Arthur Daniel

Date Found: November 1, 1981

Location: Ardmore, Oklahoma

Investigating Agency: Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation

(800)522-8017

November 1, 1981 Arthur Daniel left his job at a local Burger N’ Fries restaurant in Ardmore to drive home, except this night he wouldn’t make it home.

A police officer on routine patrol would find the van that Arthur had been driving parked in the middle of the street, with the driver’s side door open. When she went to investigate, she would then see Arthur laying in the middle of the street. He had been shot in the head, the bullet entering through his right eye. While he was still alive when the officer arrived on scene, he as pronounced dead by the time the ambulance got him to the hospital.

Many interviews were done. Near by residents reported hearing a gunshot, one even said that he had seen someone running from the scene, though he couldn’t describe him.

Everyone that law enforcement talked to said that Arthur Daniel wasn’t involved in anything that could have gotten him killed- no drugs, no shady people. One thing though- the van that he was driving at the time, wasn’t his. It belonged to a friend; he was simply borrowing it. So, it is possible, in theory, that his death was a case of mistaken identity.

At one point the investigation led investigators to a bar, where a person reported that he had overhead a person talking about a shooting that had occurred in Ardmore, Oklahoma. The person had been incredibly specific about the details of this shooting. A composite drawing was made from this person’s description of this individual, but no real leads ever came of it. No motive has ever been found for Arthur Daniel’s murder.

If you have any information about the murder of Arthur Daniel, please contact OSBI at (800)522-8017.