On a June evening in 1978, Sandra Kay Carter Davis, a 35-year-old mother of five, visited Ray's Bar in Sallisaw, Oklahoma. This would be the last time she was seen alive. After she failed to return to her mother's home where she and her daughters were living, she was reported missing. For months, her family and authorities were left with no answers regarding her whereabouts.
The grim answer to her disappearance came nearly six months later, over the Thanksgiving holiday.
On November 22, 1978, two hunters and their children discovered skeletal remains in a shallow grave, only about eight to ten inches deep, in a remote field at the base of Wild Horse Mountain, south of Sallisaw. Personal effects found at the scene helped to identify the remains as those of Sandra Kay Carter Davis. Investigators believe her body had been in the shallow grave for at least six months, consistent with the time she went missing.
The evidence found with her remains pointed to a violent end. Her blouse was stained and had cuts, and her body showed signs of broken ribs, leading investigators to believe she had been stabbed to death. The Oklahoma State Medical Examiner determined her cause of death was consistent with homicide. While her blouse and bra were still on her remains, her pants and underpants had been found neatly folded underneath her body. Her shoes were never located, and no murder weapon was ever found.
The investigation into Sandra's murder has spanned decades but has been hampered by the passage of time. Early in the investigation, a local man named Herman Edward Lamb Jr. was considered a suspect, but there was not enough evidence to indicate his involvement. In 2013, there were reports of DNA evidence being tested, but the outcome of that testing is unknown. Despite the efforts of the Sequoyah County Sheriff's Office and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the case grew cold. To this day, no arrests have been made, and the murder of Sandra Kay Carter Davis remains unsolved.
