Cold Case Chronicles: Pauls Valley teen's bopdy has never been located despite boyfriends' admission in 2019 murder

Faith Lindsey, a 17-year-old Chickasaw Nation member, vanished on October 28, 2019, from Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, where she lived with her 24-year-old boyfriend, Tanner Dean Washington.

Originally from Ada, Faith had been in Pauls Valley for four months, working at Sonic. She was scheduled to work the day she disappeared but never showed up. Washington claimed he dropped her off at Sonic around 2:50 PM and returned two hours later to find her gone, but coworkers confirmed she never arrived.

Days later, Faith’s family received texts from Washington saying she was missing. Messages from Faith’s phone claimed she was with someone refusing to let her go, but their uncharacteristic style--marked by misspellings and poor punctuation--led her family to believe she didn’t send them.

On November 4, 2019, her family reported her missing to the Puls Valley police.

The investigation zeroed in on Washington due to his history of abuse and shifting stories. He admitted to controlling behavior and physical violence against Faith, for which he was on probation for assault and battery at the time.

His accounts of Faith’s disappearance were inconsistent: he first said he last saw her at Sonic; then, on October 29, he told an ex-girlfriend and her husband that Faith was shot in Sasakwa and he was responsible, with blood visible on his clothes and phone; later, he claimed he received a text about her being shot, a lie he admitted, leading to charges of false reporting and obstruction.

A search of a pickup truck Washington sold shortly after Faith’s disappearance revealed blood on the backseat and sunglasses, confirmed to be Faith’s through DNA testing. More blood was found in another vehicle he owned.

In December 2019, Washington was charged with first-degree murder in Pontotoc County. Citing the McGirt v. Oklahoma ruling, which places crimes involving Native Americans on tribal land under federal jurisdiction, the state charges were dropped in April 2021.

The federal government then indicted Washington for Murder in Indian Country in May 2021.

On August 31, 2022, Washington pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in federal court in Muskogee, admitting he killed Faith with malice aforethought on October 27, 2019.

Overwhelming evidence, including DNA and his confessions, likely drove the plea to avoid a jury trial. Sentencing was delayed pending a pre-sentence report. On April 25, 2024, Washington, then 29, received life in prison without parole, as announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office on May 6, 2024. Faith’s body remains missing, despite extensive searches by the OSBI, FBI, and Chickasaw Nation Lighthorse Police.

The case, highlighting the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, saw collaboration among multiple agencies. Washington’s refusal to disclose Faith’s remains continues to torment her family.

The OSBI offers a $5,000 reward for information leading to her recovery. Contact the OSBI at (800) 522-8017 or tips@osbi.ok.gov, or Pauls Valley Police at (405) 238-5531 with any information.