Leonard Dirickson

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2:13Today, I'm discussing the case of Leonard Derrickson. In 1998, at a farmhouse in Strong City, Oklahoma, 39-year-old Leonard Derrickson sat down for breakfast with his teenage son. As they were cleaning up, they were interrupted by a mysterious stranger in a truck, inquiring about a horse for sale. It'd been a tough few years for their family farm, so Leonard told his son he was going to leave with the man in hopes of selling one of their horses on another property, and that he'd be back that afternoon. But Leonard remains missing to this day, and his case is now considered one of the most puzzling cases in Oklahoma history.

2:52This is the case of Leonard Derrickson. It's about 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 14, 1998, and 16-year-old Jared Derrickson just finished eating breakfast with his father, 39-year-old Leonard Derrickson, at their 800-acre farm in Strong City, Oklahoma. But their morning is interrupted by an unexpected visitor, an unknown man. This man pulled up to their home in a newer white F-150 truck with a yellow plate on the front. He doesn't exit the vehicle. Instead, Leonard goes outside to speak with him. Jared watches some of this interaction from the window and says he couldn't really get a good look at the man through the windshield, but he doesn't believe it's anyone his father knew.

3:37After a few minutes, Leonard comes back inside, grabs his black faded Carhartt jacket, and explains to Jared that the man is interested in buying one of their horses, according to some reporting, specifically a stud horse. The horses aren't there on their farm, though. They're going to Elk City, Oklahoma, about 30 minutes away, and a bit further to Mobidi, Texas, which is about an hour away. That's where Leonard stores his horses. After this, Leonard asks Jared to finish a few chores while he's gone, and assures him that he'll be back that afternoon. Here's part of Jared's interview with Unsolved Mysteries.

4:13So he told me that he was going to go with him. He said to stay here and go to Elk and get some feed, and go feed the cows, and he'd be back that afternoon. Jared does his chores as he was asked, but the hours start going by into the afternoon, and then into the night, and Leonard still hasn't come home, or even called home to let Jared know what's going on. But Jared doesn't jump to the worst-case scenario here. He just goes to bed like normal, expecting his father to be there when he wakes up. But of course, since we are here today discussing Leonard's case, we know that didn't happen, and the following morning, Jared reports his father missing to the Roger Mills County Sheriff's Office.

4:55According to reporting by the Daily Oklahoman, this is their first missing persons case since 1981, nearly 20 years. This definitely isn't something that this Sheriff's Office is used to handling, but I will say that Sheriff Joe Hay becomes very passionate about finding Leonard very quickly. In nearly every article I found on this case, I saw Sheriff Joe speaking his mind about it, and about Leonard. You're going to hear a lot about him in this episode. It's clear that he knows this area and he knows this man fairly well. So while the sheriff's office as a whole may not have a lot of experience working these cases, it seems that the passion is there.

5:32I mean, Hay knows this man so well that he knows exactly where Leonard keeps his horses. So the sheriff's office checks with the owners of those properties, but no one reports seeing Leonard, or even hearing about Leonard trying to sell one of his horses. It seems that if Leonard did have a horse for sale, he didn't advertise this anywhere. Now, they also check every route from Leonard's home in Strong City to both the property in Elk City and in Mobidi, Texas. Their thinking is that maybe the men got into an accident that hasn't been reported. They physically drive these routes and call in aerial support to check from above as well, but they don't find anything.

6:10Hay immediately thinks that this is odd for Leonard. He told the Daily Oklahoman, quote, this is very unusual for this guy. Occasionally, you have a guy who twists off and goes away for a while, but not this guy. He's not a drinker and not a doper. He's a hardworking guy, end quote. They're pretty stumped in this case, but it's not long before the first reported sighting of Leonard comes into the sheriff's office. And it throws everyone for a loop. This episode of Voices for Justice is brought to you by HERS. There's a lot of noise around weight loss right now. Trends, opinions, medications. It's hard to know what's actually right for you.

