Edward Lee Foreman (Nov 26, 1961 – missing March 7, 2015) was born in Henryetta, Oklahoma, to Carl and Rinda Smith Foreman. He is missing and presumed dead. His case is in NamUs.
From NamUs, I have the following details:
Edward had black greying hair, a mustache, and a goatee. His eyes were hazel brown. He had a scar on the upper right abdomen. He also had a tattoo of a large cross with roses on his upper arm. In NamUs, it says they don’t know on which arm that tattoo is. It is just mentioned that it covers another unidentified tattoo.
After some online digging, I think it is the left upper arm (see picture). His dental records and finger prints are in the NamUs database but curiously, not his DNA. This should be done ASAP to make sure that we can cross-reference any unidentified remains that match Edward’s description. He was 6’ 1” and between 300-325 pounds.
The Family
My problems with this case started with the welfare check. In the papers it said that on March 6, 2015 deputies “received a phone call from a relative of Edward Foreman asking deputies to check his welfare, according to an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations press release. The relative could not reach Foreman by phone.” His home was in Geary, OK.
Who was this relative? Where do they live? How long had they not heard from Edward? If the family lived far away, did they first ask any local friends to check on Edward? Did the neighbors hear/see anything? As it was Edward’s daughter who alerted me to her dad’s case I emailed her and I got some interesting answers.
She called police. Edward’s older children live in Texas so not close enough to swing by. She told me when her dad was last seen alive: on the surveillance camera of the pump near his house where he shopped to pick up dinner.
On the page the family started to ask for donations it says that Edward has a young son with his girlfriend. She lives in Kansas. His family said that that Edward was busy packing to move to Kansas. Did someone see him pack and was this an opportunity crime?
His girlfriend drove to Geary, OK, the same day that his daughter called police. She had not heard from him the evening of March 6 and that was unusual. According to family, Edward was constantly on the phone.
The Crime
When the deputies arrived, they found both Edward and his 2006 black Hummer 2 pickup truck missing. Inside the house, they found evidence that a violent crime happened. The OSBI later specified that DNA taken from biological evidence inside Edward’s house matched and they fear he is dead. According to the family, Edward had gunshot wounds to the head and his body.
Aside from Edward’s missing body we also miss his cell phone. That’s an interesting angle. With the number and the provider police can retrace everything. Digital forensics should be able to help in this case. Every call, every contact, every upload to social media, every text, just everything. By using mobile phone tracking police can see the location of his mobile phone. They can even see if it is stationary or moving. This localization can be done by checking radio signals between the network’s cell towers of the network, or by using GPS.
What about social media? I checked and found his Facebook page. There you can see a lot of family pictures from a man preparing to become a dad again, baby pictures, lots of food, and pipelines. According to his family, Edward was a pipeline welder and inspector.
The truck
As Edward’s truck was missing too, it is possible that someone used it to move Edward’s body. But maybe we are just made to believe that. The truck was later found by a hunter. Some papers say the truck was “deep in the woods.” Others just say “a mile away from home.” As I do not know the area it troubles me. Of course one can live near the woods but when you say “deep in the woods” I think of more than one mile driving.
The authorities must have searched that truck top to bottom for any traces and pieces of evidence. I hope they used the M-Vac to catch those small particles that traditional swabbing can miss. Maybe they also have found some foot/shoe prints near the truck or signs of dragging. Why? In another article I found that “investigators have recovered several items of evidence from the vehicle” and that they “searched the area and developed new leads in Oklahoma and Texas. The OSBI is now offering up to $5,000 for information that leads to the killer’s arrest and conviction.”
And then I found an article from April 3, 2018. I could not open completely but from what I saw, Edward’s mom is quoted saying “We have received zero information about his death” and “The OSBI gave up a long time ago due to no leads.” I am still hoping they have forensic evidence and are trying to find matches in the national databases. But in the meantime, let’s help them.
The person of interest
A man was seen driving Edward’s truck around the time that he was killed. This information came from a witness. This may have been a reluctant witness as the papers use words as “came forward” and “admitted to seeing a man driving the Hummer away from Foreman’s home the same afternoon as the welfare check.” Is this just formal, bad journalism or, was this witness afraid to say something?
Either way, the man was described as white or biracial, about 30-years-old, with dark-colored eyes and hair. He was wearing a dark-colored jacket. Wondering what inspired the biracial description as not many people would describe another person like that.
I’d like to point out that the man who drove the truck need not be the one who pulled the trigger. Labels are quickly attached to people and it just might make it more difficult to find answers in some cases. Take the case of Rhonda Hinson. The one who helped her out of the car may not have anything to do with her death. The same is possible here. The one who drove off with the truck need not be a murderer. Maybe if we selected our words more carefully, more people would dare to talk to authorities!
Contact Information
If you have any information about Edward Lee Foreman, call OSBI at 1-800-522-8017. His case number is #2015-318. Thank you for remembering Edward Lee Foreman with us.