Officials say large drum found in lake could hold clues to woman's 25-year disappearance
GROVE — Investigators believe a 55-gallon metal drum found at the bottom of a lake in northeastern Oklahoma could be tied to the case of a woman missing for 25 years.
Peggy A. Sweeten, 52 at the time of her disappearance, was last seen Jan. 17, 1998. She was living with her husband, James Lee Sweeten, now 78 and a former school superintendent, at a lakefront home with a boat dock on Grand Lake, northeast of Grove, Oklahoma.
At the time of Peggy Sweeten's disappearance, her husband told authorities she had left with a man she'd met online, but Patrick Sweeten, the couple's son, said his mother did not use email. The Oklahoman previously reported that none of Peggy Sweeten's personal belongings — including her car, clothes, photos or mementos — were missing.
Detectives said that Patrick Sweeten had told investigators in 1998 that he'd noticed a 55-gallon drum had abruptly gone missing on his parents' property. When the son questioned the father about the whereabouts of the drum, he was dismissive and said he knew nothing about it, Patrick Sweeten told investigators.
Last Wednesday, local fire officials, sheriff's deputies and investigators used an underwater drone and a magnetic locator as they began searching the deep waters surrounding the Sweetens' old lakefront home. Friday, officials found a 55-gallon drum standing upright but covered in sludge. Mesh buckets were used to pull some of the contents from the drum.
More: Son blames father in woman's disappearance in Grove
Authorities said no remains were recovered at the time, but they next hope to use underwater equipment to safely recover the drum without losing anything inside of it.
James Sweeten was identified as a "person of interest" on a 2011 warrant when authorities searched underneath a tool shed on the property built shortly after Peggy Sweeten's disappearance. A two-day search uncovered nothing.
James Sweeten had previously refused a polygraph test and a noninvasive search of his property. The warrant also stated James Sweeten was having an affair in late 1997, investigators wrote.
Court records show James Sweeten filed for divorce in February 1998, three weeks after his wife went missing. A divorce was granted in April 1998, after Peggy Sweeten did not appear in court for the proceedings. The warrant said James Sweeten had told his son he'd received a call from Peggy and she wasn't coming back.
Patrick Sweeten has said in the past he believes his father had something to do with his mother's disappearance. Peggy Sweeten has long been "presumed" dead by state attorneys.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Drum found in lake could be connected to 1998 missing Grove woman's case
