Editor’s Note: Within the historic tales of Okmulgee County lies a series of stories that have remained untold, unsolved and unfinished. The Henryetta Free-Lance is proud to present a series: “Unveiling Shadows: Cold Case Chronicles of Okmulgee County,” a dedicated effort to cast light on the darkest corners of our shared history. Each entry in our series will delve into the depths of Okmulgee County’s most perplexing and enduring mysteries. From the whispers of unresolved disappearances to the silent screams of unsolved crimes, our team is committed to re-examining the evidence, speaking with the experts and listening to the families who have waited years, if not decades, for answers.
– In the early winter chill of 1921, a mystery began on the outskirts of Beggs that would captivate and confound the local community for decades. This is a detailed account of the perplexing events surrounding the murder of a young boy, whose iden- tity would become the center of one of Beggs’ most challenging investigations.
Monday, December 12, 1921: The tranquility of the Wilcox oil camp’s surrounding woods was shattered when two men gathering wood in a secluded ravine stumbled upon a chilling scene. They found the lifeless body of a 17-year-old boy, eerily positioned at the bottom of the ravine. Disturbingly, there were signs that someone had attempted to set the body on fire, with wood piled around it in a deliberate manner. This sinister detail suggested a grim intent to erase evidence of the crime.
The men reported their gruesome discovery, noting the absence of the woodpile during their previous visits that week. This observation hinted at a recent act of violence. Local law enforcement, aided by physicians’ analyses, confirmed the boy had met a violent end. His injuries were severe: a sharp object had pierced his head, evidencing trauma alongside signs of strangulation. Distinctive marks, including a gash over his left eye, bruises, scratches and even fingerprints on his throat painted a macabre picture of his final moments. Curiously, his clothing bore no blood, suggesting he had been dressed post-mortem or moved after his death.
Dressed in two sets of overalls, a khaki shirt, mule skin work boots, two pairs of socks and underclothes, the boy’s attire hinted at his humble origins or perhaps a life of labor. No personal identification was found on him, deepening the mystery of his identity.
Public Viewing and Identification Attempts: In an effort to identify the boy, his body was placed in a casket at City Hall. The response was overwhelming, with over 2,000 people visiting, proving the community’s concern and desire to solve the mystery. Friends of the boy Leo Estes and Marvin Briggs came forward, suggesting he could be Fred Smith from Atoka, Oklahoma, who had arrived in Beggs with them seeking work. Estes and Briggs were employed as dishwashers at the Liberty Café but previously held jobs as Teamsters for a contractor in Okmulgee.
As word spread, various attempts were made to confirm the boy’s identity. A sheriff ’s wire to Atoka led to a reply from a woman who, despite being certain the description matched her brother, could not visit due to illness and financial hardship.
Thursday, December 15, 1921: Harry Carter, claiming to be a relative of Fred Smith, arrived after community members provided funds for his journey. Standing at the foot of the casket, Carter solemnly declared “That is Fred alright,” upon seeing the body, a statement that momentarily pierced the veil of uncertainty. Carter’s subsequent identification of a pipe found with the body further cemented the belief that the victim was indeed Fred Smith.
“Fred had taken it with him when he left home in Atoka on Friday evening about 4 p.m.,” Carter told the officers.
Carter shared tales of Fred’s bravery, painting a picture of a young man with a restless spirit and a bold heart. He recounted a recent event in Colgate, where Fred’s courage had been the talk of the town. After 200 men refused to go down into a coal shaft to bring out Steve Sabo, the alleged killer of an 18-year-old girl. Smith volunteered to go down into the abandoned shaft. He brought Sabo out, overcome by gas fumes. This act of valor, retrieving a suspected murderer when others balked, had earned Fred a makeshift reward from the grateful miners, a story Carter relayed to police officers “He came home a few days after the affair in Colgate,” Carter said, “and I’ve asked him where he got his new clothes. He told me he had been given a ‘jackpot’ for bringing a murderer out of a coal mine in Colgate. We did not believe him then, but later, while me and my wife were in Colgate, a merchant pointed Fred out to us, as being the hero who captured Sabo.”
According to the statements of Carter, Smith had been roaming over the country since he was 14 years old, he served a year in the army when he was 15 years old, where he had been placed by Carter and his wife, believing that it ‘might reform the boy,’ his parents are dead. “We never knew where he was at.”
Carter told the police “sometimes he would come home for a few hours, usually while I was not there, and then would leave again not to be heard from for a month or more; he never had any money and did not like work. When he was home last Friday, my wife gave him 15¢ to buy smoking tobacco with.” Upon viewing the body, Carter’s immediate recognition and subsequent identification of a personal item – a pipe – seemed to confirm the boy’s identity as Fred Smith. Yet, doubts lingered as Carter shared stories of Fred’s bravery and wanderlust, painting a picture of a young man who had roamed far and wide from an early age.
Arrests and Release: About one week later, the plot thickened with the arrest of Roy Martin and Joe McMurray, suspected due to their proximity to the crime scene days before the discovery. Despite initial suspicions and their acknowledgment of camping near the site, the lack of concrete evidence led to their release.
Buried Alive? Just as the community began to accept the resolution of the boy being Fred Smith, an astonishing twist occurred. Fred Smith, presumed dead, reappeared alive in Atoka, leaving everyone stunned and questioning: If Fred Smith was not the boy in the grave, then who was?
Another woman identified the boy as the son of a Mrs. C.M. Smith of Slick. Officers sent a wire asking for information.
Will further investigations shed light on the true identity of the boy and bring closure to this decades-old mystery?
Join us next week in the Cold Case Chronicles as we dive deeper into this perplexing case, exploring the twists and turns that led to one of the most bewildering mysteries in Oklahoma’s history. Who was the boy buried under the guise of Fred Smith, and can justice ever be served in this case of mistaken identity and unresolved tragedy?
