Remains identified as woman missing from Earlsboro since 1983

Melody and Paul Jones. Paul Jone was found stabbed to death at his home in 1983 and Melody disappeared without a trace. DNA analysis at the Medical Examiner's office has determined partial remains found back in 1998 are those of Melody Jones. Photo Credit: Provided/FILE
Kim Morava
The Shawnee News-Star
kimberly.morava@news-star.com

For more than 41 years, the 1983 death of Paul Richard Jones, 20, of Earlsboro, and the disappearance of his wife, Melody Garton Jones, 19, have remained an unsolved mystery in Pottawatomie County.

Over the years, many different investigators from the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, have worked on this case.

But on Wednesday, newly acquired resources through the state Medical Examiner’s office that allowed for more extensive testing of unidentified remains finally gave the family – and local investigators – some answers with a major development in this case.

Booth said a partial unidentified skull that was discovered in Seminole County back in 1998 was matched through DNA analysis and the new testing procedures and resources, proving conclusively that those remains belong to Melody Garton Jones.

Wednesday afternoon, news of that DNA match and confirmation was shared with members of Melody’s family, including siblings who had provided detectives with DNA samples for this case back in 2012, the sheriff said. And while the family now knows for certain that Melody is deceased and where her remains were found, there are still many unanswered questions as to how and why she died, but the investigation in ongoing.

According to previous sheriff’s investigative reports, Melody spent the day of May 4, 1983 fishing with her family at Shawnee Twin Lakes, not too far from her home in Earlsboro. Melody was with all six members of her family – three younger sisters, a younger brother, as well as her mother and father. After spending the day fishing, the parents took the younger siblings home, while Melody’s brother Randall drove her back to the house she shared with her husband, Paul Richard Jones.

The case reports show Randall dropped his sister off at home around 10:30 p.m. that night – it was dark, but Randall pulled his car up to the back of the house so Melody could get to the main entrance easily, case reports show. He said he saw light from inside the house flood onto the lawn as she entered her home.

But after Melody failed to show up for work at the Dairy Queen in Seminole the next morning, her mother went to the home to check on her. Paul was found stabbed to death inside the residence and all of Melody’s belongings, including her purse and eyeglasses, were still there. The couple’s car was parked in the driveway, but Melody was missing.
According to the OSBI, which has been investigating this case for many years as well, investigators searched the surrounding area of the home on foot and horseback, covering more than 160 acres, while a helicopter covered 6-square miles. They found no sign of Melody or any clues about her disappearance. Melody was never seen or heard from again and Paul’s homicide was never solved.
In October of 1998, skeletal remains were discovered in rural Seminole County and transported to the Office of the Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner for positive identification. Over the years, the OSBI reports the Medical Examiner’s Office continued working to identify those remains and recently acquired the necessary resources needed for additional testing. On August 7, 2024, those remains were positively identified as Melody Garton Jones.
Although four decades have passed, Wednesday’s development does give the family some answers, although many questions still remain.
“I’m excited the family finally has some type of closure,” Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Lt. Scott Hawkins said about the match and identification, but he said the investigation into this case is continuing.
Anyone with additional information on this case is asked to contact the OSBI at tips@osbi.ok.gov or 1-800-522-8017.
Investigators still hope anyone with information on this case will come forward and share what they know.
The OSBI released that its investigators are grateful for their partnership with the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office and the Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office in this case.
Watch for updates.

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