The Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY — The agent in charge of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation’s search for a missing 7-year-old girl and her alleged abductor vigorously defended the agency’s handling of the case Wednesday even as a state lawmaker criticized it.
Richard Goss, who leads the OSBI’s Lawton office, said “each and every lead was followed up on and documented” as authorities searched for Aja Johnson and her stepfather, 46-year-old Lester Hobbs.
Hobbs and the child had been missing since Aja’s mother, Tonya Hobbs, was found dead Jan. 24 inside Lester Hobbs’ motor home in Geronimo, about 100 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. Police searched for Hobbs and the girl and an Amber Alert was issued, but information called into authorities didn’t lead to their whereabouts.
Acting on a tip from a landowner, police found the decomposing bodies of Hobbs and the girl, along with Tonya Hobbs’ missing Toyota Paseo, on Monday in a wooded area off State Highway 9 near Lake Thunderbird in rural Norman. Norman Master Police Officer Jennifer Newell said that, based on the decomposition of the bodies, they were likely at the scene for more than a month.
The state medical examiner’s office Wednesday confirmed the identity of the bodies, although spokeswoman Cherokee Ballard said the cause and manner of death won’t be determined until results from toxicology tests are received, which could take three to six weeks.
Newell said what authorities found in the car will be detailed when a search warrant is returned to Cleveland County district court in the coming days.
Rep. Richard Morrissette, D-Oklahoma City, said the OSBI didn’t handle the investigation well.
“This agency is insulated from public scrutiny, and I’m beginning to wonder if that’s a serious concern here,” Morrissette said.
“I think we need a full-fledged report on this investigation, day by day, what was going on in their agency to find Hobbs. He was right under our nose.”
Goss said the OSBI and other law-enforcement agencies followed up on 367 leads during the search for Hobbs and the girl because “we were looking for the one credible sighting.”
Goss said that 18 years ago, Hobbs lived in a mobile home about a mile from where the car and bodies were found and that Hobbs’ parents also were buried in a nearby cemetery. He said the cemetery was under surveillance for a time and that authorities searched the area where Hobbs used to live three times.
Newell confirmed that a man who identified himself as a former friend of Hobbs had called Norman police to let them know about Hobbs’ history in the area. Newell said that man was told to call Comanche County authorities but it’s not known if he did.
Morrissette noted the car was easily visible from the air.
“Something went wrong here,” Morrissette said. “I want to know, who knew about the tips and when did they know it? People around the lake ... had a suspicion (Hobbs) might be in the area.
“If you connect the dots as a regular investigation, it shouldn’t have been that difficult.”
OSBI spokeswoman Jessica Brown said she would “welcome a conversation” with Morrissette.
