MARBLE CITY – The family of Cherokee Nation citizen Cody Bryant, missing since early February, says his body was discovered March 14 outside of Marble City.
According to Bryant’s aunt, Melba Dodson, his body was discovered late that day, but the family did not receive official confirmation it was Bryant until March 14.
“The medical examiner says it may be months before we learn the cause of his death due to body deterioration from the elements,” she noted.
Bryant, 26, had been seen last on the morning of Feb. 9 walking from Marble City toward his home of Sallisaw, according to family. It was reported that a male matching Bryant’s description was walking along the road “waving his arms and even laying down on the road.”
“So we’re not sure what the circumstances were with that, if he had possibly taken something or if he was trying to get help and was hurt,” Dodson said previously.
In early March, Sharon Bryant said she suspected foul play was involved in her son’s disappearance. She believed her son was confronted on the road then beaten by assailants he likely knew.
“The way I heard it was whoever picked him up probably finished him off,” she said at the time, adding that an anonymous source claimed Bryant’s body was covered alongside railroad tracks in the area.
The Cherokee Nation Marshal Service, which has assisted in the case, deferred to the Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Office, but a call there seeking comment or additional information was not immediately returned.
Anyone with information regarding Bryant’s death is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 918-775-9155.
