Skyla Whitaker, 11, & Taylor Placker 13 - Found Murdered - #12

[ArizonaGiGi]

Sure!

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation

A. DeWade Langley
Director

Jessica Brown
Public Information Director

06/16/08 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sketch Released in Weleetka Double Murder

The man is described as a Native American, possibly part Caucasian male, approximately 35 years old with a slender build and a long pony tail. He was seen standing next to a white pickup truck either a Ford or Chevy. The truck was a single cab with a narrow strip of chrome down the side. The truck had an Oklahoma license tag. This person was seen outside this truck parked in the middle of the dirt road near where the two girls were found. Witnesses say he was there only minutes before the gun shots were heard. OSBI hopes to find him to determine if he saw or heard anything in the area. If someone recognizes this person, have them call 1-800-635-8477.

http://www.ok.gov/osbi/Press_Room/2008_Press_Releases/PR-2008-06-16_Sketch.html (Bolded by me)

Let me look up the descriptions which were changed to "European" tomorrow when I have more time as it is really late. The description changed from Caucasion to European tho.

"Possibly part caucasian" does not mean that he WAS. He was possibly NOT part caucasian either huh. Anything is POSSIBLE. I definitely would not discount Mr. Byrd or anyone else simply because they didn't fit the sketch perfectly. Creech's eyes were similar to the sketch, Byrds mouth lines are similar to the sketch. We all have our opinions and that's mine.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

We even discussed it here before when they changed it. I will post it as soon as I get a chance tho...unless someone else wants to track it down.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

I wish you would go check out the artist's work and see how close he came on the sketch where they did catch the guy. It was spot on.

This sketch did not come from just one person. It came from several and someone would have said he was dark skinned, imo. They didn't and in fact thought he was "part caucasion" or "European descent". They were specific.

 

[evelyn24]

Byrd bonded out - that means a bail bond was given and his bail bondsman will keep him on a short leash. There is no way of knowing whether he has been questioned by OSBI or not - the JUDGE allowed him to post bail - has nothing to do with OSBI. OSBI didn't arrest him on their warrant and they have no way of forcing the county to keep him in jail on the failure to register unless they can show proof he is a suspect in the Weleetka case. Byrd can refuse to be questioned, polygraphed etc and once the Judge sets a bond in the OTHER matter, he is free to leave. Basically, it's all on a voluntary basis only without an arrest warrant being issued in the Weleetka case. The cops can't hold Byrd without something more than "he looks like the POI". OSBI can now go to Byrd and ask to question him - but without more, they cannot force him to undergo questioning - or make him do anything else - they would have to have grounds to make Byrd a SUSPECT in the Weleetka case and obviously at the moment there are no grounds.

OSBI now knows where Byrd is and they may even know IF he has a solid alibi for June 8th or not. He does look like the sketch, but as someone in the OK NA community has already said, there may be 10,000 men in OK who match the POI sketch - it could take a while to get thru them all unless somebody drops a dime on the right one. We all should continue to look for the POI everywhere.

My Opinion

All very true, and he does look like the sketch. I don't know how many NA men fit the height, and slender build with a white pick up truck....probably not 10,000.
He might have an alibi, but we do know from the poster at Topix that OSBI was interested in talking with him.

 

[evelyn24]

it's difficult for me to understand how some members do not see a resemblance...the sketch of the POI was constructed from the collective memory of passers-by on a rural dirt road. there has been no mention of witnesses having had any more than an observation as they drove by the truck & man stopped on the roadside. one would not expect it to be a guaranteed photo-perfect representation..... therefore, i believe byrd, the man detained today by the combined OK law enforcement "round-up", looks enough like the police sketch that he will be surveilled at least for the time being & possibly picked up to be questioned about the girls' murders....... i pray that answers will come soon to their families, friends & all those whose lives have been touched by their lives & deaths.... including my fellow sleuthers following this tragedy.

