Gary Wayne Garrison

In the late summer of 1985, the rural quiet of Payne County, Oklahoma, was shattered by a brutal discovery that has left a family with unanswered questions for decades. On August 12, two men, Gary Wayne Garrison, a male, and his friend, Richard Lynn Bolin, were found deceased on the side of a dirt road. The location was remote, situated three miles west of Highway 18, a detail that only deepened the mystery of their final moments. An examination by the state's Medical Examiner would later confirm the violent nature of their deaths: both men had been shot multiple times. Richard Bolin was 27 years old at the time of his murder.

Details about Gary Garrison’s life—his age, his family, his work, and his dreams—remain elusive, lost to the passage of time and the scarcity of publicly available records. He and Richard were discovered together, their lives violently ended in the same tragic event, suggesting a shared and terrifying final chapter. What brought them to that isolated dirt road in Payne County and who they encountered there are questions that have echoed through the years without an answer. The lack of a known motive or any immediate suspects left their loved ones grappling not only with immense grief but also with a profound and painful uncertainty.

The investigation into the double homicide was launched immediately, handled by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI). In 1985, forensic science was a rapidly evolving field, but it lacked the sophisticated DNA testing and digital tracing methods that are central to modern police work. Investigators would have relied on traditional methods: examining the crime scene for physical evidence like shell casings, interviewing friends and family of the victims to piece together their last known movements, and chasing down any potential leads or rumors that surfaced in the community. Despite their efforts, the trail went cold. No arrests were ever made, and the case file, filled with the stark facts of the crime, was eventually relegated to the archives of unsolved homicides.

Payne County, located in the north-central part of Oklahoma, is a region with a rich history tied to the Land Run of 1889. It is home to the city of Stillwater and Oklahoma State University, making it a blend of rural landscapes and academic life. The discovery of two murder victims in such a pastoral setting would have been a significant and unsettling event for the local community, a stark reminder that violence can intrude anywhere. For the families of Gary Garrison and Richard Bolin, the years that followed were marked by a quiet and persistent pain, the kind that accompanies a loss without closure.

Today, the double murder of Gary Wayne Garrison and Richard Lynn Bolin remains an active and open investigation, managed by the OSBI's dedicated Cold Case Unit. This small group of investigators is tasked with re-examining old, unresolved cases, hoping that new technology, a fresh perspective, or a long-overdue tip can finally shed light on the truth. Decades have passed, memories may have faded, and witnesses may have moved or passed on, but the hope for justice endures. The OSBI continues to believe that someone, somewhere, holds a piece of information that could be the key to solving this crime.

As of October 2026, there has been no public identification of any suspects or a motive in the killings. The case stands as a quiet testament to the enduring nature of grief and the long shadow cast by an unsolved crime. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation urges anyone with any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to come forward. Investigators can be contacted at their tip line at 1-800-522-8017 or by email at [email protected]. For the families of Gary Garrison and Richard Bolin, any new lead represents the possibility of finally understanding what happened on that lonely road in August of 1985.