On the late afternoon of September 11, 1988, 43-year-old Oklahoma Natural Gas employee Kenneth Breece was dispatched to a vacant house at 6110 S. 28th W. Avenue in Tulsa to investigate a reported gas leak. Burglars had broken into the abandoned residence and stolen the gas stove, leaving the gas line open so the home filled with flammable vapor. Shortly after Breece arrived, the accumulated gas ignited in a massive explosion. Although he was standing outside, the force of the blast critically injured him; he died at a hospital the next day, September 12, 1988.

Investigators concluded the burglars’ actions directly caused the fatal explosion, and the death has been classified as a homicide with the unknown perpetrators potentially facing second-degree murder charges. The stove was never recovered, no arrests have been made, and the case remains unsolved. If anyone knew who broke into that vacant house or saw a stove being removed from the property, contact authorities with any information.