A family gathering in Okemah, Oklahoma, on the evening of August 7, 2021, ended in tragedy when 31-year-old Timothy Ray Buckley was shot and killed. Buckley, born February 14, 1990, was shot four times during the incident and died at the scene, leaving his family and the community devastated.

Authorities say the shooter was Buckley’s cousin, 22-year-old Elijah Dewayne Hicks, who fled after the shooting. The manhunt that followed involved federal and other law enforcement agencies because the killing occurred within the Muscogee Nation Reservation and the suspect is a member of a federally recognized tribe. Prosecutors told a jury that Hicks intentionally killed his cousin; the defense argued self-defense, saying Buckley had been violent when intoxicated and charged at Hicks, who testified he fled because he did not believe a self-defense claim would be believed. The jury convicted Hicks on all counts in February 2022.

Did anyone in Okemah know Timothy’s routines or remember the gathering that night?