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August 18, 2011

Judge signs order to empanel grand jury

By BOB GIBBINS Staff Writer

TAHLEQUAH — A judge Wednesday afternoon signed an order empaneling a grand jury to investigate the disappearance of possible death of Stephen Adams.

District Judge Darrell Shepherd has ordered a panel to convene at 9 a.m., Monday, Sept. 12, and continue its duties until a final report is issued and the jury is discharged by the court. The order also directs Court Clerk Shelly Kissinger to order 100 names of individuals from the administrative director of the courts.

Those people will then receive a summons from Kissinger’s office to appear for possible selection as grand jurors.

Carl Adams, Stephen’s father, filed a petition seeking to empanel the grand jury July 1 and Shepherd ruled the petition met the legal requirements necessary to circulate it for signatures. Mark Collier, a Tulsa attorney, has represented Carl Adams.

Stephen went missing in December 2004 after completing a class at NSU. He called his girlfriend to tell her he would see her after giving a man a ride, but was never seen again. His truck has also not been since that time.

The petition states he was last seen at a Cookson convenience store.

Cherokee County Election Board Secretary Connie Parnell certified 1,298 signatures on 124 pages of grand jury petitions earlier this week. Shepherd’s order states that number of signatures is sufficient to meet the requirements of the state constitution.

Tahlequah police, Cherokee County sheriff’s deputies and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation have been involved in the case.

District Attorney Brian Kuester’s office will serve as the panel’s legal advisers.

 

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