Skeletal remains belong to missing man

By Ron Jackson

Published: November 6, 2007

INDIAHOMA — The State Medicial Examiner's office positively identified the skeletal remains found last week in Comanche County as those of an Indiahoma man who has been missing since June 2006.

Chief Investigator Kevin Rowland said Tuesday dental records confirmed the identity of Gene Hartman, a mentally disabled man who walked away from his home at the height of the 2006 drought when temperatures routinely hit 100 degrees. Hartman, 39, had a history with seizures and was reportedly without his medication at the time of his disappearance.

No determination has been made whether Hartman was a victim of foul play.

"The cause of death is undetermined,” Rowland said. "We found no obviously signs of blunt force on the skeletal remains, and we have no reason to believe there was any foul play.

"This man had a history of epileptic seizures, but we may never know how he actually died.”

Authorities searched for more than a week for Hartman in the days after his disappearance.

A rural resident found the remains last week while hiking in a wooded area a few miles east of Indiahoma. Rowland said the remains were found along with black shoes and overalls — clothing consistent with what Hartman was wearing when last seen.

The remains were only about three miles from where Hartman was seen the day he left home.

Two Comanche County District 3 workers — foreman Darvin Smith and Debbie McDonald — spotted Hartman in an open pasture that morning. At the time, they hadn't heard the bulletin for the missing man.

"It was strange,” McDonald recalled. "We saw this man in the pasture acting real peculiar. He was real nervous, and when he saw us, he went over to the fence like he was fixing it or something. He watched us the whole time. There were no cars or homes or anything. He was just out there in the middle of nowhere.

"So I called the sheriff's office.”

Only later would McDonald and Smith realize they had seen Hartman.

"That night when I was watching the news, I saw his picture,” McDonald said. "I'm 100 percent sure he's the man we saw. Naturally, we felt bad. We wished we had been able to do something — anything.

"But I think if we had approached, he would have run.”

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