Posted on 09/25/2005 9:17:26 AM PDT by kenth
ADA - The bodies of a 16-year-old cheerleader and a 47-year-old man were found Saturday, less than 24 hours after the girl was seen getting into a pickup at her high school.
Troopers in an Oklahoma Highway Patrol helicopter spotted the bodies of Caitlin Elizabeth Wooten and Jerry Don Savage shortly before 10 a.m., said Mark Bratcher, a spokesman for the city of Ada.
Both had been shot in an apparent murder-suicide, said Jessica Brown, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
Ada High School Principal Bill Nelson fought back tears Saturday as students gathered less than 50 yards away from the school near the parking space designated for Wooten.
"Right there is where it happened, and nobody even noticed it," said a visibly shaken Nelson, a principal for nearly 30 years.
"What we can't understand is what made her get into the car with him. No one noticed anything unusual. And now, the light from that little girl is gone forever."
Wooten was apparently kidnapped by her mother's ex-boyfriend Friday afternoon as she left school.
Dozens of Ada High School students, many from the AHS Color Guard of which Wooten was a member, gathered on campus Saturday.
Teachers, counselors and youth ministers were there to help students cope with the weekend's events. Many students wept openly; others simply hugged classmates and wore photos of Wooten pinned to their clothing.
"Right now, it's pretty tough," said Kris Earle, Ada High School band director. "But we'll get through this. It will be a slow, painful process, but we'll get through it."
Investigators believe Savage kidnapped Wooten because of a dispute with the girl's mother, Donna Wooten. Court records show Donna Wooten filed for a protective order against Savage Aug. 30 after he attempted to kidnap her and was arrested. He was out of jail on bond when he allegedly kidnapped Caitlin Wooten, Brown said.
Nelson and Ada Schools Superintendent Pat Harrison said school officials could not simply ban Savage from the school grounds because he had never caused a problem on campus and because he had a daughter of his own at school there.
Wooten was last seen about 3 p.m. Friday getting into a green pickup that authorities later discovered was being driven by Savage. That pickup was found Friday night on the west side of Ada.
The owner of the land where the bodies were found, Saye Sliger, was arrested as an accessory to the crime and was being held Saturday in the Pontotoc County Jail.
A statewide Amber Alert was activated following the abduction.
A candlelight vigil is scheduled for 7:30 tonight in the student center of Ada High School.
Contributing: Associated Press
They can't figure out why she got into the car with this guy??? Possibly because he was somebody who had been climbing into bed with her mother! People who claim the breakdown of the family has been liberating are fooling themselves.
bkmk
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