Man tied to multiple Oklahoma murders captured in Arkansas after multi-day manhunt
Below is what we know about the homicides and capture
Below is what we know about the homicides and capture
Below is what we know about the homicides and capture
Law enforcement on Thursday confirmed that a 50-year-old man tied to multiple murders in Oklahoma and another in Alabama was captured in Arkansas.
Stacy Lee Drake was wanted in connection with the deaths of three people in Oklahoma and a fourth in Alabama. On Thursday, he was captured after a multi-day manhunt in Morrilton, Arkansas.
Below is what we know about the homicides and capture.
Oklahoma Murders
Around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sequoyah County deputies responded to a report that two people were dead at LaFerry's Propane near State Highway 64 and South 4760 Road in Gans. When deputies arrived, they found a man and a woman dead, and they had injuries consistent with homicide.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation joined the case and identified a person of interest as Stacy Lee Drake.
Sequoyah County Sheriff Larry Lane told KOCO 5's sister station 40/29 that Drake abandoned a truck that was found on Saturday in Sallisaw. Then, on Tuesday, Drake allegedly carried out the killings at LaFerry's Propane.
Court documents say Drake could be seen on security camera walking into LaFerry's Propane between 2:49 p.m. and 3:05 p.m. During that time, no one else entered or exited the business.
Drake then left the building and drove away in one of the victim's cars, according to the court documents. That car was later found at Motel 5 in Morrilton, and Drake could be seen on surveillance video wearing the same clothes he did while at LaFerry's Propane.
Following Drake's capture, El Reno police said he was suspected in a June 14 murder at a home along Macomb Avenue. During the investigation, police discovered that Emerson's vehicle was missing and presumed that the suspect took it.
Police identified Drake as a person of interest in the murder, and they suspected that he left the El Reno area shortly after the murder.
Oklahoma Victims
Court documents identified the two employees killed at LaFerry's Propane as Tara Underwood and Taylor Sharp. According to 40/29, Underwood had three children and was engaged to a man who also had three.
Underwood's sister told 40/29 that she wants "everybody to remember her as the funny, bubbly, awesome girl that everyone knew."
El Reno police identified the victim as 56-year-old Phillip Emerson.
Alabama Murder
Authorities also told 40/29 that Drake is suspected in the May 14 murder of a 62-year-old man at an Alcoholics Anonymous building in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The victim was identified as Russell Thomas Andrews.
The Capture
Stacy Lee Drake was apprehended without incident in Morrilton, Arkansas, Thursday morning – almost two days after the Gans double homicide.
On Wednesday morning, Arkansas State Police and Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said Drake was believed to be in Morrilton after a vehicle he was linked to was found at a motel.
Later in the day on Wednesday, Arkansas State Police said they still thought he was in Morrilton and that he was known to have bought camping gear. He was found in a wooded area south of the Morrilton intersection of University Boulevard and Poor Farm Road.
Where is Morrilton, Arkansas?
Morrilton is about 50 miles northwest of Little Rock and is located in Conway County. According to the 2020 U.S. census, Morrilton's population is almost 7,000.