STILWELL —
Authorities have identified the man found dead outside a rural Adair County church on Tuesday.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said Michael Wayne Shell, of Stilwell, was found lying in the parking lot of Pleasant Valley Holiness Church by the church’s pastor.
As of Wednesday evening, authorities didn’t know the victim’s identity, and had searched through missing person reports in several counties for possible matches.
OSBI Public Information Officer Jessica Brown said Thursday’s identification of Shell, 45, allows the OSBI’s agents to run multiple leads in the homicide case. The state medical examiner’s office has yet to determine how Shell died, according to Brown, but signs of trauma to the head seem to point to murder.
The church where Shell was found is about 25 yards from the intersection of South County Road 6920 and State Highway 100, near the Adair and Cherokee County lines.
Brown asks anyone with information about Shell’s death to call the OSBI at (800) 522-8017.
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Body found near area church identified
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