Authorities on Friday began conducting a thorough search of a densely wooded area north of Vian after a deer hunter discovered human remains near Lake Tenkiller.
Sequoyah County Sheriff Larry Lane said his deputies and investigators, along with Cherokee Nation Marshals, the Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s office, and District 27 District Attorney’s office traveled to an area of Grey Squirrel Ridge near Buzzard Roost Trail in the Cato Creek area following the find.
“The deer hunter led officers to the site where several human bones were located,” Lane said. “The remains do appear to be pretty old and have likely been here several years.”
The Sheriff said the bones were found scattered over about a 200-yard area, and he hopes they will be able to recover enough to make a positive identification.
The only problem now is waiting. Lane said the medical examiner said it could be up to a two-year wait for the DNA test results to come back.
Could remains be Fagan?
However, the Sheriff said he hopes the remains belong to Matthew Fagan, of Webbers Falls, who disappeared on June 21, 2016, in the same area while reportedly hiking with a group of friends. As of date, neither he nor his body have been found.
During an initial investigation, Michael A. Snelling, Charles B. Shamblin and Tyler P. Leverett, all of Webbers Falls, told authorities they went to the hiking trail to look for an abandoned silver mine, accompanied by Fagan and Patrick Ledford.
According to the original affidavit, Ledford stayed behind because he walked with a cane and had difficulty walking. He was not charged in the case.
In their statements, the three men said they had hiked some distance when Fagan wanted to turn back because his ankles were hurting. All three said when they returned to the car, Fagan was not there and Ledford said he had not seen Fagan.
Leverett later broke down in a follow-up interview and said while they were on the trail, Fagan and Snelling had gotten into an argument about Shay Terrell. Leverett said Fagan and Snelling shoved each other and Snelling eventually shoved Fagan over a drop off. He claimed Snelling then struck Fagan twice with a ball peen hammer.
Leverett said in the affidavit they left Fagan’s body covered with brush on the trail until they could come back later that night. He told authorities that Snelling, Ledford, and Shaylynn and Matthew Terrell pulled up at Shamblin’s house in a pickup that Matthew Terrell had secretly taken from his dad.
Investigators said the group then drove to where Fagan’s body was hidden and placed him in the back of the pickup before driving to a cove at Cato Creek where Leverett said Snelling wrapped Fagan’s body in a tarp and chicken wire before weighing it down with cinder blocks and placing it in the water.
According to the affidavit, Terrell told investigators he did get his father’s pickup and drove to the trail where Fagan’s body was loaded and taken to the lake. His story differed in that he said Shamblin and Leverett also got out of the pickup and walked to the lake with Snelling.
Police said Shalynn Terrell denied being with the group that night, but Matthew Terrell described where she was seated in the pickup, and both were taken into custody as accessories to murder. Their charges were later dismissed.
Shamblin and Snelling were charged with first-degree murder and Leverett with seconddegree murder. All three men pleaded not guilty and their charges were later dismissed without prejudice about a year later because the body was never discovered.
