Preston L. Patch Higgins, a 66-year-old longtime Elkins-area resident, was found dead at his Ward Road home south of Elkins on Monday, November 13, 2023. What was first reported as a sudden death became a homicide investigation after West Virginia State Police discovered Higgins in his driveway with a gunshot wound to the chest; later accounts also noted a bruise or abrasion to his forehead. Obituaries described him as a musician and familiar local figure who had been in his usual health before his death.

Investigators say crime scene evidence and witness information focused attention on Dallas Ray Bryant, a Harman resident in his late sixties. Authorities reported Higgins and Bryant were seen together that afternoon at a Smoker Friendly liquor store in Elkins, and Bryant was arrested on November 17, 2023 and initially charged with first-degree murder. After the arrest, police reported Bryant allegedly told them he had thrown the gun over a guardrail on Rich Mountain Road. No other alleged shooter or co-defendant has been identified in reports to date.

Did anyone in the Elkins area see Higgins or Bryant together on November 13, 2023, or have information about what happened that afternoon?