Clifford Darrell, charged with misdemeanors after a strange event in mid-July, has been reported to the Olney Police Department as a missing person as of August 10.
RICHLAND CO.—In a very strange twist to an already-strange story, a man charged in Richland County with misdemeanors stemming from disrupting a funeral in mid-July has been reported as a missing person.
Olney Police Department issued the alert on Monday, August 10, indicating that the last time Clifford Darrell, 51, of Olney, had been seen was on Friday, August 7.
Darrell is the man who was featured on the back page of the August 12, 2015 issue as having disrupted the funeral of Shelly Wilkins Stangle, 46, at Summers Kistler Funeral Home in Olney, then threatening Stangle’s brother with a knife, and running from the scene when police responded.
When he was caught, he was found to have a glass smoking pipe on his person.
He was subsequently arrested on preliminary charges of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Aggravated Assault, and when it came to court, he was also charged with a Disorderly Conduct count.
All of the charges were either Class A or Class C misdemeanors, and he was able to post bond shortly after his July 18 arrest.
He was set for a court date at that time for Aug. 20.
However, on Aug. 10, OPD reported him as a missing person.
It is unclear who reported him missing, what the circumstances were that the person or persons learned he was “missing,” where he was last seen/what he was seen doing, what he was wearing, where he might have gone, and any of the other usual things issued about a person when they are reported missing.
Calls from Disclosure to OPD leading up to this issue were unreturned as of press time, Aug. 23.
The last missing person in Olney occurred three years ago: Ed Hataway went missing on September 16. No effort was made by authorities to find him until days later. His body was located in Lawrence County in early November of 2012 after a letter was sent to Richland County’s former state’s attorney, David Hyde.
The crime has since that time gone unresolved, despite a massive amount of evidence pointing to likely suspects.
In Darrell’s case he may simply have gone back to Oregon, where documents show he had been residing before being in Olney, although what time frame remains unknown.
His association with Shelly Wilkins Stangle was unknown as well, at least by members of her family, whom Disclosure interviewed for the August 2015 edition.
There has been no explanation offered by his local family members for his erratic behavior at Stangle’s funeral.