On March 28, 2021, a 23-year-old mother of two, Faithe Ely, was found dead on the side of a rural highway in Oklahoma, just outside the small town of Wewoka.
Her boyfriend, Ryan, discovered her body at approximately 8:30 p.m., 15 to 30 minutes after she had walked away from a cookout they were at.
According to Ryan, they had gotten into an argument, and Faithe was involved in a physical altercation with his mother. She was found half a mile away from the house.
Ryan also told the police that he had seen a white truck pass by, towing a black trailer. About 10 minutes later, he heard a loud thud, as if a vehicle were going over a speed bump. After that, he went looking for Faithe.
Faithe was found barefoot with multiple fractures to her ribs, and her spleen had ruptured. Her injuries were mostly on the left side of her body.
The official cause of her death was blunt force trauma. However, her body showed no signs of road rash, and she didn’t have any other broken bones besides her ribs.
The speed limit on the highway was 70 miles per hour, but her injuries seemed to have come from a car going only 25 miles per hour.
It didn’t seem like a typical high-speed hit-and-run. The police interviewed Ryan and his family, but did not search the property.
Ultimately, the case was ruled as a hit-and-run. Three clips of CCTV footage showed a white truck with a black trailer, but the vehicle appeared to have been traveling in a different direction at the time Faithe was struck. It’s a possibility that multiple similar vehicles were in the area that night.
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Faithe’s killer has never been identified, and neither has the vehicle that hit her. Five years later, there have been no arrests or answers.
Faithe’s family believes that her death was not due to a hit-and-run and that there was more to the story. They think she was killed by someone else, and her body was dumped on the side of the road.
“The only thing that’s going to help this case is a confession or a witness statement,” said Amanda Langston, Faithe’s mother. “There are children who do not have their mother and do not understand why no one’s been held accountable for it.”
Faithe’s sister, Kaitlynn, who is only a year younger than Faithe, ended up adopting her son after her death. Faithe’s daughter is being raised by her paternal grandparents.
Faithe’s family is still fighting for justice. They are trying to raise money for a reward for information leading to an arrest. Anyone with information about Faithe’s case is urged to submit a tip to the OSBI at osbi.ok.gov or call 1-800-522-8017.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
