On Tuesday, August 2, 1983, Lisa Farmer spent the day cleaning her new home in Lawton, Oklahoma while her husband, William “Frank” Farmer prepared to leave for military field exercises. Once Frank was gone, Lisa and her 13-month-old son Michael were alone for what appeared to be an ordinary day – one that would take an unthinkable turn. Around 6:30 pm, the Farmer’s landlord Mike, who lived behind the Farmers’ home, saw Lisa at the house. Then, later that evening, around 8:30 pm, Lisa was standing in her kitchen, opening the refrigerator, when a neighbor noticed her through the window. It is unknown if Lisa and the neighbor interacted; however, this brief sighting, in the kitchen window, was the last time anyone would see 18-year-old Lisa Farmer.
Frank, Lisa, and Michael relocated from South Carolina to Lawton only 2 days after the couple married in May 1983. Frank was in the Army and stationed at Ft. Sill prompting the move to Oklahoma. The family initially lived in an apartment in Lawton before moving into their home at 2116 A Street on August 1st. The night Lisa disappeared marked the first time she and Michael were ever alone overnight in their new home.
The following day, August 3rd, Michael was heard by their next door neighbor,Donna, crying continuously. Donna became concerned and went to the Farmer house to check on Michael. When she arrived at the home around 3pm, the front door was locked, the back door was unlocked (with some reports describing the back door wide open), along with an open dining room window. (The house reportedly had no air-conditioning so leaving the windows and doors open would not have been unusual. Historical weather records confirm Lawton had consecutive 100+° days during the first part of August 1983.) Once inside, the neighbor found Michael alone, walking around but unharmed; however, he was hungry and had a dirty diaper. Lisa was nowhere to be found so Donna took Michael back to their house and immediately called Frank to report the situation. Frank rushed home and noticed all Lisa’s personal belongings were still in the house – keys, wallet, identification, clothes, jewelry, money. The only items reportedly missing were a floral printed nightgown and blue fuzzy slippers that investigators speculate Lisa may have been wearing. Other reports suggest Lisa may have been wearing blue jeans and a light shirt. Frank contacted law enforcement twice on August 3rd to report Lisa’s disappearance. However, an official report was not completed by police until August 4th.
While no evidence of forced entry was discovered, accounts vary as to whether there were any signs of a struggle. Reports indicate the Farmer home was never thoroughly searched or processed leaving little to no physical evidence and few leads in Lisa’s disappearance. During the days following Lisa’s disappearance, Frank and his father (who was a detective in South Carolina) identified 18 items from the house that they believe suggested Lisa had been forcefully removed. Among the items were beer bottle caps discarded in an ashtray and a decorative blanket found rumpled. Lisa and Frank did not drink beer, and the blanket was normally displayed on the back of the sofa rather than used. This also suggested to the family that Lisa may have known her abductor. According to the family, all the items were offered to law enforcement but were never collected. Investigators initially focused on Frank as their primary suspect. However, he was questioned and eliminated as a suspect after investigators confirmed his alibi, and he passed a polygraph. According to documents provided by the family, law enforcement requested permission to enter the property on August 12th – it is unknown if this occurred. Sources further reported that law enforcement questioned neighbors in an 8-block radius, consulted with psychics in South Carolina, and even questioned a woman from Texas who claims she had a “vision” that Lisa was being held in a cave. Every lead ultimately proved to be a dead end. Lisa’s family has been quoted both in newspapers and in conversations with Oklahoma Cold Cases that they feel Lawton Police Department did not do enough and stood firmly by the statement that law enforcement never truly went and looked for Lisa. Frank said in a conversation that as far as he was aware, law enforcement never set one foot inside the residence where Lisa went missing. Newspaper accounts also reported that Lisa’s grandmother and father-in-law each received letters from Lisa postmarked August 3rd. In the letters, Lisa describes the “cute little rock house” she fixed up and how happy she was. For the family this reinforced the belief that Lisa had not voluntarily left her life behind but instead became a victim of foul play.
