Four individuals were discovered dead at what seemed to be a marijuana grow in Oklahoma, according to investigators, who said Monday that they were looking for a suspect.
According to a statement from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the unidentified victims were found after deputies from the Kingfisher County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a hostage situation.
A probable suspect or the victims were not named in the statement, nor were there any other details concerning the hostage situation or the four victims’ deaths.
According to NBC station KFOR of Oklahoma City, the event resulted in the injury of a fifth individual. There was no immediate word on their health.
A drone and a helicopter were observed flying overhead on Monday as armed agents were seen conducting building-to-building searches on the ground, according to KFOR.
The station quoted Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Capt. Stan Florence as saying that the 10-acre location of the killings was thought to be a marijuana farm.
Investigators claimed to have discovered the farm’s grow license after medical marijuana use became allowed in the state in 2018, according to the station. According to KFOR, it is unclear whether it is valid.
It wasn’t immediately obvious who owned the property or managed the supposed business. This year, the property was listed as an “operational grow” with 5,000 square feet of growing space on a commercial real estate website.
The price of the property is $999,999. An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by the sales agent in charge.
The area formerly belonged to a dairy farm, according to Brandon Walker, a neighbour, but in more recent years, an investment group purchased the business at auction and resold it.
He said the new owners, whom he didn’t know personally, converted it into a marijuana grow and built a panel fence around the site as well as numerous “hoop houses,” or temporary greenhouses.
There are 50 of these grow rooms, according to the property listing, plus a tiny milk barn that was also turned into one.
When a contractor approached Walker, 42, who owns a spray foam insulation company, to perform insulation work at the farm, he stopped by the property about two years ago. He claimed that although he didn’t complete the task, he did observe that in addition to the hoop houses, there were numerous individuals who appeared to be labourers.
Walker admitted that he was unaware of any potential causes for the deaths. He continued, “I’m quite sure everyone around here is using their 2nd Amendment rights, but the suspect is still on the run.”
