Members of the task force formed to investigate the Joe Neff murder and the Jody Rilee-Wilson suspicious death met at the courthouse on Friday.
PDN photo by Laura Young
By Laura Young
Managing Editor

Two crimes that have remained unsolved for nearly six months will have fresh eyes looking at the evidence.
A task force was formed approximately three weeks ago. The primary goal is to solve the Joe Neff and Jody Rilee-Wilson cases.
Neff was from Poteau and the owner of the Long Branch Saloon. Rilee-Wilson was from Wister.
According to LeFlore County Sheriff Bruce Curnutt, the task force is made up of law enforcement personnel from the Sheriff's office, the district attorney's office, the U.S. Marshal's Office, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation from the McAlester office.
"We formed this task force a few weeks ago and got together today (Friday) here at the courthouse," Curnutt said. "We feel fresh eyes on the evidence will help give us a fresh perspective. OSBI and the FBI also have added resources that we don't have and they are willing to use those resources in any way they can to help solve these crimes."
The badly decomposed body of Rilee-Wilson was discovered May 8 by a paraglider flying over Poteau Mountain near Heavener.  
Her vehicle was recovered in the parking lot of Pig Out Palace off I-40 in Henryetta on June 12. The incident is being investigated as a suspicious death.
Neff was murdered May 14 at the Long Branch Saloon located on Long Lake Road off Highway 59. However, his body was not recovered until May 17 when two fishermen made the discovery in a strip pit near Pocola.
"We have continued to actively pursue both investigations all this time," Curnutt said. "But, honestly, our leads and tips have dried up and we're not getting as much information as we were. We're hoping someone will come forward and do the right thing and tell us what they know or may have seen in either case."
The task force will meet again in approximately one month to go over any further information they may gather.
Anyone with information pertaining to either incident, no matter how insignificant, should contact either the LeFlore County Sheriff’s Office at 918-647-2317 or OSBI at 1-800-522-8017.
A reward is being offered in both cases.