SHAWNEE, OK — Two people were arrested after investigators found human remains buried on a Pottawatomie County property while looking into the disappearance of Troy Tolton. Deputies said they had developed enough probable cause to get a search warrant in the Pink area.
During that search, authorities said they uncovered the remains of a dead person buried on the land. The Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office said the body has not yet been identified, and officials are waiting for confirmation from the Medical Examiner’s Office.
Search warrant in the Pink area led investigators to the buried remains
The discovery happened after deputies continued investigating Tolton’s disappearance and built a case for a search warrant. The warrant was carried out in the Pink area of Pottawatomie County, a rural part of the county east of Oklahoma City.
Authorities have not said what prompted the original missing person investigation, but they did say the search turned up remains buried on the property. That finding shifted the case from a disappearance investigation to a broader criminal inquiry.
Deputies have not publicly described the property or explained how long investigators had been searching for Tolton. They also have not said whether the remains found on the land are believed to be Tolton’s.
Two arrests were made on suspicion of abuse of a corpse-related offenses
The sheriff’s office said the investigation led to the arrests of two people on suspicion of unlawful removal of the dead and desecration of a human corpse. Those accusations suggest investigators believe the handling of the remains may have involved criminal conduct.
At this stage, the two people have not been formally charged, and KOCO 5 has not released their names. Authorities are withholding identities until the charging process moves forward.
No additional details have been released about what role, if any, the arrested people may have had in Tolton’s disappearance or in the burial of the remains.
Medical Examiner identification will determine the next phase of the case
Officials say the identity of the remains remains unknown until the Medical Examiner’s Office completes its work. That determination will be important for deciding whether the discovered body is connected to Tolton’s case.
If the remains are confirmed as Tolton’s, investigators would likely be looking at a homicide or other criminal case layered onto the missing person investigation. For now, though, authorities are not making that link public.
The sheriff’s office has kept its comments limited to the facts of the discovery and the arrests, leaving major questions unanswered while the identification process continues.
Pottawatomie County authorities have not said when more information may be released
Officials have not given a timeline for when the Medical Examiner’s Office may identify the remains or when additional charges, if any, might be filed. That means the investigation remains active and open-ended for now.
Law enforcement has also not said whether anyone else could face arrest in connection with the property search or the missing person case. The sheriff’s office has released only a small amount of information as the investigation develops.
For Tolton’s family and the Pottawatomie County community, the discovery adds a grim turn to a missing person case that was already unresolved. The next key development will be whether investigators can confirm whose remains were found on the property.
What remains unknown as investigators wait for confirmation
Several important questions remain unanswered, including how long the remains had been buried and whether investigators believe there could be additional evidence at the site. Authorities have not disclosed those details.
The sheriff’s office has also not said what led them to the Pink-area property or what specific evidence supported the search warrant. Until the Medical Examiner’s Office makes a positive identification, the connection between the remains and Tolton remains unconfirmed.
Even so, the arrests signal that deputies believe the evidence they found goes beyond a missing person inquiry. For now, the case centers on the buried remains, the two arrests and the still-unfinished effort to identify the dead person.