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9:23When Leonard Derrickson went missing, no one could figure out why. But there was a sighting of him just about two hours after he left home. A server at the Kettle restaurant in Elk City reported serving Leonard and another man matching the description of the unidentified man that Jared saw. Now, like I told you earlier, Jared didn't get a great look at the guy. He was watching from the window and only saw this man through the windshield. but he did report that the man had a reddish-brown beard, was tall and stocky. The server at the Kettle restaurant describes the unidentified man as white with a reddish-brown beard, long nose, a thick round face, and dark eyes.

10:01She said he was maybe 40 years old, 6 '2", and weighed about 210 pounds. Investigators also showed this server a photo of Leonard, and she confirmed that he was the man that she served that day. She said they both ordered the breakfast buffet. On the surface, it seems pretty cut and dry, but there are some issues and conflicting opinions on this sighting. First, it appears that the Kettle Restaurant only served the breakfast buffet until 11am, making some question the validity of the server's statement, or her memory of the time of the sighting. The next debate was over Leonard having two meals that morning.

10:37Members of his family and Sheriff Hay say that this doesn't make any sense for Leonard to stop for a second breakfast. I've actually found articles of Hay saying this several times. It appears to be a real sticking point for him. And here he is reiterating this to Unsolved Mysteries. Now that's a little odd to us because at 9 o 'clock, Leonard just got through eating breakfast with his son. It's extremely odd to eat two breakfasts in the same day two hours apart. Like I said earlier, when you read Hay's statements to the media about Leonard, it's clear that he was very familiar with this man. which is maybe why he's so adamant about this.

11:16Now, I'm not saying that this is the most important detail in this case, but I just want to make sure you know that this is something that Hay is very passionate about, this belief that Leonard would not have eaten two meals that morning. And again, it is reiterated by Leonard's family, but it seems that there may have been some type of miscommunication between Hay and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. They were also pulled into this case, because in that Unsolved Mysteries episode, we also hear from them, specifically Inspector Cliff Gann, and he says that Leonard didn't seem to eat much at all.

11:50They were sitting there in the restaurant, and the unknown man that we're trying to identify was doing most of the talking, and Leonard was just drinking coffee and listening to the man talk. So we have one agency saying one thing, and another agency saying something different. Quite literally back-to-back in this episode. so like I always say, take that for what you will. What I can say is that in all the sources I found, no one reported anything odd about this sighting. Neither of the men appear to be acting suspiciously. They didn't seem to argue, and it just seemed to be two men sitting down together at this restaurant.

12:30I mean, just my opinion, I could see two people stopping in a restaurant to discuss the possible purchase of a horse. It's a big transaction, but again, it seems that officials seem a bit split on this, with Hay pretty consistently questioning this sighting, and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation appearing to confirm the sighting. Now, while there seem to be some opposing statements from law enforcement, what I will say is that at this point, no one thinks Leonard would have left voluntarily, especially not leaving his children behind. Even the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation tells the media that they do suspect foul play.

13:06And again, while the sheriff's office doesn't really have experience in missing persons cases, they are putting in the work. By the one-week mark of Leonard being missing, the sheriff's office interviewed 71 people in this case. They also created and distributed a sketch of the unknown man using Jared and the server's descriptions of him. By the beginning of April, Hay reports that they followed and closed hundreds of leads in the case. He told the Daily Oklahoman, quote, We have as much now as we did the first day he was reported missing. Now the calls are starting to dwindle down. With most investigations, you usually have a place to start.

13:40We don't even know where to start with this one. End quote. At this point, they have no idea who this stranger is. And they have no motive for why he might want to hurt Leonard, or why Leonard might be compelled to leave his life behind willingly. And it doesn't seem that Leonard really had the means to do so if he wanted to. Most who knew him say that he may have had up to$150 on him when he got into that truck, but that's it. He also left behind an uncashed paycheck, and while he did have a few credit cards, they were mostly maxed out and never used after he went missing. In fact, there were no activities on any of Leonard's accounts after March 14th.

