Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons 1

This episode is just the tip of the iceberg of the often overlooked issue of missing indigenous people in Oklahoma. Listen as Julia shares the heart-wrenching stories of Kassaundra Denise Williams Patterson, Dawn Michelle Nakedhead, David Allen Crabtree, and Kendra Nicole Battelo.

We peel back the layers of the unique challenges these cases present – from limited media coverage to bureaucratic indifference – while revealing the relentless hope and resilience of the families involved. Listen to the heartbreaking struggle of Kassaundra's mother, the anguish of Dawn's sister, and the tireless determination of David's mother. Experience the chilling mystery that surrounds Kendra's recent disappearance. This isn't just a podcast episode, it's a call for justice, a critique of systemic issues, and a tribute to the indomitable human spirit.

Avery, Amy. “Haskell police re-open 30-year-old missing persons case.” News On 6. Tulsa, Oklahoma. February 14, 2019
Hales, Donna. “The missing are not forgotten.” Muskogee Phoenix. July 24, 2010.
NamUs #MP55234. 2019, February 6. namus.gov.
Eubank, Mckenna. “‘Oklahoma Missing Persons Day’ gives hope to families.” Fox 25. 2019, April 13. okcfox.com.
NamUs #MP41472. 2017, December 23. namus.gov.
Holt, Ashley. “The 18-year-old cold case Locust Grove never knew about is being investigated by the state.” 2 News Oklahoma. May 11, 2018.
O’Donnell, Brenna. “20 Years and Still Searching: The David Crabtree Case.” missingkids.org. 9 April, 2020.
McKendrick, Kelci. “Family, police searching for missing 24-year-old Enid woman.” Enid News. 2022, July 22. enidnews.com.

For images related to the cases, check out the Instagram.

Transcript

Julia: 0:00

yellow. This is Julia, and murder is bad. I believe we're all aware of the disproportionate media coverage between white, middle class or above persons to every other marginalized group. I want to cover a variety of cases, especially under reported ones. The catch-22 is, however, that under reported cases don't have as many readily available reports. That's kind of how that works. All that being said, I plan on putting together a few of these cases into an episode. This is one such episode. Today I'm going to tell you about four missing Indigenous people out of the state of Oklahoma.

Julia: 1:03

On the morning of May 5th 1988, three sisters woke up at 6 am to find their mother was gone. 33 year-old Kassaundra Denise Williams Patterson had left silver leaf apartments in Haskel l, Oklahoma, sometime between her daughters going to bed and waking up. All her personal belongings were left behind, including her purse, which family members said she never left without Kassaundra. Sister Seqwendolyn Johnson said regardless of what people think, she's still a child of God and I just want to know what happened to her. About a year later, on Mother's Day, Nathella Williams, Kassaundra's mom, received a phone call. There was no one on the line, but other similar calls came in to one where someone was saying mom, mama, are you there? No information about these calls has been reported on.

Julia: 2:05

Nathella continued to put up missing persons posters for her daughter for months, years and decades. According to sequendolin, Nathella refused to have Kassaundra declared dead. Quote she always held out hope. In 2019, assistant chief Kermit Thomas saw Nathella putting up these posters and ask her about Kassaundra. After speaking with her, the Haskell police department reopened the case. Kermit Thomas is now the chief of police in 2019, he said I do have some small bits and pieces of information and I do believe I can solve this case. Unfortunately, no further developments have happened in Kassaundra's case. Nathala, a retired school teacher, had started to struggle with dementia in 2019. Seqwendolyn said I just pray something comes out of this before my mother or I leave this earth. We would just like to know what happened to my sister. On January 25th of this year, Nathella Williams passed away just before her 92nd birthday. Kassaundra would be 66 years old today. She's black and indigenous and enrolled in the Muskogee Creek Nation. She's between 53 and 56 and weighed between 115 and 160 pounds. At the time of her disappearance she had black hair that was straightened and shoulder length and has brown eyes. There is a depression on her left ankle from a bike accident when she was 12 years old. If you have any information, please call the Haskell police department at 918-482-3933.

Julia: 4:00

The next case comes from Fort Gibson, Oklahoma. During the fall of 1991, 16 year old Dawn Michelle Nakedhead made plans to go to a friend's house in Muskegee, about nine miles west of Fort Gibson. They planned on going to a football game. Before turning in for the night, her aunt and guardian, Joyce Green, saw her earlier in the day. On October 18th 1991, don was also seen making a call from a phone booth at a convenience store in Fort Gibson. She did not make it to the football game or her friend's house and no one has seen her since. Don's sister, Brandi Christie, said she was my best friend. She was my protector.

Julia: 4:48

Dawn would be forty-eight years old today. She is an indigenous woman belonging to the Cherokee Nation. At the time of her disappearance she was between five-ten and five-eleven and weighed between one hundred and fifteen and one hundred and twenty-five pounds. She had dark, wavy hair that fell past her shoulders with bangs. She has brown eyes, a large scar on her left elbow and a black birthmark with gray hair on the left side of her head near the nape of her neck. She may also wear glasses or contacts. She was also known to use her maiden name, kirk. If you have any information about Dawn, please contact the Fort Gibson Police Department at 918-478-2610.

Julia: 5:42

In the year 2000, thirteen-year-old David Allen Crabtree told his family goodnight. He was very close to his three siblings, james, cynthia and Christina. He told them I'm going to bed, I love you. Then he snuck out of his bedroom window to meet the three boys who had been waiting for him, and he was never heard from again. David grew up in Locust Grove, oklahoma. He was into sports, particularly wrestling, for which he had won several medals. He was fun-loving and always made people laugh. In the spring of 2000, though, david began rebelling. He started drinking, acting out in school and sneaking out of the house. David's mom, brenda Miller, said David began to act differently On April 5th. David had snuck out of the house and was stopped in prior Oklahoma, fifteen miles away, in a car driven by an older boy. He was cited for breaking curfew and Brenda went to pick him up. Quote David was never argumentative. I would go find him and he would come home. He was never loud and he would never argue with me. He would just come home. His older brother, james Crabtree, remembered David similarly, saying he was never really angry more like I can't believe I got caught, so I had to come home.

