WINFIELD, Kansas – Police now believe foul play was likely involved in the disappearance of an elderly Winfield man.
Seventy-seven-year-old Richard May’s Winfield home has now sat empty for four months. He was last seen in Pawhuska Oklahoma in mid-December and last week police finally got a break in the case after ranch hands at the Tall Grass Preserve, 20 miles north of Pawhuska, found his van in a field.
Police believe he is now dead and foul play is likely involved.
“The area that the van was found, located, is a very remote area,” said Police Chief Danny Parker with the Winfield Police Department.
Parker also added that it is possible May drove his van into the area, but it is unlikely.
Police say the van was in the field for a while, but won’t comment on any evidence found inside it. They have no suspects and no real clue how the van wound up in the remote field.
“We really don’t have any answers to be able to say was it an accident, was it a homicide - we don’t have anything at (this) point in time yet,” said Christopher Smith, Cowley County attorney. “We'll know more when we find him.”
”He's never coming back home,” said Carol Dougherty.
Dougherty had been May’s neighbor for nearly 30 years. She says he was a quiet but friendly man that kept to himself and has no idea why someone would do him any harm.
“He was kind and I'm sure it had to do with someone taking advantage of him,” she said.
Police say their next step is to process the evidence in the van to see if it leads to any suspects. They’ll also have to work out jurisdictional issues with authorities in Oklahoma. Since May was last seen there and the van was found there, this will likely become their case.
