Sallisaw Man, Once Reported Dead, Back in Jail

A Sallisaw man, incorrectly declared dead by the State Department of Corrections (DOC) in 2003 and buried by his family at Gore, is back in jail

Kevin Bradley Wyckoff, 35, was arrested by Sallisaw police for drugs on Jan. 3, and was charged Jan. 5 in Sequoyah County District Court in Sallisaw with a felony count of possession of a controlled dangerous substance and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor.

The Sallisaw police report revealed police were sent to a home on South Ash Street on a child welfare check after the child told an acquaintance that the parents had been in a fight and asked to spend the night to get away “from the trouble.”

At the child’s residence, police found Wyckoff hiding in a closet. A pat down of his person uncovered a straw connected to a modified light bulb with meth residue. The report continues, “Wyckoff stated he had smoked meth out of it.” Officers also found a bag with residue and a pipe with a green leafy substance that later field tested positive for marijuana. Wyckoff was booked into the city jail.

On Dec. 5, 2003, Wyckoff was sent to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections Lexington Assessment and Reception Center after he was sentenced to five years for assault, kidnapping and robbery.

On Dec. 19 prison officials called Wyckoff’s family at Gore to report their son had hanged himself in his cell. The body was subsequently sent to Wyckoff’s family who buried him on Dec. 22 in Gore.

Reports from that time indicated that  Kevin Wyckoff called his family on Dec. 22, shortly after his own funeral. It was reported that his family had said the body was not that of their son.

DOC officials reported the next day that Wyckoff and another man, of similar build and features, had been moved in an exchange of cells. When the other man hung himself, those who did not know about the move reported Wyckoff was the deceased.

The Wyckoff family filed a civil lawsuit against the DOC on Sept. 23, 2004. Court records indicate that lawsuit was settled out of court in June 2010.

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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