Multiple human remains found in Oklahoma river amid search for 4 friends who disappeared during bike trip
OKMULGEE, OKLAHOMA: Okmulgee Police Department was puzzled by the mysterious disappearance of four men during their weekend bike ride on October 9. Mark Chastain, 32, Billy Chastain, 30, Mike Sparks, 32, and Alex Stevens, 29, went to Oklahoma for their planned outing and have not been seen since then. Many of their family members have raised concerns and the police have now found chilling evidence. Multiple human remains were found in a river in Okmulgee, Oklahoma.
Okmulgee Police Department Chief Joe Prentice gave a horrifying update in the Friday, October 14, press conference covered by News Channel 8, saying that multiple human remains were found in a river. Prentice said, "The families of Mark Chastain, Billy Chastain, Alex Stevens, and Mike Sparks have been notified. At this time, we can not make an ID, but out of respect, we let the families know before it was officially announced. Currently, we have more questions than answers." The chief explained that identifying the victims will take time. If the victims are the missing men, then the investigation will shift to finding out what exactly happened to them.
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Prentice continued, "If it turns out that these four missing men are the remains in the river, then the focus of our investigation will shift from finding them to what happened to them. If it is determined that it is not them, then we will have two separate investigations. Multiple agencies are responding and we're working on the recovery process. This process will take time." He further explained that the search for the missing men will continue nonetheless. Previously, People reported that two out of these four men had cell phones but every attempt to contact them went straight to voicemail.
Mark Chastain, 32, brother Billy, 30, Mike Sparks, 32, and Alex Stevens, 29, left their home on Sunday at 8 pm and haven't been seen since. The disturbing discovery was made days after one missing man's girlfriend feared for their safety. Billy Chastain's girlfriend Megan Gordan, told News on 6, that friends and family members were losing hope. Gordan said, "It's getting hopeless, I still have hope, but it's getting hopeless. That's why I put together this search. Because I want to find him. I want to find all of them. I want them, at this point whether they're dead or alive I want to find them." Mark Chastain's wife, Jessica Chastain, previously told Fox News Digital, "I know nothing, and I’m feeling lost. I’m heartbroken. I’m sad. I have so many mixed emotions and thoughts. As far as I know, nothing has been recovered. Nothing has been found. There is no sign of foul play."
Chief Prentice told News on 6, "I can't make sense of the actual set of circumstances because it is so unusual." He further said that this is the first time in his law enforcement career that four adult men have gone missing at the same time in such a mysterious way. Prentice continued, "At this point, the evidence tells me I have four missing adults, I have no evidence there’s any violence involved at this point, we always consider that a possibility in any missing persons case and we’re not discounting that possibility, but not persons of interest." Jessica Chastain previously explained that for the four men to go on bike rides was more than usual. The chief continued, "We depend on family to give us that type of information, we don’t have any evidence to indicate there’s any reason he would be gone for an extended period of time, she, in fact, told us this is extremely out of character and he would not be gone this long."