Investigators Searching for Pastor's Killer; Family Searching for Strength to Forgive

OKLAHOMA CITY - Investigators continued their search for an Anadarko pastor's killer Monday while family and friends gathered to remember her life and ministry at a funeral service in Oklahoma City.

Pastor Carol Daniels was found dead August 23 inside her church near downtown Anadarko. Daniels didn't have a regular congregation but drove the 60 miles from her Oklahoma City home to Anadarko every Sunday.

"Rain, sleet and snow -- she was faithful to the word. Not very many pastors are that committed to their ministry," Elder Steve Taplin said.

In Anadarko on Monday, the church doors remain locked. The grisly scene inside has not been cleaned up. The inside of the church will likely need a massive overhaul, officials said. Notes from the medical examiner released last week show severe gashes to both the chest and neck area. A victim coordinator with the Caddo County District Attorney's office is still trying to get in touch with the owner of the building.

Authorities are working to get clearance to use money from a victim's relief fund to clean up the church.

At the funeral in northeast Oklahoma City, Daniels' brother, Ivan Henderson, told mourners to pray for three things.

"Pray so that we can forgive the person who did this," said Henderson, a minister who lives in Cleveland. "Pray that God gives favor to the police and the investigators, that God gives them strength."

Henderson also urged mourners to pray that the person or people who killed his sister be caught so they could not kill again.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case. OSBI has asked FBI experts in fields like behavioral science to help find the killer or killers.

Mostly Indians around here...

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 6,645 people, 2,387 households, and 1,656 families residing in the city. The population density was 937.0 people per square mile (361.9/km²). There were 2,767 housing units at an average density of 390.2/sq mi (150.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 41.37% White, 6.23% African American, 41.26% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 3.07% from other races, and 7.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.15% of the population.

There were 2,387 households out of which 36.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were married couples living together, 20.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.32.

In the city the population was spread out with 32.6% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,035, and the median income for a family was $27,633. Males had a median income of $26,063 versus $17,666 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,062. About 23.3% of families and 28.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.8% of those under age 18 and 18.5% of those age 65 or over.

Native American significance

Anadarko, self-titled, “Indian Capital of the Nation,” is home to the annual American Indian Exposition and is one of two places in Oklahoma where a Lenape tribe is headquartered, the other being Bartlesville. The city houses the National Hall of Fame for Famous American Indians.

Anadarko is named after the Nadaco, a Caddoan band now affiliated with the Caddo Nation. The term “nadako” means place of the bumblebees in the Caddo language. Incidentally, the Caddo are a federally recognized American Indian tribal entity for which Caddo County is named; Caddo County is part of the former reservation of the Caddo/Wichita/Western Delaware (aka Absentee Delaware), prior to allotment in the post-Dawes Allotment Era.

Indian City USA is located 2 1/2 miles southeast of Anadarko.

Culturally, Anadarko is unique among Oklahoma cities as Native Americans form a near-majority. Locals are often familiar with a few basic Indian words, such as “haw-nay,” being Kiowa for “no.” Wichita and Apache words are sometimes employed in casual conversation as well like “ninit, wee, hangy dawg, stink guy) . Indian motifs are commonly used for design, art, and other aspects of daily life.

Anadarko is also sometimes called Dodge, a reference to Dodge City, Kansas because of the town’s rough reputation; additionally, the town may be called Darko, as an abbreviation.

Anadarko is the home of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office. The town is situated between the Wichita, Caddo, and Delaware reservations to the north, and the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache reservations to the south. These reservations, along with all but the Osage Reservation in northeastern Oklahoma, were dismantled by the allotment of tribal lands and the opening of the “excess” lands to settlement in a series of land openings; the area surrounded by Anadako was opened to settlement by a 1901 land lottery affecting the Kiowa, Comanche, Wichita and Caddo lands.

Anadarko is home to Riverside Indian School, a boarding and day school for Native American students.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anadarko,_Oklahoma

There are many communities in Oklahoma that have very significant proportions of Indians.

Here are some “stats” for Anadarko...

http://www.city-data.com/city/Anadarko-Oklahoma.html

Races in Anadarko:

American Indian (47.7%)
White Non-Hispanic (39.7%)
Hispanic (9.1%)
Two or more races (7.8%)
Black (6.2%)
Other race (3.1%)

It’s pretty darned conservative here in this state; the last election showing the highest percentage of the vote of any state for the Republican ticket, and also the only state in the United States (don’t think there was another one) which had every single county in the state go for the Republican ticket, even the two largest metro areas in the state...

Southern Baptist Convention (55.2%)
United Methodist (15.8%)
Churches of Christ (4.0%)
Catholic Church (3.2%)
American Baptist Association (3.1%)
International Pentecostal Holiness Church (3.0%)
Christian Churches and Churches of Christ (3.0%)
Assemblies of God (2.5%)
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) (1.9%)
Other Religions (8.4%)

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