In January of 1996, 38-year-old Richard Vaughn Pewo, an affiliated member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, disappeared from Elk City, Oklahoma. At the time he went missing, Richard was described as being six feet tall and weighing approximately 150 pounds, with black hair and black eyes. He had several distinguishing physical characteristics, including multiple scars on his abdomen and a distinctive tattoo on his left arm of a 'little Indian girl' with a bandage on her head and
crutches. The circumstances surrounding his initial disappearance are not widely known, and for many years, his case remained cold with very few details available to the public. His family was left without answers, searching for decades to understand what had become of him.
The investigation into Richard's disappearance continued for years, though the exact details of the efforts are not extensively documented in public sources. The Oklahoma Department of Corrections was listed as an investigating agency in his case. The search for Richard would ultimately span over two decades, a long and painful period for his loved ones who held out hope for his return. The passage of time did little to diminish their desire for answers and closure.
In a significant development, skeletal remains that had been discovered in a wooded area in Choctaw, Oklahoma, on January 11, 1998, were officially identified as those of Richard Vaughn Pewo in March of 2025. The recovered remains were partial, consisting of a skull and a femur fragment. Following this identification, his family was finally able to lay him to rest in April 2025. While the cause of his death remains undetermined, the identification provided his family with definitive knowledge of his whereabouts, allowing them to begin the grieving and closure process after more than 29 years of uncertainty. The case, which began as a missing person report with few leads, tragically concluded with the confirmation of his death, highlighting the painful reality that many families of missing individuals face.Last Seen: Jan 1, 1996
