Authorities are waiting for a medical examiner to determine the cause of death of an Oklahoma state senate candidate whose body was found the day after he was reported missing when he failed to show up for a meeting.
Barry Christian, 54, was vying to be the Republican candidate in Oklahoma Senate District 38 and had a campaign video that claimed to have an endorsement from musician Kid Rock.
Thursday he was found dead in his pickup truck on the side of the road about 20 minutes away from his home.
Christian was last seen on Tuesday and reported missing after failing to show up for a scheduled meeting Wednesday.
Authorities located his Ram pickup on the side of the road in a wildlife management area near the tiny town of Erick, about 144 miles west of Oklahoma City, officials in the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations said.
Erick, population 1,00o, is about 20 minutes away from Christian’s home in Sayre, another small town with hardly 5,000 residents.
A sign promoting Christian’s campaign was found nearby, according to authorities.
“At this time, the circumstances surrounding Mr. Christian’s death remain under investigation,” a release from his campaign stated. “Authorities have not yet released additional details pending notification of all family members and further examination.”
Christian started his campaign for state senate last year as a Republican, and he released a campaign video describing his priorities and featuring a purported endorsement from Kid Rock, with whom he claimed a friendship, NonDoc reported.
However, the video appears to be a Kid Rock impersonator, according to the outlet.
According to NonDoc:
Prior to running for office, Christian worked for 35 years in the petroleum industry, including as a drilling consultant and drilling superintendent. Christian also described himself as a “seasoned entrepreneur” who owned multiple businesses in southwest Oklahoma.
His daughter Brooklyn Christian said the family is “still not sure of everything that happened” and asked people to “act with grace and treat my dad’s legacy with dignity.”
She did not say whether her father was suffering any mental health problems. In his campaign stops and videos he appears upbeat and wears a broad smile.
Investigators are waiting for Oklahoma State Medical Examiner’s Office to determine the cause and manner of Christian’s death.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times true crime best seller House of Secrets and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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