Oklahoma's Cold Case Files: Jessie Yancey

A Cherokee county man disappeared in May of 1994.

The story of Jessie Yancey is considered a cold case even though no one ever found his remains.

“There’s sanctity of life and all individuals whether they’re into something that might be against the law, it doesn’t matter. Everybody has a right to live,” said District Attorney Jack Thorp.

Thorp is hoping to get answers in Yancey’s case.

Investigators have reason to believe he may have been murdered near Highway 10.

“The Highway 10 area is just outside of Tahlequah and it kind of runs near the Illinois River,” said Thorp.

2 News asked Thorp if investigators searched the Illinois River for Yancey’s body, “The Illinois river is not a body of water that is typically used if you were going to dump a body. It’s shallow in a lot of places, the water is moving and anything that goes into the river will be ultimately be discovered. So, generally when an individual wants to dump a body, they are looking for a body of water that is deeper and doesn’t involve currents."

As far as a motive in this case, Thorp believes Yancey may have been involved in distributing controlled substances.

“One of the things that we knew is that Jessie Yancey was involved in controlled and dangerous substances in the Cherokee County area, and so that’s what we believe is a motive,” said Thorp.

Without a body or even a vehicle to process, this case remained cold for years.

“You know there are only certain things that you can tell without having the body present and without having the body examined and that’s one of the reasons why we really want somebody to come forward to tell us what they know about him and what happened in the case to hopefully lead us to the body,” said Thorp.

Anyone with information about the disappearance of Jessie Yancey can contact the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.

More from 2 News Oklahoma

• 'A sense of normalcy' | Football returns to Barnsdall

  Brodie Myers

• 'Piano man' weighs in on Celebrity Restaurant demolition

  Isabel Flores

• Check Scam: Retired police officer targeted after listing a sofa on Craigslist

  Cathy Tatom

• USA BMX Foundation teams up with Discovery Lab to develop new exhibit

  Karen Larsen

Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --

• Download our free app for Apple , Android and Kindle devices.
• Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
• Like us on Facebook
• Follow us on Instagram
• SUBSCRIBE on YouTube