Authorities discovered the bodies of seven people Monday while searching a rural Oklahoma property for two missing teenagers, state investigators confirmed.
The bodies were found near the town of Henryetta, a town of about 6,000 located about 90 miles (145 kilometers) east of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokesman Gerald Davidson said.
He said the state medical examiner will have to identify the victims, but authorities were no longer searching for the missing teens or a man they may have been with.
“We’ve had our share of troubles and woes, but this one is pretty bad,” Okmulgee County Sheriff Eddy Rice told reporters.
Rice declined to confirm the identities of any of the victims, where the bodies were found or any details about weapons that may have been discovered on the property.
“We believe there’s no other threat to the community,” he added.
A missing endangered person advisory had been issued earlier Monday for 14-year-old Ivy Webster and 16-year-old Brittany Brewer. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol canceled the advisory Monday afternoon.
The advisory for Webster and Brewer had said they were reportedly seen traveling with Jesse McFadden, who was on the state's sex offender registry. Oklahoma Department of Corrections prison records show McFadden was convicted of first-degree rape in 2003 and released in October 2020.
Court records show McFadden was scheduled to appear in court Monday for the start of a jury trial on charges of soliciting sexual conduct with a minor and possession of child pornography. A message left Monday evening with McFadden's attorney in that case was not immediately returned.
Brittany Brewer's father told KOTV in Tulsa that one of the bodies discovered was his daughter.
“Brittany was an outgoing person. She was actually selected to be Miss Henryetta ... coming up in July for this Miss National Miss pageant in Tulsa. And now she ain't gonna make it because she's dead. She's gone,” Nathan Brewer said.
Henryetta Public Schools posted on Facebook and its website that it is grieving over the loss of several of its students.
“Our hearts are hurting, and we have considered what would be best for our students in the coming days,” the note said. Officials said school would be in session, and mental health professionals and clergy would be on hand to help counsel students. But they said they would understand if families want to keep their children home from school.
In a separate Okmulgee County case, the bodies of four men were found Oct. 14 in the Deep Fork River in Okmulgee, a town of around 11,000 people that is about 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of Tulsa. Joseph Kennedy, 68, is facing four counts of first-degree murder in that case.