The bodies of a pair of friends who had been the subject of search parties near their central Texas homes were found in shallow graves in rural Oklahoma, according to law enforcement authorities.
A statement released by the Temple Police Department says a preliminary investigation indicates the bodies are those of Jenna Scott, 28, and Michael Swearingin, 32, who have been missing since Jan. 4. Police said their families have been notified.
“The family is hurting very, very much,” Swearingin’s mother, Deborah Harrison, told Temple television station KCEN.
Scott’s brother, Talon Scott, said the two friends had left together to hang out with some other friends and never returned. Jenna Scott was absent from her daughter’s birthday party Sunday, he said.
“She didn’t show up. She planned the party,” Talon Scott said. The car the two were in was found later in Austin, about 68 miles southwest of Temple.
I've seen pictures of Michael but none of Jenna yet. Here is a picture of Jenna Scott. She has a very small frame,…
The parents of missing Temple friends Jenna Scott and Michael Swearingin were told by police there is little hope their children will be found alive. @_NohelyMendoza_ spoke with the heartbroken parents pic.twitter.com/SbUmGzvI50
— KWKT FOX 44 (@KWKTFOX44) January 14, 2019
Family members had been searching Bell County, Texas, for Scott and Swearingin.
Friends and family of Jenna Scott and Michael Swearingin organize search parties today in hopes of finding something that will give them answers to their disappearance. #Temple #CentralTexas @KWKTFOX44 pic.twitter.com/KdBR8hWLnU
— Anna Thrash (@annathrash_) January 12, 2019
The bodies were recovered Jan. 15 from clandestine graves in Okfuskee County, about 75 miles east of Oklahoma City. Investigators received information Jan. 9 that led them to property in a remote area where the bodies were discovered.
Bodies Found In Rural Clearview In Search For Missing TX Pair Jenna Scott Michael Swearingin https://t.co/zOBf6ddJAS pic.twitter.com/SPJ7d04BRK
— Siglov Freudivan (@DerangedRadio) January 16, 2019
The Office of the State Medical Examiner in Oklahoma will make positive identification after autopsies, authorities said.
Meanwhile, Scott’s ex-boyfriend, Cedric Marks, 44 is scheduled to be extradited to Texas from Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he is being held on a felony burglary warrant issued by authorities in Temple.
Marks is accused of breaking into Scott’s home and threatening her and her family in August, according to an arrest affidavit. Marks has not been named as a suspect in the disappearances of Scott and Swearingin.
Jonathan Scott, father of #JennaScott who has been missing for four days, says the family is holding on. Jenna’s daughter turns 10 years old today.
More on the search for Jenna and Michael Swearingin on @kwtx at 6: https://t.co/PfZOMIc1We#TempleNews #MissingPerson pic.twitter.com/KntD6LMqAw
— Brandon Hamilton (@BrandonKWTX) January 8, 2019
