Official: Long-missing boy presumed dead, relatives arrested

OKLAHOMA CITY – Investigators on Friday arrested the aunt and uncle of a 9-year-old Oklahoma boy who disappeared in 2006 and were searching the couple’s rural property for his remains, according to the local prosecutor.

Rex and Rebecca Clark were taken into custody in the disappearance of their nephew and foster son, Colton Levi Clark, according to Assistant District Attorney Paul Smith. Smith said the arrest warrants allege first-degree murder, child abuse, child neglect and conspiracy to commit a felony, but he said formal charges are not been filed pending a review of an investigative report by the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.

Smith said Colton is presumed dead and that investigators were searching the couple’s rural Seminole County 5-acre property, about 65 miles east of Oklahoma City, for his remains. He said it was unclear whether the Clarks had attorneys and that they’re scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.

“There’s little that can be said at this point,” according to Smith.

Colton was reported missing on April 20, 2006, prompting investigators to launch a wide-scale search across 2,500 acres using helicopters and search dogs. At the time, authorities said his aunt reported that Colton didn’t want to attend a counselling session, and investigators thought he may have run away in part because his backpack was gone.

The case was formally reopened seven months ago, but it wasn’t immediately clear Friday what led investigators to the couple. About five years after the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation announced a $5,000 reward for information about the missing boy. OSBI officials said at the time that Colton and his older brother lived with their aunt and uncle after their parents terminated their rights to the boys.

“Since September 2015, the Sheriff’s Office and the OSBI have conducted numerous interviews, and gathered numerous records in co-operation with the Attorney General’s Multi-County Grand Jury,” according to a news release from the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.

Officials in the Sheriff’s Office did not return phone calls seeking further comment.

Shortly after Colton disappeared, authorities said they searched 2,500 acres around his home and questioned all of his relatives but failed to find any sign of him.

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This story has been corrected in the 3rd paragraph to reflect that the couple’s last name is Clark.