Melissa Ann Darling, 33, vanished from the Choctaw Casino and Resort in Grant, Oklahoma, on June 10, 2011, at about 1:30 a.m., six days before her 34th birthday. Surveillance shows her leaving the casino with a man identified as Jeremy Blake Upchurch; reports say she was following him in her own vehicle, a black Ford Sport Trac. Around 1:50 a.m. a call was placed from Melissa’s cell phone to a person who lived roughly a mile from the casino, and the phone went inactive after that call.
A few days later Melissa’s locked black Ford Sport Trac was found abandoned near Hugo Lake with two flat tires. Law enforcement conducted extensive searches of the area, including use of cadaver dogs. Multiple agencies have been involved in the investigation, with the Sulphur Springs Police Department listed as the primary investigator. Jeremy Blake Upchurch has been identified as a person of interest because of his criminal record. Foul play is suspected; Melissa’s two young children were left without their mother. Her family had her legally declared deceased in 2021, but she remains listed as a missing person and the case is open.
Did anyone at the Choctaw Casino or in the Grant–Hugo Lake area see Melissa or her Sport Trac that night or in the days afterward?
