TECUMSEH, OK — Authorities in Pottawatomie County say they found the remains of a missing Oklahoma man buried at the home where he lived, more than two weeks after he was first reported missing. Two women connected to the residence are now jailed as investigators continue to piece together what happened.
The Oklahoma State Medical Examiner’s Office identified the remains as 47-year-old Troy Tolton. He had last been seen on July 31 and was reported missing on Aug. 13, according to the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators say the case shifted from a missing-person search into a death investigation after officers searched the property and found human remains buried there.
Investigators trace Tolton’s last known movements to July 31
Lt. Dakota Black, the lead investigator on the case, said Tolton was last known to have left his home around noon on July 31. He was believed to be headed toward the Oklahoma City area to help a family member move, then planned to stop in Del City to pick up a trailer.
He never reached either location, Black said. That gap in his planned travel became a major focus for investigators as they worked to reconstruct his final hours and determine where he went after leaving home.
By Aug. 15, officers located Tolton’s vehicle near 104th Street and Peveley Road. Black said it had been left on the side of the road and was empty when deputies found it. A later search of the vehicle did not turn up Tolton, pushing investigators to look deeper into his movements and the people around him.
From there, detectives used interviews, search warrants and electronic evidence to continue the case. Black said those steps eventually led investigators back to the property where Tolton lived.
Search warrant leads deputies to buried remains on the property
Court records say investigators obtained a search warrant for the residence after gathering additional evidence. The probable cause affidavit says Tolton lived there with his fiancée, Agnes Crenshaw, and her sister, Monica Pacheco.
During the search, investigators found human remains buried on the property, according to Black. The remains were taken to the medical examiner’s office for identification and further examination.
Black said the discovery led to immediate arrests. Deputies took Crenshaw and Pacheco into custody after the remains were found, and both women now face complaints tied to the handling of a dead body.
The sheriff’s office has not publicly described the full condition of the burial site, but investigators say the discovery marked a turning point in the case and confirmed that Tolton was no longer simply missing.
Affidavit describes reported tensions before Tolton disappeared
Investigators also looked closely at what they said were inconsistencies in Crenshaw’s statements and what they described as limited communication and follow-up from both women. Those details appeared in court records as detectives tried to determine what happened before Tolton vanished.
The affidavit says one prior incident involved an argument between Crenshaw and Tolton days before he disappeared. It also says a friend of Tolton told police that he saw an argument between Tolton and Pacheco and claimed Pacheco fired a gun during the dispute.
Those accounts are part of the broader timeline investigators are reviewing, but authorities have not said whether they can directly tie either incident to Tolton’s death. The statements, however, appear to have become important pieces of the case as deputies worked through witness interviews and supporting evidence.
Police have not released additional public details about the nature of the argument or what may have led to the reported firearm discharge.
Rental records for an excavator draw more scrutiny
Another detail in the affidavit involves equipment rented after Tolton disappeared. Court documents say Pacheco rented an excavator on July 31 and returned it on Aug. 3.
Investigators have not said publicly how they believe that machine may have been used, but the rental timeline is part of the evidence they reviewed while tracing activity on and around the property. The dates place the rental squarely in the period immediately after Tolton was last seen.
That timing is now one of several facts under review as authorities examine whether the disappearance and the buried remains are connected. At this stage, officials have not described any final conclusion about the excavator’s role, if any, in the case.
The sheriff’s office says the investigation remains active and that additional facts could still emerge as the evidence is processed and reviewed.
Crenshaw and Pacheco remain jailed as homicide questions continue
Crenshaw and Pacheco were arrested on complaints of unlawful removal of the dead and desecration of a human corpse. They are each being held on a $500,000 bond, according to authorities.
Investigators say preliminary injuries appear consistent with homicide, but they are waiting on confirmation from the medical examiner before drawing firmer conclusions. Officials said additional charges could be filed depending on that final determination.
For now, the case remains a developing criminal investigation centered on Tolton’s disappearance, the buried remains found at his home, and the events that followed. The sheriff’s office has not said when the medical examiner is expected to complete the next stage of the examination.
Black said the remains were recovered from the property and sent for identification, which ultimately confirmed the identity of the missing man. That confirmation closed one part of the search while opening a larger question about how Tolton died and what happened in the days before his body was found.