Yep..not to mention that wearing a baseball cap really can make it hard to get facial features 100% accurate when describing someone.
As far as the POSSIBLE causasion mix, the sketch clearly looks NA to me, even with the skin shade being a lighter brown. LE never said HALF european, unless I missed a big update from the news about it.

Oh well...hopefully LE has more promising leads.

 

[Trino]

Oh well...hopefully LE has more promising leads.

I agree there is a resemblance, but I'm also guessing the guy has a good alibi, or LE would have found charges to hold him. However, there are many OK men with mostly NA features and a pony tail that drive a white truck that could look like the POI.

 

[Annie]

I am losing hope day by day that this case will ever be solved. I have doubts that the law inforcement groups involved will ever come together enough to find the killer or killers and prosecute them.

 

[evelyn24]

I am losing hope day by day that this case will ever be solved. I have doubts that the law inforcement groups involved will ever come together enough to find the killer or killers and prosecute them.

I know it's only been a little over a month, but these kind of cases can go cold fast and never have a resolution.
It's hard for me to believe SOMEONE out there doesn't know something.
So tragic two little girls were blasted away like this, and nobody has been caught. It's not like this is a crime of robbery, it's an act so random and violent you'd think the killer(s) would do again, if they are that violent and crazy. I don't know how someone can do this in daylight, with witnesses, in a small timeframe, and get away with it!! UGH!

 

[Trino]

It's hard for me to believe SOMEONE out there doesn't know something.

Agreed.

Possibilities as to why a reward isn't bringing in a suspect:
1. $50,000 reward isn't enough - drugs are involved
2. Relative or someone close to POI is afraid of suspect
3. Suspect is not local, so no one really thinks he's involved
4. Suspect is truly a loner

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Sure!

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation

A. DeWade Langley
Director

Jessica Brown
Public Information Director

06/16/08 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sketch Released in Weleetka Double Murder

The man is described as a Native American, possibly part Caucasian male, approximately 35 years old with a slender build and a long pony tail. He was seen standing next to a white pickup truck either a Ford or Chevy. The truck was a single cab with a narrow strip of chrome down the side. The truck had an Oklahoma license tag. This person was seen outside this truck parked in the middle of the dirt road near where the two girls were found. Witnesses say he was there only minutes before the gun shots were heard. OSBI hopes to find him to determine if he saw or heard anything in the area. If someone recognizes this person, have them call 1-800-635-8477.

http://www.ok.gov/osbi/Press_Room/2008_Press_Releases/PR-2008-06-16_Sketch.html (Bolded by me)

Let me look up the descriptions which were changed to "European" tomorrow when I have more time as it is really late. The description changed from Caucasian to European tho.

I think they put that in there just in case he was possibly 'NA/Caucasian" which may or may not turn out to be the case. He may be NA, period, just like Bryd.

Imo Bryd is very much like the sketch. More so than any other subject that has been found and discussed. No sketch is ever like an actual photograph of the person and there will be variances especially when several witnesses are giving the description of one man. Even looking at the sketch the POI looks to be a NA imo.

Even Steven Michael said that he was told that OSBI wanted to question this man because he matches the sketch in the Weleetka case.

The eye color does not bother me. He wore a baseball cap and it shadows the eyes.

But ever description given out since then states he is a Native American.

They could not hold Bryd but I sure hope they are watching him now and looking back into his history to learn all about this man and where he was around the time of the murders.

Imo there was a good reason why he thought it necessary to go unregistered in the system.

imo

 

[oceanblueeyes]

I agree there is a resemblance, but I'm also guessing the guy has a good alibi, or LE would have found charges to hold him. However, there are many OK men with mostly NA features and a pony tail that drive a white truck that could look like the POI.

I am not sure what charges they could hold him on if they just found out about him that morning. They have to have more than just a suspicion to detain him or arrest him.

