Sequoyah County Sheriff Larry Lane Jr. said the state medical examiner confirmed last Thursday afternoon that a body recovered from a remote, wooded area of southern Adair county earlier this month is Ricky D. Henning, 58, who was reported missing by family members on July 23.
Lane said two people, Mose A. Smith, 41, of Stilwell, and Kimberly D. Gilbert, 41, of Sallisaw, were charged in Henning’s death after confessing to murdering him after being apprehended in another state.
Sheriff Lane said his officers and investigators teamed up in late July with Cherokee Nation Marshals, Adair County Sheriff ’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other agencies and volunteers, whom assisted in the search.
He said investigators BR Rutherford and Dwayne Frizzell were able to obtain information on the possible location of Henning’s body after flying to another state to interview Smith and Gilbert.
The two suspects were arrested in Iowa on warrants of willful injury causing serious injury. Smith was additionally charged with eluding police.
A witness told police that Sara Hines, 40, was allegedly assaulted by the duo after she laid down on a picnic table at Miller Riverview Park in Dubuque, Iowa. Hines said Gilbert began striking her with a crutch and then pressed a knife to her face, and Smith also struck her with a crutch.
Hines was treated for a nasal bone fracture and a large gash to her forehead, which required at least 20 stitches, according to reports.
Smith and Gilbert left the scene by the time authorities arrived but were later tracked to an area where Smith was reportedly driving and a pursuit ensued, before Smith finally pulled over in East Dubuque.
Lane said following the duo’s confession into Henning’s disappearance and murder, the case was turned over to the Cherokee Nation Attorney General’s Office and warrants were issued for both their arrests because both suspects are native. He said Smith and Gilbert would be extradited back to Sequoyah County after their charges are settled there.
According to the initial investigation, Rutherford said deputies were dispatched to a residence in Sallisaw on July 23 to take a report regarding Henning missing. There, they met with Henning’s daughter, Misty Bateman, who said she last spoke to her father on July 11.
Bateman said she tried to call her father again on July 17 and had been trying to reach him ever since. Bateman said her cousin told her Henning’s next door neighbor said they hadn’t seen or heard from him in about a week.
Bateman told investigators when she went inside her father’s house, she found items belonging to other individuals and the house in disarray.
Frizzell reported deputies observed that Henning’s truck, a 2007 Chevrolet, was not parked in the yard anywhere and was missing as well.
It is believed Smith and Gilbert left in Henning’s truck and drove to Cave Springs where they asked to borrow gas money from a friend. It was noted Henning was not with them at that time.
The two were stopped in Henning’s truck in Wisconsin but released due to lack of evidence. The two told police they had permission to borrow Henning’s truck but gave conflicting stories regarding his whereabouts, and were forced to leave the truck there.
Smith and Gilbert were then arrested in Iowa after allegedly assaulting Hines, and police discovered they were wanted for questioning in the disappearance of Henning in Sequoyah County and notified authorities here. That’s when the two reportedly admitted to killing Henning and provided details on where his body could be found.