Investigators subsequently focused their attention on Kenneth Wagstaff, a New York native. According to newspaper sources, after frequent encounters with law enforcement in New York, Wagstaff was sent by his parents to Lawton, Oklahoma to live with his sister and brother-in-law. While living in the Lawton area, Wagstaff was arrested in October 1983 and charged in connection with the murder of 19 yr old Cynthia Lynn Ross. Her body was found in a pond; she had been strangled. According to local news sources, Cynthia had given Wagstaff a ride to a friend’s home, making him the last person to see her alive. While waiting for trial in the Ross case, Wagstaff was questioned about the Lisa Farmer disappearance which had occurred only 2 months prior. There was a police information card completed documenting that Frank and his father reported the “maintenance man” identified as Kenny Wagstaff, address 2114 #2, A Avenue, stopped by the house at 8am on August 3rd, heard the baby crying, but no one answered the door. No additional details were documented including the date the information was provided. In the Ross case, a witness, identified as an ex-girlfriend’s mother, testified that Wagstaff was with her the night Cynthia Ross was murdered and the night Lisa disappeared. This witness’s testimony was instrumental in Wagstaff being acquitted of the charges in the Ross case and no charges being filed in Lisa’s case. Following the Ross trial, Wagstaff promptly moved back to New York. After leaving Oklahoma, Wagstaff again came to the attention of law enforcement in connection with two felony investigations. In 1987, while Wagstaff was living in New Jersey, he was charged with aggravated sexual assault and armed robbery in connection with an alleged attack involving a mother and daughter. The charges were later dropped based on DNA evidence excluding him. Wagstaff was also charged in a separate incident of aggravated assault involving a woman that was in his car that he allegedly tried to choke. The disposition of this case is unknown. He remains the only suspect in the Lisa Farmer case.
At the time of her disappearance, Lisa Ann (Watkins) Farmer was five foot six inches tall and 115 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes. She had scars on her hip, tongue, right ankle, and under the toes of her left foot. She occasionally wore glasses. She was also possibly wearing a gold chain, a floating heart necklace, and a gold wedding band with a diamond solitaire.
Nearly 43 years later, Lisa’s disappearance remains unsolved, with few, if any credible leads. As is often the case with decades old investigations, witnesses become difficult to locate, memories fade, and the original crime scene can no longer be preserved or revisited. The neighborhood, where the Farmer home was located no longer exists; the area has since been redeveloped into Lawton’s industrial district. Lisa’s parents and siblings have all passed away, leaving her son Matthew, now 44, as her closest surviving family member. After more than 4 decades, he deserves to know what happened to his mother.
If you have any information on the disappearance of Lisa Farmer, please contact the Lawton Police Department at 580-581-3270.
Sources for this article:
The Lawton Constitution, July 1, 1986, page 2a, no author
Missing persons report, Lawton Police Dept, dated Aug. 3, 1983, taken by Jackie Mitchell
Information Card, Lawton Police Department, undated, unsigned
The Lawton Constitution, Sept. 27, 1988, page 2a, no author
Record of Conversation, Sept. 2 1983, written by Army Chaplain Daniel Nagle
Oklahoma Cold Cases case file for Lisa Farmer,containing notes from conversations with family members and friends of Lisa, no date
The Oklahoman, “Lawton Jury Acquits Man Of Woman’s Strangulation”, June 23, 1984, no author listed
Jul 24, 1988, page 6 – The Record at Newspapers.com™ – Newspapers.com™
Aug 16, 1983, page 3 – The Greenville News at Newspapers.com™ Newspapers.com™
Apr 17, 1988, page 25 – The Record at Newspapers.com™ – Newspapers.com™
Sep 30, 1983, page 43 – The State at Newspapers.com™ – Newspapers.com™
Oct 20, 1988, page 18 – The Record at Newspapers.com™ – Newspapers.com™
Oct 20, 1988, page 1 – The Record at Newspapers.com™ – Newspapers.com™
Oct 21, 1988, page 13 – North Jersey Herald and News at Newspapers.com™ – Newspapers.com™
Only a Nightgown Missing, Everything Else Left Behind | Lisa Farmer