SALINA, Ok — On a hot summer day in July 1987, families gathered at a popular swimming spot east of Salina to cool off and have fun.
Then, a single gunshot changed everything.
Someone shot and killed Roy Dale Cox, 23.
"About 3:00, he was standing by his truck near the passenger side of his vehicle, and a shot rang out from an unknown location, striking Mr. Cox. Of course, friends and bystanders that were nearby at first thought it was a firecracker because it was summertime and people were out there having a good time and then they realized that he had been shot and he fell to the ground," said Tammy Ferrari of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
Witnesses said someone called out Cox's name just before the shot was fired — investigators think that shows someone targeted him, not a random shooting.
"Recent information that we have received from witnesses was that somebody actually yelled out his name of Roy Dale right before the shot rang out," Ferrari said.
The motive is unclear.
Investigators think there may have been some criminal activity involved, but witnesses paint conflicting pictures of Cox. Investigators also believe the shooter hid in the tree line when to fire the shot, but that is just a theory.
Nearly four decades later, the case remains unsolved — and the pain of not knowing deepened for Cox's family.
"At the time, the witnesses are saying they didn't see specifically like a vehicle. Nobody saw anybody with a weapon that day... it just makes it a little more difficult because you don't have you know several of the people aren't available that were necessary in that world back then," Ferrari said.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is still investigating this case. Anyone with information about this case should come forward.
If you have information about this case, contact the OSBI.
The tipline is 1-800-522-8017
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