The discovery of 4 dismembered bodies in an Oklahoma river turned a missing persons case into a murder investigation. Here's what we know - CNN

CNN  — 

A acceptable of missing persons reports has turned into a execution probe aft dismembered bodies recovered successful an Oklahoma stream were identified arsenic 4 men who vanished past week, constabulary said.

The men – Mark Chastain, 32; Billy Chastain, 30; Mike Sparks, 32; and Alex Stevens, 29 – were reported missing by relatives past Monday nighttime oregon aboriginal Tuesday aft leaving Billy Chastain’s Okmulgee, Oklahoma, location connected bicycles astir 9 p.m. October 9, constabulary person said.

The men look to person been readying to perpetrate a transgression erstwhile they acceptable out, Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice said Monday, citing a preliminary investigation. All had been shot, helium said.

Meantime, a idiosyncratic constabulary privation to speech with related to the lawsuit has been missing arsenic of Saturday nighttime and could beryllium suicidal, the main said. The idiosyncratic is not a suspect, and nary charges person been filed, helium said.

“I’ve worked implicit 80 murders successful my career. I person worked murders involving aggregate victims. I person worked dismemberments, but this lawsuit involves the highest fig of victims, and it’s a precise convulsive event,” Prentice said.

Here’s what we cognize astir the case:

A passerby called constabulary Friday aft seeing something suspicious successful a stream extracurricular Okmulgee, a metropolis of astir 11,000 radical astir a 35-mile thrust southbound of Tulsa, Prentice antecedently said.

Police arrived, saw remains and recovered aggregate bodies.

The bodies were identified arsenic the 4 missing men – each having been changeable and dismembered, the main announced Monday.

“Although the authoritative origin and mode of decease is inactive pending, each unfortunate suffered gunshot wounds,” Prentice said. “All 4 bodies were dismembered earlier being placed successful the river, and that is what caused trouble successful determining identities.”

The remains were recovered implicit respective days, and it’s not wide what benignant of grounds investigators volition beryllium capable to recover.

“Whenever h2o is involved, it makes it overmuch much hard to place evidence,” the main said.

Police person not recovered immoderate bicycles, nor the weapon utilized successful the killings.

While it remains unclear precisely what led up to the men’s deaths, it appears they were readying to perpetrate a transgression erstwhile they near Chastain’s home, Prentice said, citing a preliminary investigation.

The content is based connected “information supplied by a witnesser who reports they were invited to spell with the men to quote connected punctuation ‘hit a lick large capable for each of them,’” the main said Monday successful a quality conference.

“That is communal terminology for engaging successful immoderate benignant of transgression behavior, but we bash not cognize what they were readying oregon wherever they planned to bash it,” Prentice added.

After the men were reported missing, constabulary said they believed astatine slightest 2 of them men had compartment phones with them. Investigators traced the phones’ path, uncovering the devices went to 2 salvage yards – 1 astir 5 miles from the river, and the different astir 10 to 12 miles from the river, Prentice told CNN connected Saturday.

Police aboriginal recovered “evidence of a convulsive event” connected spot adjoining 1 of those locations, the main said without elaborating.

Police person a idiosyncratic of involvement successful the case, and nary charges person been filed, the main said Monday.

The person, who has denied knowing the 4 men, is not a fishy but “a idiosyncratic of involvement that we’d similar to speech to,” Prentice said.

But the idiosyncratic has gone missing arsenic of Saturday nighttime and could beryllium suicidal, Prentice said.

Now that the lawsuit is simply a execution probe, constabulary volition beryllium much tight-lipped astir further proceedings “to support the integrity of the investigation,” Prentice said.