Four Decades Later: Who Killed Melissa Ann Moore? OSBI Knows; Tulsa PD Remains Silent

On the night of March 25, 1984, 22-year-old Melissa Ann Moore was last seen leaving the Chi Omega sorority house on the University of Tulsa campus. She told friends she was heading home to her nearby apartment. She never arrived.

By the next day, Moore was officially reported missing. Her car was found later that afternoon on East Easton Street, miles from where she had last been seen. A witness reported seeing a man park the vehicle around 4:30 p.m., sit inside for a few minutes, then lock the doors and walk away. That man has never been identified. Composite sketches based on witness accounts—both from 1984 and age-progressed renderings—have been circulated for years, but no leads have materialized.

The case took a tragic turn on April 17, 1984. Moore’s body was discovered in Pryor Creek, Mayes County, by bridge inspectors. She was found naked from the waist down, and authorities determined she had drowned. Evidence suggested she had been sexually assaulted. Witnesses reported seeing a man in an El Camino parked on the bridge above the creek around the time of her death. That individual, too, was never located.

For decades, the investigation remained stalled. In June 1984, serial killer Gary Alan Walker—later executed for murdering six people during a brutal crime spree—was briefly considered a suspect in Moore’s case. He was ultimately cleared of any involvement.

Then, in 2010, a former agent with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) came forward with stunning claims. According to the agent, DNA evidence from the scene had been matched to a known suspect who drove a vehicle similar to the one spotted near the site where Moore’s body was recovered. The agent, part of the OSBI cold case unit, offered to expedite testing through the department, but said the lead investigator declined the assistance and later filed a complaint with the agent’s supervisor. That agent publicly claimed in a later interview that authorities have long known the identity of Moore’s killer—but no arrest has ever been made.

In 2011, a Tulsa Police Department detective reexamined the case, submitting additional evidence for forensic testing. Despite renewed efforts, no suspects have been charged.

Melissa Moore’s parents passed away in 2005 and 2006 without seeing justice for their daughter. Today, her brother remains the sole surviving family member still seeking answers in a case that continues to haunt the Tulsa community.

Anyone with information related to the murder of Melissa Ann Moore is urged to contact the Tulsa Police Department at 918-596-9222.