Sheriff's deputies make a disturbing discovery in Osage County.
Undersheriff Lou Ann Brown confirmed that deputies found a man's body Thursday evening in a shallow grave northwest of Hominy.
The body has yet to be identified, but it was found as investigators search for a man missing from Pawhuska.
Deputies said Rick Holt was last seen Saturday, and they are now treating his disappearance as a homicide.
A collective sense of grief brought together about 50 people to a Pawhuska park, where they held a candlelight vigil as well as a balloon release Thursday in memory of Holt.
"Everyone developed a great friendship with Rick," said Laura Glentzer, who grew up with Holt. "Rick was the best of the best of a warm, compassionate human being."
Neighbors wrote messages on the balloons, then released them altogether. Michelle Pradmore said the size of the crowd was a testament to how well regarded Holt was in the community.
"You ask anybody, and you will get the same response from everybody that he was a kind, gentle, good person," Pradmore said.
"I cannot imagine what his family is going through right now," she added. "I just pray that they find comfort and strength in the days to come."
Earlier this week, sheriff's deputies arrested two brothers, Jeremy and Tyler Reece, for conspiracy to commit a felony.
Investigators said Holt had been in a relationship with Jeremy's ex-wife, and Jeremy had confronted her about alleged pictures he received from Holt's phone.
Deputies said information obtained from text messages and interviews led them to a shallow grave in rural Osage County, where they recovered a man's body Thursday.
Additional charges may be filed against the two suspects, investigators said.
