her husband's permission to leave the house.

 

[Breazy]

Very true. However, he could have tried to convince her not to walk to the store or anywhere else in those temps. At the very least, he should have contacted her family/police way before he did. When she did not return Saturday night, it should have been reported Sunday morning addiction issues or not.

 

[Unalienable Rights]

Very true. However, he could have tried to convince her not to walk to the store or anywhere else in those temps. At the very least, he should have contacted her family/police way before he did. When she did not return Saturday night, it should have been reported Sunday morning addiction issues or not.

Where did you see when the husband reported her missing? I don't recall seeing that information in any of the articles.

 

[GraceG]

Where did you see when the husband reported her missing? I don't recall seeing that information in any of the articles.

It was in a MSM link in one of the earlier posts but more detail in this more recent one where LE verified when and the time and date the husband last saw her and reported her missing (about halfway down the page). Muskogee Police find missing woman dead.