14:20Now I want to read you a few more quotes from Sheriff Hay. Quote, We found no reason why someone would kill him. We've talked to anyone and everyone he had dealings with, and everyone thought the world of him. I'm sure there are a few out there who weren't his friend. We just haven't found them. End quote. Hay also said, quote, Someone asked why anyone would get in with a stranger. Well, that might be true if we were talking about someone from Oklahoma City or Amarillo or Dallas. But out here, where Leonard was born and raised, it comes natural to trust people. End quote. I think Leonard's upbringing and past are important to discuss here, because outside of foul play, the most prevalent theory in this case is that he left on his own accord.

15:06And I could see why that theory is on the table given the last few years of Leonard's life. But let's start from the beginning. Leonard has very strong roots in Oklahoma. Like Hay said, he was born and raised there. And his parents are still in Elk City. According to Hay, he sees them pretty much every day. But outside of his parents, Leonard also built his own family about 30 minutes away in Strong City. He married his high school sweetheart, Kathy, when he was 18. Together, they built up a very successful dairy business on the 800-acre farm. In addition to dairy cows, they also had pigs and horses.

15:40They also had two children together, Jared, and then about two years later, a baby girl named Connie. For about 20 years, Leonard and his wife, Kathy, have this successful marriage and business raising their kids on the farm. But that does change in 1996. That year, Leonard and his wife got divorced. There is a custody battle for the kids. In the end, Leonard's wife takes Connie to live about five hours away in Hammond, Oklahoma, and Leonard and Jared stay on the farm. It's obviously a very sad situation, but by all accounts, Leonard and his ex-wife are on good terms when all is said and done.

16:16However, by the end of 1997, just a few months before Leonard went missing, he was forced to sell his dairy business. According to most reporting, this seems largely due to skyrocketing costs of both feed and milk. Sheriff Hay told the Daily Oklahoman, quote, Leonard was having a lot of financial problems. I don't even think his family realized how bad it was. End quote. Now, business on the farm wasn't completely shut down. They still had pigs and about 15 horses. But the main dairy business was gone. And Leonard picked up a second job working at a local metal company. But it seems that Leonard actually really embraced this change and enjoyed the new gig.

16:56He told his parents that he liked it so much that he hoped to buy the company from the owners one day. So while there was clearly a lot of change in Leonard's life in the year leading up to his disappearance, there doesn't seem to be any clear indicator that he was ready to leave everything behind to start a new life. But about six months into the investigation, there's another mysterious sighting of Leonard Derrickson. looking to transform how you work out at the sculpt society we have workouts for every stage of life from pregnancy and postpartum to perimetopause and midlife we offer life stage fitness programs expert-led nutrition and thousands of classes that help you enjoy movement and feel strong at every stage all from home use code megan30 for your first month free on thesculptsociety.com.

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18:59The next and unfortunately last sighting of Leonard Derrickson happened about six months after he went missing in September 1998. This is when the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation got a call from a man in a bar in Amarillo, Texas. He said Leonard was right there with him in the bar. However, the caller refused to give his name and ended the call. Now, local police were dispatched to the scene, but the caller was gone and they couldn't find Leonard either. The Roger Mills County Sheriff's Office followed up the next day, and the bartender did corroborate the caller's story. Here is Hay again.

19:36The individual at the call stated, I know Leonard Derrickson. I'm from Elk City. I can't give you my name, but he's in this bar. I'm watching him. He's wearing a blue check shirt, and he's drunk. And then the call terminates. We had no reason to disbelieve it. It almost stretched the imagination that a guy would dance around in the bar screaming and hollering, it's Leonard, it's Leonard, and it not be Leonard. I believe he was in the bar. So Hay seems to think that this really was Leonard So at this point, the sheriff's office has an officer sit in the bar for a few days Reporting on exactly how long does differ a bit But they do sit there to see if Leonard or the caller came back into the bar And neither ever did Like the sighting at the restaurant, it seems so promising But doesn't lead to them finding Leonard And the leads really just dry up In the year 2000, Jared gives another interview to the Daily Oklahoman shortly before Leonard's 42nd birthday.

