Local
Two bodies found in Texas as search for Norman father and child ends
Authorities in Gainesville found a man and a child during a search for a Norman father and his 4-year-old son. Officials had not confirmed their identities or determined how they died as of Wednesday night.
A man and a child were found dead Wednesday in Gainesville, Texas, during a search for a Norman father and his 4-year-old son, police said. Their identities had not been officially confirmed, and the cause of death was unknown.
The boy and his father were last seen Sunday evening, according to Norman police. The child’s mother reported them missing after going to pick him up from his father and finding that neither was there, Capt. Lee McWhorter said.
Norman police issued an endangered missing advisory Tuesday night, which was later upgraded to an Amber Alert covering Oklahoma and Texas. McWhorter said investigators believed the pair might have gone to Texas, prompting the alert to be issued in both states.
Gainesville police said they contacted a relative of the missing pair and found security footage that appeared to show the man and child. The department’s information was passed to Norman police, but McWhorter said Texas authorities were still verifying whether the people found were the missing father and son. The Texas medical examiner’s office is responsible for official identification.
Court documents filed Wednesday showed the father had been charged with child stealing after the boy did not attend school Monday. The documents also described concerns about the father’s mental health, including increasing paranoia in recent months. Those details are allegations and statements contained in court records; officials had not publicly established a motive or explained the circumstances of the deaths.
The discovery brought a tense, multistate search to a possible end, but key questions remained unresolved Wednesday night. Authorities said identification could be released later in the week.