The guy pictured above is Stephens County Sheriff Wayne McKinney.
Although he barely missed our recent ranking of the 10 Hottest Sheriffs in Oklahoma, he and his mustache have faithfully and selectively served the citizens of Stephens County from 2009 until, well, about 90 days ago when he mysteriously stopped showing up to work.
At least that's the story from former Stephens County Reserve Deputy Bill Scott. He left a Facebook post revealing that Sherriff McKinney had not been to work in about 90 days and "Nobody at the sheriff’s office knows why?"
That's wild. I think we've all watched enough episodes of Unsolved Mysteries and Forensic Files to know that when someone doesn't show up to work, usually their concerned co-workers call the cops to do a welfare check. But if your boss stopped showing up to work, would you call the cops, especially if you were the cops?
The Facebook post got the attention of the Duncan Banner. They jumped on the case and claimed they were able to track down Sherrif McKinney in a broken-down mobile home in Alabama...
The Banner received a call from Sheriff McKinney at 9:28 a.m. Wednesday, May 18. The call came from an Alabama number.
McKinney told The Banner he and his wife, Central High Mayor Julie McKinney, originally left on vacation but ran into trouble with their mobile home.
“We are actually broken down in the manufacturer now trying to get repairs,” McKinney said. “We’ve been trying and the problem is supply chain issues on parts and accessories.”
Hey, we've all had car/mobile home troubles at inopportune times, but is that really a good excuse to miss 90 days of work? He was in Alabama... not Albania. He could always show personal responsibility and rent a car and drive back. It's only a 10-hour to 12-hour drive, right?
McKinney has a good excuse for that, too:
McKinney said on top of their mobile home experiencing issues and them getting stuck out of state, their dog spent an extensive amount in the vet in ICU while there — nearly 14 days — and the couple both became sick during their stay. He also said their cellular service is poor where they’re staying in Alabama.
McKinney said they hadn’t been doing well, but are okay now and hope to return this weekend.
“We’re getting out of here,” McKinney said. “I’m leaving and Julie’s leaving. We’ll be home this weekend.”
Wow. I've invented a lot of good excuses for missing work over the years, but even I can't top that! Falling ill with his wife and dog in a broken-down mobile home in Alabama????? That sounds like either the world's saddest Toby Keith song or the plot for National Lampoon's Redneck Vacation.
The Sherrif also refuted claims that he went missing or AWOL...
McKinney said he “wanted people to understand that me and Julie didn’t walk off.”
“We didn’t just disappear because we wanted to and just because it says Red Bay, Alabama — this is not Gulf Shores, Alabama. We’re not sitting on a beach. We’re sitting in a gravel parking lot, next to a dog food plant. We’re not having a really good time at all.”
Basically, he's the Edmond equivalent of being stuck in a mobile home at the Pepsi plant.
Former reserve deputy Bill Scott, the guy who alerted the public to the sheriff's absence, responded to McKinney's claims. He took issue with the sheriff's claims that a poor cell signal in his gravel parking lot contributed to his lack of communication...
Anyway, I guess we'll continue to follow this entertaining rural Oklahoma saga. I have to get to work on my National Lampoon's Redneck Vacation screenplay. Stay with The Lost Ogle. We'll keep you advised.
UPDATE:
This Monday, the Stephens County Commissioner Board will "discuss and possibly take action" on the 90-day absence of Sheriff Wayne McKinney. Hopefully, he gets his motorhome fixed in time! https://t.co/mXFvjweKPt pic.twitter.com/lY79VAmzsN
— The Lost Ogle (@TheLostOgle) May 20, 2022
