Family Wants Grand Jury To Investigate Tahlequah Man's 2004 Disappearance

Craig Day, News On 6

TAHLEQUAH, Oklahoma -- The family of a missing NSU student hopes a grand jury will look into the mysterious disappearance.

Stephan Adams was last seen in December of 2004, leaving NSU in Tahlequah after class. Adams told his girlfriend he was giving someone a ride to Keys. He hasn't been seen or heard from since.

7/12/2011 Related Story: Tahlequah Man Seeks Grand Jury To Investigate Son's Disappearance

"The family needs closure. We need to know what happened. We need to know who did this to him. We need to know why it was done, and those people need to pay for what they did to him," Tiffani Haney, Adams' cousin, said.

Now, Adams' family wants a grand jury to look into his disappearance and presumed death. They're gathering signatures calling for a grand jury to look into the case and hopefully provide answers.

In the break room at one of the buildings on the Cherokee Nation campus, family members of Stephan Adams wait patiently to gather more signatures for a grand jury petition.

"An all around great guy. I've never met a person that had anything bad to say about him," Haney said.

While the investigation has been ongoing for six and a half years, Adams body has never been found, and there are still no charges.

The family, including Adams' cousin Tiffani Haney, hopes convening a grand jury will lead to answers and who is responsible.

"It's just really, really rough on the family not knowing what happened to Stephan," Haney said.

The family wants a grand jury to look into the possibility that Adams was beaten to death, who may have been present when he was murdered, and whether a custody battle played any part in his disappearance.

"They are able to subpoena people in and have them testify under oath. So hopefully some people will start talking then," said Haney.

Signatures have to be gathered within 45 days. If there are enough, a grand jury would convene within 30 days.

The family hopes it will happen this fall. They say six and a half years is a long time to not know what happened. The family is also asking for the disqualification of the Wagoner and Cherokee County DA's office from acting as legal advisors on the grand jury.