I wonder how good of an alibi an absconded sex offender would have?

imo

 

[hannahsnana]

I agree with Seriously Searching. I do not think Byrd is the POI. The only match I could see to the sketch were the marionette lines from nose to mouth. I would say that if you live in Oklahoma like I do, and you are part NA as I am, you can tell the difference in features and skin color in most tribes to the extent that you can tell if they are full blood or not. Those of us who are not full blood will have some features that are NA: high cheekbones, straight hair, etc. There are those within the NA community who refer to "white Indians" in a disparaging way.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

I still think there is a stark likeness to the POI and Byrd.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=244&pictureid=2740

Artists that do this kind of work will tell you that if they are working with several witnesses that saw one perp they each tend to focus on differing aspects of the face and overall view. Some may focus on the eyes where others may be drawn to the hair or height/build or overall facial area.

The artists must try to pull out what he thinks is the strongest focused point for each witness and then merge it into one sketch.

I do not expect the POI and the actual killer to look exactly the same as if taking a photograph. There will be similarities in the overall sketch of the POI and the killer when found, imo.

imoo

 

[YellowDog]

I think they need to rethink the kids on the bridge myself. For some reason, I think this was done by kids.

 

[CMorrison64]

I think they need to rethink the kids on the bridge myself. For some reason, I think this was done by kids.

I work with a nurse that's a former San Diego police officer and I asked her opinion on it and she said the same thing. That she'd bet it was kids. So it'll be interesting to find out the real who's and why's of this case when it breaks. I just wish it WOULD break.

 

[hannahsnana]

I have to go out for a while, so won't be around to see responses, if any, for a while, but I still have a nagging feeling about the POI's original eye description as being green. I know this has been debated ad nauseum, but I think it's odd that this was changed. After all, the OSBI can only go by what the "witnesses" have told them.
I've been doing some reading from earlier in the case again, and the only witness to be described as credible early on was the one who had seen the girls walking down the road. The other "witnesses" were not described as credible in any OSBI statement I can find. I could be wrong. I did find a statement from OSBI saying that they could only go by what had been described by the witnesses. The OSBI has no first hand information on the POI, because they were not on the scene at the time of the murders.
Green eyes are a very distinctive feature, but they would have had to be really close to see this, though. Again, I don't think the description of green eyes would have been pulled out of thin air. Unless the whole "POI" is a red herring put forth by the "witnesses". Maybe the witnesses realized that their seeing green eyes was unlikely, so changed their story to brown. I'm just saying. What do you think?

 

[YellowDog]

If the shooters were the people on the bridge, they could have made up anything about the POI. Of course, I'm sure they've checked the ballistics against any guns they had with them by now unless they threw then in the creek. I wonder if the creek has had divers in it searching for clues.

 

[FlowerChild]

I think they need to rethink the kids on the bridge myself. For some reason, I think this was done by kids.

There were no "kids on the bridge" at the time the girls were killed. LE said sometimes kids target shoot and hang out on the bridge - but there weren't any there at the time the girls were killed...they would have seen the girls and could have verified they made it to the bridge and since they were shot only 1/4 mile away they would have seen the killer(s) shoot the girls. None of that happened and none of the witnesses who saw the POI said there were ANY kids at/on the bridge. The kids that were target shooting were over 3 miles away - they were not anywhere near the girls and they had one shotgun between like 5 boys.

If it was a "kid" or "kids" then they weren't seen in the area (but the POI was) and either walked or drove to the location, shot the girls and split without anyone seeing them in the area. If it was a kid or kids then they are very good at staying quiet - and that usually isn't the case - they usually have to brag or tell someone. And if it was more than one killer it's unusual for ALL of them to stay quiet and not say a word, and intimidation by another kid rarely works - the kids still get fed up or mad at some point and rat each other out. And I cannot imagine a situation where more than one "kid" was so sociopathic that they could mow down two kids in cold blood at close range and act like nothing happened.

There probably aren't 300 kids between 14 and 18 in the immediate area - it would NOT be hard to track all of them down. And as to 18+, I don't consider them "kids" but again, how many could there be in the immediate area? If it was "kids" I am assuming they'd be local. The OSBI has never said anything about "kids" being suspect - I am assuming they believe it was adult killler(s).

