OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) has identified the woman found partially buried in 2008 near Lake Thunderbird as Angela Mason.
“It is a great day when we can give a victim their name back,” said Aungela Spurlock, OSBI Director. “Utilizing Forensic Genetic Genealogy is an investment and is unfortunately not possible to use on every cold case. But for Angela, the investment paid off. Now our team will continue to work to get Angela the justice she deserves.”
On August 31, 2008, several fishermen found Mason, who was 25 at the time, partially decomposed in a shallow grave at 120th and Alameda, near Lake Thunderbird.
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The Medical Examiner believed that Mason was buried between three and 15 months prior to her discovery.
Since Mason was found, the OSBI made numerous attempts to identify her, including releasing images of her distinctive starburst tattoo, entering her information into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, adding her case to the OSBI Cold Case Cards, reaching out to other departments to review their missing persons cases and releasing forensic sketches.
In August 2021, having exhausted all investigative leads, retiring Director Ricky Adams approved the case for genetic genealogy testing. Criminalists from the OSBI Forensic Science Center sent DNA from Mason’s remains to Parabon Nanolabs in an effort to locate relatives.
Parabon returned results in March of 2022 identifying a possible relative. The OSBI contacted the relative and asked for a DNA sample to compare to the victim.
The results came back positively identifying Anglea Mason as the deceased.
“It is a great day when we can give a victim their name back,” said Aungela Spurlock, OSBI Director. “Utilizing Forensic Genetic Genealogy is an investment and is unfortunately not possible to use on every cold case. But for Angela, the investment paid off. Now our team will continue to work to get Angela the justice she deserves.”
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Mason was a registered citizen of the Cherokee Nation. She attended Putnam City West High School, was married once, and had four children. She was last seen in Moore, Oklahoma in the spring of 2008.
The OSBI is investigating Mason’s death as a homicide. In June 2022, agents returned to where she was found to reprocess the scene. At that time, they located and collected additional evidence.
If you knew Angela Marie (Richards) Mason or have any information on her death, please contact the OSBI at (800) 522-8017 or email tips@osbi.ok.gov. You can remain anonymous.