AND DIDN’T KNOW IT. YEAH GUYS, THERE HAVE BEEN SO MANY DEVELOPMENTS IN THIS CASE DATING BACK TO 1983. I WANT TO WALK YOU THROUGH THE TIMELINE LEADING UP TO TODAY. NOW, STARTING IN 1983, IS WHEN MELANIE WENT MISSING AND HER HUSBAND PAUL WAS FOUND DEAD. NOW, FAST FORWARD TO 1998. HER REMAINS WERE FOUND AND THEY WERE THEN TAKEN TO THE STATE MEDICAL EXAMINER’S OFFICE. BUT NO ONE KNEW THEY WERE HERS. NOW, IN 2017, INVESTIGATORS WENT DIGGING ON MELANIE’S PROPERTY, LOOKING FOR MORE ANSWERS. TONIGHT WE’RE GOING THROUGH THE KOCO ARCHIVES, LOOKING AT OUR COVERAGE THROUGHOUT THE YEARS, LEADING UP TO THIS MOMENT, WE DUG BY HAND. WE USED DOGS. WE USED WE HAD A BACKHOE COME IN AND DIG OUT 2 OR 3 SPOTS. THAT’S INVESTIGATOR JT PALMER BACK IN 2017 WHEN THE POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE GOT A TIP TAKING THEM BACK TO THE CRIME SCENE IN EARLSBORO, THE HOME OF PAUL AND MELANIE JONES. KOCO CAMERAS WERE ROLLING BACK IN 1983 WHEN SHE FIRST WENT MISSING. AS FAR AS WE’RE CONCERNED, TREATING IT, IT’S A IT’S A HOMICIDE WITH A MISSING PERSON. THAT’S PROBABLY WHAT INDUCTED THE BUREAU SAYS THE MORNING OF MAY 5TH, 1983, MELANIE DIDN’T SHOW UP TO WORK IN SEMINOLE AND A FAMILY MEMBER WENT BY HER HOUSE TO CHECK ON HER. THEY FOUND HER HUSBAND, PAUL, STABBED TO DEATH IN THE HOUSE. BUT MELANIE WAS GONE ALONG THE WAY, SMALL CLUES WERE FOUND, SPECIFICALLY A RING ON A PROPERTY IN EARLSBORO ACTUALLY FOUND IN 2005. MELODY’S REMAINS WERE ACTUALLY FOUND IN 1998, AND ACCORDING TO OSBI, THEY SAT IN THE STATE MEDICAL EXAMINER’S OFFICE THIS WHOLE TIME THAT OFFICE KEPT TRYING TO IDENTIFY THE REMAINS, BUT OSBI SAYS THEY RECENTLY GOT MORE RESOURCES FOR MORE TESTING. CLOSURE. MELODY’S FAMILY HAS WAITED YEARS FOR ALL THEY WANT IS SOME CLOSURE. ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. THEY HAVE A SPOT TO BURY HER AT THAT THEY’VE BEEN WAITING SINCE 1983 TO BARRIER. NOW, OSBI TELLS ME THIS IS STILL AN ONGOING AND ACTIVE INVESTIGATION. NO ARRESTS HAVE BEEN MADE. NO SUSPECTS HAVE BEEN NAMED IN THE CASE EITHER. AND IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THIS CASE, WE’LL HAVE INFORMATION ON KOCO.COM WHERE YOU CAN GET A HOLD O
Remains identified in decades-old Oklahoma cold case
The remains of a Pottawatomie County woman have been identified, a big break in a cold case disappearance that stretches back to the 1980s.
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Updated: 10:06 PM CDT Aug 7, 2024
The remains of a Pottawatomie County woman have been identified, a big break in a cold case disappearance that stretches back to the 1980s.Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.On May 5, 1983, officials launched an investigation into the disappearance of 19-year-old Melody Ann Jones after she did not show up for work that morning and a family member went by her home to check on her. Inside the home, her husband, Paul Richard Jones, 20, was found dead, with injuries consistent with a homicide, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation reported.>> Download the KOCO 5 AppIn 2017, Pottawatomie County Undersheriff J.T. Palmer said they received a tip, which took them back to the crime scene in Earlsboro.“We dug by hand; we used dogs. We had a backhoe company in a dig out in two or three spots,” Palmer said at the time. “As far as we are concerned, it's a homicide with a missing person who probably was abducted.”Melody Jones’ remains were actually found in 1998, and according to the OSBI, they sat in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner this whole time. The office kept trying to identify the remains, but OSBI said it recently received more resources for testing and were able to positively identify them.Now, Melody Jones' family can have the closure they’ve waited years for.“All they want is closure. They have a spot to bury her at that they've been waiting since 1983 to bury her,” Palmer said.Officials said it’s still an ongoing investigation and no suspect information has been released and no arrests have been made.Anyone with information about the case is asked to call 800-522-8017 or leave a tip via email at tips@osbi.ok.gov.Top HeadlinesWoman finds historic baseball card collection in her old barn house2 Oklahoma women get dangerously sick at Cancun resort, with 1 still hospitalizedInvestigation into deadly plane crash near Sundance Airport ongoingTeacher discounts we found online while back-to-school window shopping2 killed in crash involving semitrailers on I-44 in Tulsa, officials say
EARLSBORO, Okla. — The remains of a Pottawatomie County woman have been identified, a big break in a cold case disappearance that stretches back to the 1980s.
Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.
On May 5, 1983, officials launched an investigation into the disappearance of 19-year-old Melody Ann Jones after she did not show up for work that morning and a family member went by her home to check on her. Inside the home, her husband, Paul Richard Jones, 20, was found dead, with injuries consistent with a homicide, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation reported.
>> Download the KOCO 5 App
In 2017, Pottawatomie County Undersheriff J.T. Palmer said they received a tip, which took them back to the crime scene in Earlsboro.
“We dug by hand; we used dogs. We had a backhoe company in a dig out in two or three spots,” Palmer said at the time. “As far as we are concerned, it's a homicide with a missing person who probably was abducted.”
Melody Jones’ remains were actually found in 1998, and according to the OSBI, they sat in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner this whole time. The office kept trying to identify the remains, but OSBI said it recently received more resources for testing and were able to positively identify them.
Now, Melody Jones' family can have the closure they’ve waited years for.
“All they want is closure. They have a spot to bury her at that they've been waiting since 1983 to bury her,” Palmer said.
Officials said it’s still an ongoing investigation and no suspect information has been released and no arrests have been made.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call 800-522-8017 or leave a tip via email at tips@osbi.ok.gov.
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