20:37Jared is 18 now, and living with his grandparents in Elk City. Connie is 16 and still living with her mother in Hammond. Jared said he dreams of his father often, adding, quote, I love him a lot. I wish I could see him again. I pray to God he will let me see him again. End quote. Both of Leonard's parents also give statements. His father, Don Derrickson, said, quote, What could have possibly happened? Where could he possibly be? You could imagine a thousand different things. You just don't know. If he's alive, I just want him to come back home. Jared needs him worse than we do. End quote. His mother, Norma Derrickson, said, quote, Now every time I read in the paper or hear on the news that a body was found, I wonder.

21:24I have to check to see if it's Leonard. I've even walked all the canyons around here to see if I might find him. In my heart, I know something bad has happened. He wouldn't have left Jared. They were just too close. End quote. And of course, Sheriff Hay chimed in as well, saying, quote, We really don't know what happened. We know as much now as the first day he was reported missing. End quote. Hay adds that he doesn't know if Leonard is still alive, but he knows he has to be out there somewhere, and he's determined to find him. But again, Leonard's case just sits. And with so little information, the media stopped reporting on his disappearance too.

22:06Really, the biggest break they've had media-wise is that Unsolved Mysteries episode he was featured in about three years after he went missing. And at this point, Hay really seems to have changed his tune. In all of that early reporting, he's confident that Leonard would not have left voluntarily and especially that he wouldn't have left Jared. But here's what he told Unsolved Mysteries. It's entirely possible that Leonard left on his own. I don't know where he would be today. I believe it's possible that he's working as a ranch hand somewhere or on a dairy or a cattle ranch or even horses. I mean, I will say that I do understand the change of heart after a certain amount of time.

22:48Or even that Hay just didn't want to think about the worst-case scenario for Leonard. I can't say for sure, but Hay seems to care deeply for this man and for his family. Which brings me to what Jared said about this on the show. Me and my dad, we was together every day. Every morning we'd go work, do the chores, and I'd go to school. I don't think he would have ever left me and not ever come back to see me or nothing, because we was close, and I don't think he'd ever done that to me. Obviously, it's just heartbreaking. And like I said, that's a sentiment that's been shared by pretty much every person who's commented on this case.

23:31That Leonard and his son were incredibly close, and leaving Jared like that, especially in a time of uncertainty in their family, was just unimaginable to them. Leonard's mother, Norma, says the same thing on that episode of Unsolved Mysteries. She adds that it wasn't just Jared who he wouldn't leave, but his entire family. She stresses that they were just too close for him to do that. I mean, this is a multi-generational business. This is a family who people know. A family who's been here for half a century. It's all Leonard ever knew. What's left behind are really just crumbs. But here's what we know.

24:11The unidentified man has never been found. and neither has his truck. Investigators looked into Jared's description of the vehicle, especially that yellow license plate on the front. At first, they considered whether it might be a New Mexico plate, but that state only requires tags on the back of a vehicle. And there are other states that issued license plates featuring the color yellow, like Pennsylvania and Kansas. So in the end, they weren't really able to do much with this lead. The next issue, the next crumb, is the horse. The horse the unidentified man asked about purchasing was never advertised for sale.

24:49This seems to be a huge sticking point for people in this case. However, I would argue that something like that may have just spread by word of mouth. Maybe Leonard mentioned to someone that he might be looking to sell one of his horses to alleviate some of the financial stress he was experiencing. But that is just speculation. and to this day no one has come forward to say that they told someone about this horse for sale and directed them to Leonard. Which brings me to my next point, the location of Leonard's property. This is a very important detail in this case. He lived on an 800-acre farm in a very rural area.

25:27To get to this home, whoever this man was would have had to know where to go. This has been confirmed by law enforcement and by Leonard's family. This home isn't just off to the side of the road. To get to Leonard and Jared's house, this man would have taken several back roads with this destination in mind. So given that there was no advertisement for a horse for sale, I think it's fair to assume that this man was either familiar with the farm or told where to go. Really, there only seem to be a few possibilities here. One, that Leonard knew this man, arranged this, and left on his own accord to start a new life.