Friday, April 5 — Kingfisher Police Department has launched a search for a missing Kingfisher woman and also asked for assistance from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation due to concerns of possible foul play.

Kingfisher Police Chief Dennis Baker said his office was contacted Thursday by Ellen Samuels of Cushing who reported that her sister Brenda Baber, 56, 421 W. Sheridan Ave., Kingfisher, was missing.

Samuels told officers that she had talked to her sister on Tuesday, April 2, and made plans to move Baber on Thursday out of the home she shared with her boyfriend, Steven Stricker, according to the police report.

Police spoke to Stricker while conducting a welfare check at the home Thursday and he told officers that Baber had been home in bed when he went to work but was gone when he returned home and he didn’t know where she was.

Baber uses a walker and is unable to drive. Her walker and recently refilled prescription medicines were still in the home, as was her dog, according to the report.

Samuels told officers her sister would never have left the dog behind, which made her concerned that something bad had happened.

Police searched the house, a backyard storage building, two vehicles in the driveway and a local storage unit rented by Baber.

They also spoke with Cherokee Transit and another friend Stricker said might have given Baber a ride and both said they had not heard from her.

Police also called cell phone numbers for Baber provided by her boyfriend and sister, and each time the calls went directly to voicemail, indicating either the phone batteries were dead or the phones had been turned off.

Police are tracking the phones in case they are turned back on, according to the report.

A statewide BOLO (be on the lookout) alert has been issued to law enforcement.

“This is a missing person case, but due to the statements that have been made to us by witnesses, we have called in a team from the OSBI who should be here sometime this morning,” Baker said Friday.

“I want to stress that it is very early in the investigation and we are not making any assumptions at this point, but proceeding carefully to cover all bases in the investigation into Baber’s disappearance.

“We’re asking for help from the public to locate her as soon as possible and our hope is that she will be found safe and sound.”

Baber is described as 5-foot-8-inches and 120 pounds with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She walks with difficulty and requires the use of a walker or other assistance.

Anyone who has information about her whereabouts or disappearance is asked to call the Kingfisher Police Department, OSBI or their local law enforcement immediately.