My Opinion

 

[FlowerChild]

I have to go out for a while, so won't be around to see responses, if any, for a while, but I still have a nagging feeling about the POI's original eye description as being green. I know this has been debated ad nauseum, but I think it's odd that this was changed. After all, the OSBI can only go by what the "witnesses" have told them.
I've been doing some reading from earlier in the case again, and the only witness to be described as credible early on was the one who had seen the girls walking down the road. The other "witnesses" were not described as credible in any OSBI statement I can find. I could be wrong. I did find a statement from OSBI saying that they could only go by what had been described by the witnesses. The OSBI has no first hand information on the POI, because they were not on the scene at the time of the murders.
Green eyes are a very distinctive feature, but they would have had to be really close to see this, though. Again, I don't think the description of green eyes would have been pulled out of thin air. Unless the whole "POI" is a red herring put forth by the "witnesses". Maybe the witnesses realized that their seeing green eyes was unlikely, so changed their story to brown. I'm just saying. What do you think?

I think what they said was the eyes were hazel or brown (the sketch shows light brown/hazel eyes) - which can look green or brown depending on the light and what color the person is wearing. My husband has hazel eyes and most of the time they look brown - but they look green if he has on a green or turquoise shirt. In this case the POI had on a black ball cap - which may have made his eyes look brown to anyone viewing him from a few feet away driving by. Perhaps it was ONE of the 3 witnesses we know about that said the eyes looked "hazel" to him/her - maybe that witness got closer to the POI or saw the POI with more light on his face?

I think the POI has hazel eyes which may be described as brown or hazel officially (as in a legal description on a DL or ID or mug shot) depending on whether the person thinks of himself as having hazel or brown eyes. Most NA's that APPEAR NA have brown or hazel eyes. I have seen several NA's who appear ethnically NA with very light hazel eyes and they can indeed look green, especially on women who play up the green with cosmetics.

At this time I believe the POI has some version of brown eyes - but the only eye color we can rule out is BLUE.

My Opinion

 

[YellowDog]

There were no "kids on the bridge" at the time the girls were killed. LE said sometimes kids target shoot and hang out on the bridge - but there weren't any there at the time the girls were killed...they would have seen the girls and could have verified they made it to the bridge and since they were shot only 1/4 mile away they would have seen the killer(s) shoot the girls. None of that happened and none of the witnesses who saw the POI said there were ANY kids at/on the bridge. The kids that were target shooting were over 3 miles away - they were not anywhere near the girls and they had one shotgun between like 5 boys.

If it was a "kid" or "kids" then they weren't seen in the area (but the POI was) and either walked or drove to the location, shot the girls and split without anyone seeing them in the area. If it was a kid or kids then they are very good at staying quiet - and that usually isn't the case - they usually have to brag or tell someone. And if it was more than one killer it's unusual for ALL of them to stay quiet and not say a word, and intimidation by another kid rarely works - the kids still get fed up or mad at some point and rat each other out. And I cannot imagine a situation where more than one "kid" was so sociopathic that they could mow down two kids in cold blood at close range and act like nothing happened.

There probably aren't 300 kids between 14 and 18 in the immediate area - it would NOT be hard to track all of them down. And as to 18+, I don't consider them "kids" but again, how many could there be in the immediate area? If it was "kids" I am assuming they'd be local. The OSBI has never said anything about "kids" being suspect - I am assuming they believe it was adult killler(s).

My Opinion

How are you so sure there were none on the bridge that day? Who was on the bridge that day? No one? I thought I read somewhere in one of these posts or news clips that there were kids on the bridge. How credible is the witness who saw the POI?

The OSBI has never said anything about "anyone" being a suspect yet.

You must live in the area since you know the stats of how many kids between 14 and 18 live there.

I think kids could keep a secret if they committed the murders. People are executed all the time who never confess to their crimes.