HENRYETTA, Okla. — Authorities found seven bodies, including two missing teenagers, during a search Monday in eastern Oklahoma, state officials confirmed.
In an interview streamed by News on 6, Okmulgee County Sheriff Eddy Rice said 14-year-old Ivy Webster and 16-year-old Brittany Brewer were found dead on a rural property near the town of Henryetta after they were declared missing. The two teenagers were last seen earlier Monday and a missing endangered person advisory was issued at about 10:29 a.m. Monday, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
Though the bodies have not yet been identified by the medical examiner, Rice told reporters late Monday afternoon his office believed they had found “everything that we were seeking this morning.” Rice declined to provide further details on the case but said authorities “believe there’s no other threat to the community.”
Authorities believe they also found the body of Jesse McFadden, 39, a convicted sex offender the teen girls were thought to be with, on the property along with four other unidentified victims, Rice said. In the Amber Alert, authorities said Webster and Brewer were possibly traveling with McFadden.
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 district said. District officials said the school would be in session with mental health professionals and clergy on hand to help counsel students. But they said they would understand if families want to keep their children home from school.
Henryetta, a town of about 6,000, is located about 90 miles east of Oklahoma City.
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Who was Jesse McFadden and what was his criminal history?
Online records show that McFadden is a convicted sex offender, according to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
McFadden was due Monday in Muskogee County District Court for a jury trial on one count of soliciting sexual conduct with a minor by use of technology and one count of possession of child pornography, according to court records. McFadden failed to appear in court. The judge issued a bench warrant for his arrest.
Records also show McFadden was accused of the crimes while he was a state prisoner serving a 20-year sentence for first-degree rape, which he was convicted of in 2004.
The Muskogee Phoenix previously reported McFadden was accused of having a cell phone while an inmate at Jess Dunn Correctional Center in Taft in July 2016. He was accused of using the phone to communicate with a 16-year-old girl in Muskogee, the newspaper reported. Oklahoma Department of Corrections records show McFadden was discharged Oct. 30, 2020.
In Oklahoma, first-degree rape is considered an “85%” crime, meaning those convicted of the offense must serve at least 85% of their sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
Okmulgee County Sherriff investigating what led up to seven Henryetta deaths
Rice said the county has not seen anything “of this magnitude” during his nearly two decades of service as sheriff.
“We’ve had our share of troubles and woes, but this one’s pretty bad,” Rice said.
Rice said his team is still following leads to hopefully find out what led up to these deaths, which come just seven months after four Okmulgee men’s bodies were found shot, dismembered and dumped in a nearby river.
“It’s a tragic day in Okmulgee County again, and we just ask that you pray for the families,” Rice said.
Contributing: Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY; The Associated Press