Story update:
Tulsa County charged Travis Ballard with first-degree murder in the death of his estranged wife.
Previous coverage:
Authorities arrested a man connected to a homicide in Bixby after a chase in Pryor Monday morning.
Bixby Police Chief Todd Blish said his department received a call Sunday around 10 p.m. from Tulsa police asking for a welfare check on the caller's mother.
The caller told police her mother was with her estranged husband and headed to the river in Bixby.
When Bixby police arrived at Washington-Irving Park, Blish said they discovered a woman dead in a car.
BPD identified the victim as Kara Ballard, 40, of Whitefield, Oklahoma.
Ballard's daughter provided 2 News with this statement about her mom:
"My momma Kara was a wonderful person," she said. "She was dealt so many cards in life but one thing is she always loved my brother and I more then anything in this world. She loved being a phlebotomist and helping anyone that came into the hospital. She was a lover of all things purple and butterflies. Every time she walked into a room she made it brighter with her smile or everyone laughing their butts off with her corny jokes. She was the best momma, care taker, and woman. Her life will forever live on and I will fight to the end to get the justice she deserved."
Blish said he couldn't give more details until OSBI finishes processing the scene.
Authorities later identified Travis Glenn Ballard as the suspect and located him around 4:45 a.m. in Pryor.
Pryor Police Chief Jeremy Cantrell says it was a phone ping that connected Ballard to Pryor. Chief Cantrell says Ballard crashed his car near the Pryor cemetery then ran off.
"Got home and seen the marks in my yard where they had turned around," said neighbor Christina Pait.
Pait was at work at the time but her family was home.
"Thankfully, I went to bed before I heard that," said Emme Pait. "That would've been scary.
Chief Cantrell says it was about 90 minutes after the suspect Travis Glenn Ballard crashed into a power pole after the chase that officers caught him on the high school baseball field.
"Somebody that was jogging had seen a subject go by the high school that looked suspicious and at that point called on our officers to report it," said Chief Cantrell. "We had multiple agencies here in town to help put a quick end to this."
Multiple agencies were involved in locating Ballard Monday, including GRDA, Mayes County Sheriff's Office, Pryor police and Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
This is a developing story. 2 News will update this story as we learn more.
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