Duo charged with murder; body recovered from remote area believed to be Henning

Sequoyah County Sheriff Larry Lane Jr. said a body recovered from a remote, wooded area of southern Adair County on Saturday morning could be the body of Ricky D. Henning, 58, who was reported missing by family members on July 23.

Lane said two people have also been charged in Henning’s death after confessing to murdering him after being apprehended in another state.

Lane said the body has been turned over to the state medical examiner’s office for positive identification and cause of death, but as of press time, it’s yet to be determined if it is Henning.

“Several law enforcement agencies teamed up early on Saturday morning to search a remote 200acre area in southern Adair county,” Lane said in a press release issued on Saturday afternoon.

“Officers used ATV’s and some searched on foot for around three hours and finally found the remains,” he said. Lane said his officers and investigators teamed up with Cherokee Nation Marshals, the Adair County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other agencies and volunteers, whom assisted in the search.

The sheriff said Sequoyah County Sheriff’s investigators BR Rutherford and Dwayne Frizzell, who are actively working on the Henning case, were able to obtain information on the possible location of his body after flying to Illinois to interview two suspects, Mose A. Smith, 41, of Stilwell and Kimberly D. Gilbert, 41, of Sallisaw, on Friday.

Ricky D. Henning

Smith and Gilbert were arrested at 1:50 a.m. on Saturday at the Dubuque Law Enforcement Center in Illinois on warrants of willful injury causing serious injury. Smith was additionally charged with eluding police.

A witness told police there that Sara Hines, 40, was allegedly assaulted by the duo after she laid down on a picnic table at Miller Riverview Park in Dubuque. Hines said Gilbert began striking her with a crutch and then pressed a knife to her face, and Smith also struck her with a crutch.

Hines was treated for a nasal bone fracture and a large gash to her forehead, which required at least 20 stitches, according to reports.

Smith and Gilbert left the scene by the time authorities arrived but were later tracked to an area where Smith was reportedly driving and a pursuit ensued, before Smith finally pulled over in East Dubuque.

Lane said following the duo’s confession into Henning’s disappearance and murder, the case was turned over to the Cherokee Nation Attorney General’s Office and warrants were issued for both their arrests because both suspects are native. He said Smith and Gilbert would be extradited back to Sequoyah County after their charges are settled in Illinois.

According to the initial investigation, Rutherford said deputies were dispatched to 113113 S. 4610 Road in Sallisaw on July 23 to take a report regarding Henning missing. There, they met with Henning’s daughter, Misty Bateman, and Chris Hopkins. Bateman said she last spoke to her father on July 11.

Bateman said she tried to call her father again on July 17 and had been trying to reach him ever since she received a call from a cousin days before. Bateman said her cousin told her Henning’s next door neighbor said they hadn’t seen or heard from him in about a week.

Henning’s daughter said she was also told that her father’s dog was still at the residence but Henning was not there.

“Bateman stated that she came to her dad’s house to check and see if he was there, and realized that the dog was not there either,” Rutherford reported. “Bateman stated she spoke with a neighbor who informed her that a friend of Ricky’s had the dog.”

Bateman told investigators when she went inside her father’s house, she found items belonging to other individuals and the house in disarray.

Frizzell reported deputies observed that Henning’s truck, a 2007 Chevrolet, was not parked in the yard anywhere.

“Bateman stated the truck was currently missing as well,” Frizzell said. “She said all of Ricky’s clothes were still in the house and that he never leaves his dog anywhere. She said if he was going somewhere, he would have taken the dog.”

It is believed Smith and Gilbert then left in Henning’s truck and drove to Cave Springs where they asked to borrow gas money from a friend. It was noted Henning was not with them at that time.

The two were stopped in Henning’s truck in Wisconsin but released due to lack of evidence. The two told police they had permission to borrow Henning’s truck but gave conflicting stories regarding his whereabouts, and were forced to leave the truck there.

Smith and Gilbert were then arrested in Illinois after allegedly assaulting Hines, and police discovered they were wanted for questioning in the disappearance of Henning in Sequoyah County and notified authorities here. That’s when the two reportedly admitted to killing Henning and provided details on where his body could be found.