No leads in continuing search for missing Cherokee citizen Stephen M. Adams
By Travis Snell
Staff Writer
July 2005
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - Tahlequah police and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation continue to search for Stephen M. Adams, a 26-year-old Cherokee man, despite no new leads in the case.
Adams was last seen Dec. 13, 2004, at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah when he took a final exam.
Police said Adams’ girlfriend called him at 11:07 a.m. the day he vanished and said he was giving someone a ride to Keys, a Cherokee County town south of Tahlequah. Adams’ parents became worried and contacted authorities when he didn’t show for work or for another exam, officials said.
Adams is described as a Native American male with brown hair and brown eyes. He is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs about 200 pounds. He usually wears a full beard, police said, and drives a white 1995 GMC pickup with Oklahoma license plate number SCQ-714.
Glory said there are no suspects in the case, but that the TPD is still seeking the identity of a man who may have information about Adams’ disappearance. The man is described as a white male between 40 and 50 years of age, medium build with brown hair and a mustache.
The man was seen sitting in a dark-colored Ford Ranger pickup truck outside the Dollar General store in Tahlequah. The store is next to Adams’ apartment.
"We’ve talked to several people matching that description and none of those (interviews) have turned up," Detective Dale Glory of the Tahlequah Police Department said. "We just continue to follow leads. Anytime anybody calls anything in, we follow up on it to see if it would turn up something so we can hopefully find this young man and give the family some relief."
Adams’ family recently hired a private investigator to look into the case. The investigator, Dick Frye of the Buena Ventura Agency in Oklahoma City, said that Adams’ disappearance could be related to a custody dispute with his ex-wife over visitation rights to their daughter.
Police said Adams had limited visitation rights with his daughter and that he was seeking to change visitation rights in court. Adams had twice been charged with lewd molestation involving his child, only to have both counts dropped.
Officials said that Adams’ parents had also received a threatening phone call telling them to stop the investigation of their son’s disappearance or they would be hurt.
Adams is listed on the National Center for Missing Adults Web site www.theyaremissed.org. Anyone with information is asked to call the TPD at (918) 456-8801.
Travis Snell, (918) 456-0671, ext. 2358
Travis Snell
Link to Report
July 2005 Reports
Last updated on July 10, 2005