Account
Oct 01, 2010
Oct 12, 2023
Ray
Johnson
50
34
74 inches
75 inches
230 lbs
250 lbs
Black / African American
Male
In the late hours of September 11, 2008, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 34-year-old Ray Nathaniel Johnson, a local auto dealership owner, spoke to his wife on the phone. He mentioned he had to tow a vehicle and would be home shortly after. This was the last time she would ever hear from him. Ray, a father of six, was last seen around 11:30 p.m. driving a white 2000 Chevrolet Impala he had recently acquired for his business, Straight Up Auto Sales. The vehicle was a former police car, still equipped with police decals and lights, a detail that adds a strange layer to the unfolding events. When he failed to return home, his wife's concern grew, leading her to his dealership. Upon her arrival at the locked car lot, she found the Impala. The state of the vehicle was immediately alarming and out of character for the meticulous business owner. The car was unlocked, and a window was rolled down. A strong odor of bleach emanated from the vehicle, and inside the trunk, a disturbing discovery was made: Ray's baseball hat and one of his shoes, which was stained with blood. The trunk itself appeared to have been cleaned with bleach, suggesting a deliberate attempt to destroy evidence. The scene pointed towards a violent struggle, and due to these unsettling circumstances and his dependable nature, police quickly classified him as an endangered missing person, suspecting foul play. Years went by without answers, leaving a painful void for his family. A significant break in the case seemed to appear in July 2015 when Gregory Jerome Epperson, a cousin of Johnson's wife, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection to Ray's disappearance. This development stemmed from a witness who came forward, claiming Epperson had forced him at gunpoint to help dispose of a body in a creek. Forensic evidence seemed to corroborate this account, as blood found in the vehicle allegedly used to transport the body was a familial DNA match to the blood discovered in Ray's Impala. However, just as a trial was about to begin in January 2016, the charges against Epperson were unexpectedly dropped due to a lack of sufficient evidence, bringing the investigation back to a standstill. Ray Nathaniel Johnson has never been found, and his case remains an open wound for his loved ones and the community. The initial hope brought by an arrest dissolved into further uncertainty, leaving the central question of what happened that September night unanswered.
Sep 12, 2008
Tulsa
Oklahoma
Tulsa County
9118
Tulsa Police Department
Tulsa
Oklahoma
Tulsa County
74103
Joe Campbell
Detective Sergeant
600 Civic Center, Oklahoma
9185969143
Local
Law Enforcement
2008-060860
2008-09-12
Tulsa Police Department
Black
Brown
Brown
No
06/16/2026
