Southwest
Family of Oklahoma teen Noah Presgrove speaks out 1 year after mysterious death
What led to the death of Oklahoma teen military hopeful Noah Presgrove remains a mystery one year after he was found dead on the side of an Oklahoma highway on Labor Day. His family is still hoping to gain answers about what happened to him.
“I’ve always just thought, I hope that he went fast. I hope that he wasn’t in pain,” Madison Rawlings, Presgrove’s sister, told Fox News Digital. “And I hope that his death wasn’t caused by someone you loved. That’s about the only thing that I hope about his last moments; that he wasn’t in pain, and it wasn’t by someone who he deeply loved, but we don’t really know that.”
Presgrove, 19, was found dead along a rural stretch of US-81 in Jefferson County on Labor Day in 2023. He was last seen alive at a party he attended with a group of friends that night, but now, a year later, the family says that no one has come forward to tell them how he ended up dead along the highway.
“We are so tired and fed up with all of this already, and I get that a year is a long time, but a year is a short time too. But I know our sympathy for whoever knows something. It’s non-existent. They’ve had plenty of time,” Rawlings said.
OKLAHOMA 911 CALLS RELEASED FROM MORNING RECENT GRAD NOAH PRESGROVE FOUND DEAD: ‘AWFUL ODD’
Noah Presgrove’s body was found along an Oklahoma highway on Labor Day 2023, and the manner of his death is still unknown. (Madison Rawlings/Kristen Smith)
Rawlings, who spoke to Fox News Digital a few months after his death was reported, previously said she just hoped and prayed that whoever knew what happened to her brother would come forward, and they could forgive and move on.
Now, as a year has gone by with zero answers as to what led to her brother’s death, she has changed her tune.
“I don’t know if they are scared, or they feel like they’re getting away with it, whichever way they look at it. But man, I wish that they would talk now. Because if we have to catch you, you people should realize that our family has worked this hard to find them, that, imagine having to push for them to get the punishment they deserve. So I hope that they hurry up and talk,” Rawlings added.
Presgrove had recently graduated from high school, three months early, with plans to enlist in the military alongside his cousin.
OKLAHOMA AUTHORITIES ‘HESITANT’ TO RULE TEEN’S DEATH A HOMICIDE, FAMED PATHOLOGIST SUGGESTS
Oklahoma teen Noah Presgrove’s family is still searching for answers about his death a year later. (Robyn Smith)
“I pray every day that the Lord will just reveal something to our law enforcement so that we can put this behind us, and we can work towards a new goal. I feel like whoever’s done this, they feel like they’re good, they’re fun. No one can touch me. So I’m just ready for that sense of safety to go away,” Rawlings said.
The medical examiner released the autopsy results to the Presgrove family in April, which the family shared with Fox News Digital. A medical examiner’s report concluded that the manner of death is still unknown.
“In consideration of the circumstances surrounding the death, autopsy examination, and toxicology result, the death of Noah Alexander Nichols is due to multiple blunt force injuries. The decedent was found naked wearing only a pair of shoes on the side of a highway on the morning of September 4, 2023. There were no vehicle parts or debris observed on the scene. At this time, what transpired on how the body was found on the road having multiple blunt force injuries is unknown. Therefore, the manner of death is deemed undetermined,” the report read.
OKLAHOMA TEEN MILITARY HOPEFUL’S FAMILY ‘CAN’T IMAGINE’ HE WAS MURDERED, OFFERS THEORY ABOUT HIS LAST HOURS
What led to the death of Oklahoma 19-year-old Noah Presgrove is still unknown a year later. (Madison Rawlings/Kristen Smith)
“Further investigation revealed that the decedent was at a house party and drinking on September 3, 2023. Then he rode an ATV ranger vehicle with several men that had a roll over incident. The decedent was alive following the incident and returned to the party where he got into an argument with his girlfriend. The decedent left the house party and was not found until the morning of September 4, 2023, on the side of the highway,” the report continued.
Fox News Digital obtained two 911 calls from motorists reporting what they first believed to be a deer lying on the side of the road, which was later determined to be human remains.
“It looks like someone got hit, like someone walking down the highway, they are lying on the shoulder in the road,” a caller told the police dispatcher in one of the recordings. “Yeah, like on the shoulder, like maybe they were walking and somebody hit them. I thought it was a deer, but it looks like a body.”
CAUSE OF DEATH DETERMINED FOR OKLAHOMA TEEN MILITARY HOPEFUL FOUND ON SIDE OF ROAD
A medical examiner’s summary report obtained by Fox News Digital said that Noah Presgrove died of “multiple blunt force injuries,” but the cause of those injuries remains unknown. (Kristen Smith)
The caller then told dispatch that the scene looked “awful odd.”
Jefferson County Undersheriff Jimmy Williams issued a statement to Fox News Digital and shared his condolences with Presgrove’s family.
“I, as Sheriff and the entire Sheriff’s Office, offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Noah. This case has rested heavily on our hearts throughout the year. I am confident that OHP and OSBI will find resolve and answers for Noah. My office has been working with OHP consistently as information has surfaced throughout this year,” he said.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation initially described Presgrove’s death as “suspicious,” though his official manner of death is “undetermined.”
A spokesperson for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, which has taken over the investigation, told Fox News Digital the investigation is ongoing and would not comment further.
“You kind of get to wondering like how much longer? And with that, it’s when or if it will come together,” Rawlings said. “And we all are so hopeful, and we know that someone knows something, something has to happen. We want it to be solved so badly and as quickly as possible would be best. But we are thankful for any progress that we see.”
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Man found guilty of sex trafficking victim along L.A.’s Figueroa Corridor
A former Riverside County man was found guilty of sex trafficking a female victim and forcing her to engage in commercial sex acts along L.A.’s notorious Figueroa Corridor.
Elias Abdul Shabazz, 34, formerly of Perris, was found guilty by a jury following a five-day trial, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Prosecutors said Shabazz had led the victim to believe they were in a romantic relationship before he turned physically and sexually violent. He began demanding that the victim engage in commercial sex acts from May to October of 2021, court documents said.
He carried a handgun with him and, on occasion, was accused of using it to pistol-whip the victim. He also fired the gun at her feet while threatening to kill her, prosecutors said.
At trial, the victim said Shabazz demanded that she meet a daily quota of commercial sex proceeds and that she was terrified of the consequences of not meeting that quota.
She testified that Shabazz compelled her to work in the notorious Figueroa Corridor in South L.A., a dangerous area known for human trafficking and prostitution.
Shabazz had confiscated her identification card, Social Security card and birth certificate. He constantly monitored her cell phone to stop her from communicating with any friends or family.
“He also introduced her to addictive narcotics and controlled every aspect of her life, including when she ate, slept and showered,” prosecutors said.
In May 2025, Shabazz was arrested and has remained in federal custody. His last known address at the time was in Washington, D.C.
On June 26, 2026, Shabazz was found guilty of one count of coercing or enticing interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 6, where he faces 15 years to life in prison.
“Sex trafficking matters rank among the most tragic cases our office prosecutes,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. “This defendant will now face many years in a federal prison cell for his sick, disgusting, and disturbing behavior.”
“Elias Shabazz preyed on a vulnerable victim using physical and sexual violence and cruel psychological coercion to compel commercial sex acts for his own profit,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “There is no place for this type of conduct in civilized society. We deeply respect the victim’s courage to face her trafficker in court. The Criminal Division will continue to bring these cases and try them.”
Anyone with information about human trafficking can report tips to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888
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