Glenda Marie Parton
Parton, circa 2021; Parton in the clothes she was wearing at the time of her disappearance; Jack Grimes
- Missing Since 10/25/2021
- Missing From Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Classification Endangered Missing
- Sex Female
- Race White
- Age 80 years old
- Height and Weight 5'3, 135 - 155 pounds
- Clothing/Jewelry Description A purple or blue long-sleeved shirt with a collar and a front zipper, dark-colored pants or jeans, and dark-colored sneakers with side stripes, white laces and white soles. Photos of Parton in those clothes is posted with this case summary.
- Associated Vehicle(s) Red Kia Rio (accounted for)
- Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Glenda's nickname is Cookie. She was in excellent physical condition at the time of her disappearance and very active for a woman her age. She wears eyeglasses.
Details of Disappearance
The story of Parton's disappearance begins with the disappearance of her son, Dewayne Selby, who was last seen in Turley, Oklahoma on October 22, 2021.
Parton and Selby were partners in the horse business, along with another man, 76-year-old Jack Grimes; they'd been partnered together for twenty years. A photo of Grimes is posted with this case summary. He and Selby lived together in Turley.
On October 22, Selby and Grimes planned to attend a horse show in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas, a four-and-a-half-hour drive to the south, and buy a horse. They were driving Grimes's car, a maroon four-door 2016 Ford Taurus with Oklahoma license plate number ETW-614.
They never made it to the horse show and there's no evidence they left the local area at all; both men disappeared. Selby has never been heard from again.
Parton, who lived with her daughter and son-in-law about an hour from Turley, decided to report her son missing on October 25. The police said they needed his Social Security number, so she decided to drive to Selby's home in Turley to get his Social Security card.
She is known to have arrived at Selby and Grimes's house; a relative who lived within sight of the house saw her car in the driveway.
She was seen on video at 8:00 p.m. that day at a Reasor's store in Owasso, Oklahoma; she had given a ride to one of Grimes and Selby's ranch hands. They purchased food, which was later found in Grimes and Selby's refrigerator. She was behaving normally in the store and didn't appear to be under duress.
Parton's daughter stated it seemed strange that her mother would have given the person a ride to the store, since Parton did not drive after dark due to her eyesight. She has never been heard from again.
On October 26, when Parton didn't return home from what should have been a two-hour round trip to Turley, her daughter and son-in-law went looking for her . That afternoon they found her car, a red Kia Rio parked on the side of Highway 75 near 56th Street North, less than a mile from Grimes and Selby's home. There was no sign of Parton at the scene.
When the car was found, the keys were in the ignition, but Parton's daughter stated her mother never used the ignition key. Although her car was normally messy and full of various items, it was clean and neat when her family members found it.
The can of pepper spray which Parton always kept attached to her purse was sitting on the car seat. It was visible in the surveillance camera footage of her at Reasor's, and it had been attached to the purse as usual at that time.
Selby's car was found abandoned on Highway 75 near 56th Street North after he disappeared, and Grimes's car was found in Mohawk Park on October 25. On October 31, Grimes's body was found by deer hunters near 59th Place North and North Xanthus, less than a mile from his and Selby's home. He had been murdered. No one has been arrested in his case and no suspects have been named.
Parton's daughter-in-law stated Grimes had a reputation for helping others, including homeless people and those struggling with addiction, but it's unclear whether this was a factor in his disappearance and murder.
Since Parton's disappearance she hasn't touched her bank account. Her daughter believes she may have met with foul play. She stated Parton was very active for her age: although she did not live on her own, she worked at a bookstore, gardened and was active in the horse business.
Police stated they had a person of interest in Parton and Selby's disappearances. This person has not been publicly identified, but authorities stated there was no evidence that either of them was still alive. The mother and son's disappearances, and the murder of Grimes, remain unsolved.
Investigating Agency
- Tulsa County Sheriff's Office 918-596-5601
Source Information
Updated 1 time since October 12, 2004. Last updated November 11, 2022; casefile added.