Julia: 7:09

On April 8th 2000, his sister, christina, saw three boys waiting for David outside his bedroom window between 7 and 8 pm. They asked her if she wanted to come along, but she refused. James went to check on David around 10 pm, but David was already gone and his bed had not been slept in. The family searched the immediate area and all the places they thought David would go. Brenda said I went around. We went and asked. Nobody had seen him. Then they went to the police. There they knew David had a history of running away and they ended up classifying David as a runaway juvenile. Brenda said they look at him as a treble teen, so they didn't help me, and I don't know if police departments still classify people as runaways, but even if they are runaways, they are still a missing child. Just saying.

Julia: 8:11

In 2017, police chief Brian Hurry saw David on a Facebook page the family had made for him. Hurry explained that when nothing more was reported, the Locust Grove Police Department assumed David had returned home. And I don't know about you, but I don't want my police assuming anything. That's all I'll say. In 2018, chief Hurrey changed David's classification to missing person.

Julia: 8:43

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, or OSBI, weighed in. Special Agent Dale Fine said we know David did have a history of running away, but he always came back home or he was always observed around town with his friends Close to the time of his disappearance. There were unconfirmed sightings of David in Tallahouc, kenwood and Pryor, Oklahoma. Brenda said during an interview in 2018, david, my heart hurts for you every day. Please contact us and let us know you're okay. We love you so much. David would be 37 years old today. He's white and indigenous, belonging to the Cherokee Nation. He has brown eyes and a couple scars, one on the top of his forehead and one on his right eyebrow. At the time of his disappearance, he had black hair in the start of a mustache. If you have any information about David, you can call the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-522-8017 or email at TIPS@osbi. ok. gov.

Julia: 10:04

This last case is the whole reason I chose to start in Oklahoma. Generally speaking, I try not to cover cases that have started in the past couple years or where most of the information is coming from unconfirmed or unchecked sources, but this case does both. On July 25, 2022, kendra Nicole Batello was last seen between 11.30 and midnight in Enid, oklahoma. She was last known to be with her boyfriend and the woman they rented their house from. There was some communication through July 7th, some stuff about sending money for a motel room, but then nothing. Kendra was reported missing on July 12th, though there is some talk about when her mom called the Enid Police Department and when they actually filed it. A woman in Pawnee, oklahoma, did report that Kendra had knocked on her door and asked for a glass of water. On July 20th, her cousin, edna Reyes, said An interesting part of Kendra's disappearance is the response from the Enid Police Department.

Julia: 11:40

States have different laws around submitting missing persons to NamUs or the National Missing and Unidentified Person System, which would technically be NMaUPS, but NamUs sounds better. In 2019, oklahoma passed Francine's Law named for Francine Frost, a person who went missing in 1983 but whose body wasn't found until 2014. It states that law enforcement is required to send all available information to NamUs within 30 days of being reported missing. Kendra's case was not submitted until August 22nd, that's 41 days after she was reported missing. I don't know why it took so long or if there were any penalties. But that's just one grievance family and friends seem to have with the way Enid police have handled Kendra's disappearance.

Julia: 12:47

Kendra had a tumultuous and abusive relationship with her boyfriend. Both had accused the other of various offenses and in June of 2022, kendra's boyfriend was charged with assault and battery by strangulation, but because Kendra was absent from the hearings, these charges were eventually dropped Again. I don't know how Kendra, going missing right before court appearances against her abusive boyfriend, looks to police, but outwardly her boyfriend has not been named a suspect or person of interest, and while I would love to be someone who wholeheartedly believes people can change and not hold someone's past against them, kendra's boyfriend's past does not ease anyone's suspicions. As an 18-year-old, he was arrested for shooting another teenager with the intent to kill, but charges were dropped when the teenager refused to cooperate with authorities. He was also charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon against his girlfriend in 2015. I don't know the details, but I know he ended up marrying this girlfriend in December of 2017, but was separated by 2019, which I can only assume was shortly before he started dating Kendra, because he was taken to court for domestic assault and battery by April of 2020. You don't want to be able to track a relationship through court filings. That's all I'm saying. A year later, when more charges are brought up, kendra goes missing.

Julia: 14:29

Her grandmother, lillian Reyes, said she has a pretty smile when she smiles. I miss her, and her cousin, edna, described Kendra as clever, smart and a beautiful woman with a contagious smile. Kendra will turn 26 on August 24. At the time of her disappearance, she was between 5'7 and 5'8 and weighed between 115 and 130 pounds. She's a black, hispanic and indigenous woman belonging to the Muskegee Creek Nation. She had black buzz-cut hair, but was known to wear long wigs of all colors. She has brown eyes and dimples.

Julia: 15:15

If you have any information, please contact the Enid Police Department At 580-242-7000. If you or somebody you know needs help for domestic violence or intimate partner violence, there are several ways to contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline. You can text START to 887-88. You can go to thehotlineorg to start a chat or, if you're afraid your internet history is being monitored, you can call at 800-799-SAFE. That's 800-799-7233. Thank you for listening. For pictures related to these cases, you can check out Murder Is Bad on Instagram at Murder Is Bad podcast. If you enjoyed this podcast. Please subscribe wherever you listen and, if you're feeling generous, please rate and write a review. Take care of each other and remember murder is bad.