Murder on McGee Creek

By SGW Larry D. Luman

(Note: Names have been changed to protect the identities of families involved.)

As drug usage and drug related crimes continue to escalate, our Wildlife Management Areas are no longer necessarily a place to "get away from it all". Game Wardens are increasingly forced to deal with drug related crimes in the routine performance of their duties.

On the hot, Sunday afternoon of June 26, 2005, at approximately 3:45 p.m., I received a call from Game Warden Lt Joe Young advising that Atoka S.O. had called and reported that a person was at McGee Creek State Park wanting to report a missing person on McGee Creek Wildlife Management Area. I called the park office and spoke with State Park Ranger Jim Gillham about the incident. Gillham told me that a man was there that stated that he was with another fellow earlier on the WMA and that they had gotten separated and now he couldn't find his friend. I advised Ranger Gillham that I would meet him and the reporting party, Michael Mallory, at the campground on the WMA.

I contacted Lt. Young back and told him of my plans. Young contacted OHP Trooper Terry Holstine , who runs the tracking dogs for the OHP, and I contacted the sheriff's office back and they agreed to send deputies out. I met Ranger Gillham; Trooper Holstine; Game Warden Lt. Young; Deputy Weeden; Deputy Yarbrough; Michael Mallory; Michaels's son, Sonny; and Silvia Parish, wife of the missing man, Bill Parish, at the campground. I, along with others, interviewed Mr. Mallory about the missing man, that he identified as Bill Parish. Michael said that he and Parish had ridden around since Thursday morning in the Pittsburg, Wesley, Atoka PHA areas and then had come to the McGee Creek WMA on Friday and had walked around parking area 13 and then had moved to the campground, then had walked around in that area.

Mallory said that they had driven there in Parish's black Hyundai car. Michael stated that Parish was barefooted and was wearing black swimming shorts. He went on to say that when they left the vehicle in a southerly direction, that Bill was wearing sandles, but later lost them. He also stated that Bill lost his billfold as it started to get dark. Michael said that he went to the car and retrieved a flashlight and started back toward Bill and the light went out. They then became lost from each other. Michael went on to say that the men hollered at each other back and forth for a while and that Bill would try to scare Michael by making growling sounds, then after a while he didn't hear Bill anymore. Michael stated that he continued to hunt for Bill throughout the night, but didn't find him. Michael said after daylight, he left and went and got his son Sonny, and Bill's wife, Silvia to help look for Bill.

At some point, he returned in his red Ford Ranger pickup. Michael said that he found barefoot tracks on the main road (Canebreak Rd.) that he believed were Bill's. Michael agreed to show us the tracks. Michael said that his feet were sore from looking for Bill. I asked him to remove his shoes so we could look at his feet. He complied. Deputy Weeden photographed Michael's feet. I observed a small blister on the side of one toe, and no other apparent damage to his feet. He said that he had been wearing tennis shoes until his feet became sore, then he changed into boots before he came back. I asked him what size shoe he wore and he said size 10 narrow, but his boots he had on were size 11.

Gillham drove Michael south on Canebreak Rd. and I followed. Michael showed Gillham, The Deputies, Holstine, and myself the south bound barefoot tracks on Canebreak Rd. All of us became increasingly more convinced that these tracks looked like they had been made by Michael, due to the size and characteristics of the tracks. Michael's feet were measured with a tape measure by Gillham and were compared to the length and width of the prints. They appeared to match. Holstine noticed the big toe on one foot turned inward and the prints did the same. The little toe on one foot appeared to be drawn up in the prints and Michael's toe did the same thing as he walked on his bare foot. Michael Mallory, himself, even said that the prints looked like his footprints. I later interviewed Bill Parish's father, and he told me that Barry wore an 8 1 /2 EEE shoe. These prints could not have been made by Bill, as Mallory tried to lead us to believe. Michael denied that he had hurt Bill Parish in any way, because they were best friends. I asked him why that he had waited so long to report Bill's disappearance and he said that Bill told him not to call anybody, that he wouldn't be found if he didn't want to be. It seemed rather odd to me that he had waited from Friday until Sunday to notify authorities of his best friend's disappearance. Both Silvia Parish and Sonny Mallory denied any involvement in the disappearance. Silvia, Sonny, and Michael were told by me that they were free to go, and that we would began a search for Bill.

I directed a largescale search, with area law enforcement, first responders, from Stringtown, Atoka Trailriders on horseback, OHP mules, search dogs from OKC, an OHP airplane, and volunteers. This search continued from Sunday evening until Wednesday evening, then was scaled back, due to no new leads.

I had Biologist Buddy Prather lock the main gate on Sunday night on the WMA to preserve the footprints on Canebreak RD. until photos could be obtained. Early Monday morning Trooper Holstine and myself took photos of the prints. I measured the southbound tracks with my truck odometer, then later with a GPS. The tracks went approximately 3 miles south down Canebreak Rd, then crossed to the west side of the road and then came back north for approximately 1 /4 mile, then disappeared 1 /8 mile north of Mugg's Holler Overlook.

A lot of interviews were conducted within the next week with friends and acquaintances of the missing man and person of interest, Michael Mallory.

Saturday night, July 2, 2005, Lt Joe Young called me and advised that Seth Parish, brother of the missing person, had just called him and said that' Michael Mallory was at Seth Parish's house and was confessing to killing Bill Parish. I called Trooper Holstine and advised him of the events. I drove to Seth's house and Deputies, Stringtown PD, OHP Troopers and Game Warden Lt. Young was there when I arrived. I visited with Seth and he told me that Michael had come to Seth's house and said, " I killed your brother, Seth."

Mallory was taken to Stringtown PD and interviewed. During the night Mallory, confessed to officers that he killed Bill Parish. Mallory offered to show officers where the body was, but after directing officers to the Mugg's Holler Overlook, he suddenly refused to say anything else and refused to point out the exact location of the body. Mallory was then arrested and booked for murder in the Atoka County Jail.

The next afternoon, July 3, 2005, at approximately 3:41 p.m., I received a call that Seth Parish had reported that he had just found his brother's body just north of Mugg's Holler Overlook 300 yds. west of Canebreak Rd., in the same area where the footprints had disappeared on Canebreak Rd., and the same location where Michael Mallory had suddenly locked up the night before. We secured the scene, and the Medical Examiner examined the body and we performed an intense search of the scene and took photos. The Medical Examiner's Office later concluded that Bill Parish died from a gunshot wound to the chest.

Months later, Michael Mallory was tried for the 1st Degree Murder of Bill Parish. The trial lasted for three days, with a long list of witnesses. Some of these witnesses testified, in addition to Parish's brother and law enforcement, that they had heard Mallory, on more than one occasion, admit to having killed Bill Parish. Also, the trial produced witnesses that stated that Mallory and Parish were high on methamphetamine when Bill disappeared. Even Michael Mallory, himself, testified that he and Bill had been using methamphetamine when Bill disappeared. The toxicology report on Parish's body showed the presence of cocaine and methamphetamine. All collected physical evidence, along with witnesses' statements were allowed by the court to be used against Mallory. Michael Mallory was convicted of 1st Degree Murder in the death of Bill Parish and sentenced to life in prison.

Drugs, including meth, or sometimes known as crank, are negatively affecting the way of life, directly or indirectly, of every citizen in America and Oklahoma. Sometimes, this affect even leads to murder between best friends.