Cops Release Sketch In Murder Of 2 Girls

Police released a "person of interest" sketch in the murder case of two Oklahoma girls Friday, reports CBS News affiliate WKMV.

The sketch is of an American-Indian man, about 6-feet tall with black hair in a ponytail and around 35-years-old, said Oklahoma State Bureau Investigators spokesperson Jessica Brown said.

"We just want to talk to him," Brown said. "We think he might have seen something that can help us resolve this case."

According to Brown, the man is not considered a suspect and the Oklahoma State Bureau Investigators have several names they are investigating as leads. A witness reported to agents that the sketched man was standing outside of a single-cab Chevy or Ford white pickup truck on the same road the girls were shot, right around the time the girls were killed.

"We had several witnesses who saw the man and several other witnesses who heard gun shots," Brown said.

Brown said that each day brings more information from various witnesses that could help bring the case to an end.

"I feel confident this is a solvable case," she said.

Friends and relatives attended funeral services for the girls Friday.

Services for Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, took place at the First Baptist Church in Dewar. The funeral for Skyla Whitaker, 11, was held at the First Baptist Church in Henryetta.

Investigators say they have no explanation for why the girls were gunned down near the small town of Weleetka, a working-class community of 1,000 people, 70 miles south of Tulsa.

On Thursday, crime scene investigators returned to the spot where the girls were found and searched nearby woods. Authorities also announced they had interviewed a witness who claims to have seen the girls just minutes before they were killed.

The girls, who were best friends, were shot a number of times in the head and chest with weapons of two different calibers, leading authorities to think two gunmen were involved.

Several motives have been explored, including a random thrill killing, attempted abduction, a case of mistaken identity and the possibility that the girls happened upon a crime in progress.

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Agent Ben Rosser has said officials suspect a local person was involved because the killings occurred in such an isolated area. Rosser said that nothing is being ruled out but that there is no indication family or friends were involved.

Full autopsy results have not been released, but investigators said it appears the girls were not molested. They noted the youngsters were clothed and the bodies were found only about a half-hour after the girls began walking.