911 Calls Reveal How Oklahoma Teen Noah Presgrove's Body Was Found by Highway: 'Looked Awful Odd'

The 19-year-old was lying naked in the fetal position on the side of the road with severe injuries

Almost a year after law enforcement began investigating the death of Oklahoma 19-year-old Noah Presgrove, newly released 911 calls from two passersby detail what they saw in the predawn darkness of Sept. 4, 2023, as they came upon Presgrove's naked body.

The first caller — who identified himself only as Tyler — said he wasn't sure what he saw “laying on the shoulder of the road” as he drove down Highway 81 just outside of Terral, Oklahoma, he told the 911 dispatcher that Labor Day morning.

The mass on the roadside could have been a deer, he suggested, but “it looked like a body.”

“It just — it looked awful odd,” he said. Audio of the two calls, placed just before 6 a.m. local time, was released in response to a public records request by PEOPLE.

When family and law enforcement arrived later that morning, they saw Noah's body in the fetal position, wearing nothing but a pair of mismatched slip-on shoes. Blood pooled by his head. His shorts were in the middle of the road.

Ten months later, it's unclear how Noah sustained his injuries or came to be on the side of the highway, severely injured.

He had attended a four-day birthday party that holiday weekend at a home near where his body was found. Noah's brother, Dailen Presgrove, previously told PEOPLE that investigators collected Snapchats, videos and text messages from partygoers. But the timeline of events is still incomplete.

“There are many conflicting accounts of that night,” Dailen has said. “With so much time passing, it seems that the stories are changing. Other times it feels that they are reading off of a script. It’s hard to trust anyone.”

According to Noah's autopsy report, obtained by PEOPLE in May, a medical examiner determined he died of “multiple blunt force injuries” but that the cause of those injuries was “undetermined.”

A short time after the first man reported Noah on the side of the highway on Sept. 4, another man — who identified himself as Tyler Hardy — called into 911, saying he had seen a body on the side of the road while driving to work, initially mistaking it for a deer as well.

“I'm pretty sure there's somebody laying dead along the road,” Hardy told the dispatcher.
“They look naked. I'm staying back.”

The dispatcher said she was already aware of the report and told Hardy that a deputy was on their way.

She mentioned another 911 call — beyond the ones made by the two Tylers — which has not yet been released. Jefferson County Undersheriff Jimmy Williams tells PEOPLE that that other call lasted only about 21 seconds and was full of static. While a number is not attached to the call, he believes Hardy had called twice.

“Alright, well I’m just sitting here, blocking the road,” Hardy told the dispatcher in the other call, explaining that the body was positioned on the white line, close to traffic.

Hardy told the dispatcher that he had nearly hit the body and decided to wait until law enforcement arrived to ensure no one else did.

“It actually looks like there's a piece of clothing maybe laying in the middle of the road,” Hardy said, adding: “I don’t want to get too close.”

Sarah Stewart, a spokesperson for Oklahoma’s Department of Public Safety, has said that the investigation into Noah’s death “is ongoing” and, citing “standard procedure,” has declined to “release documents or information” on the case until the conclusion of the investigation.

Noah's family says they have been trying to obtain the 911 calls for months

In an email, Williams, the undersheriff, tells PEOPLE he previously withheld the calls at the direction of the lead investigator, who "told me personally not to release any information without his approval."

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