Cold Case Files: The 1960 murder of Charlene Marie Springer Reynolds in Tahlequah remains unsolved after decades

On Halloween night, October 31, 1960, in the quiet streets of Tahlequah—the historic capital of the Cherokee Nation—a 40-year-old woman met a violent end while simply doing her job.

Charlene Marie Reynolds (née Springer), born February 15, 1920, was working at the Red Oak Tavern when she was viciously attacked: beaten over the head with a cast-iron skillet and stabbed six times. She died that night, leaving behind a mystery that has haunted Cherokee County for over six decades.

Charlene is buried at Greenleaf Cemetery in Tahlequah, her grave a silent reminder of one of the county's most enduring cold cases. No arrests were ever made, and the motive, whether robbery, personal grudge, or something els, remains unknown.

in 1960, Tahlequah was a small, close-knit community surrounded by the beauty of northeastern Oklahoma's hills and lakes. Taverns like the Red Oak were social hubs, places where locals gathered after work.

That fateful evening, Charlene was alone or closing up when her attacker struck with brutal force, using a common kitchen item as a weapon before escalating to a knife.Vintage tavern interior from the 1960s era, similar to what the Red Oak Tavern might have looked like

.The crime shocked the town, occurring on a night associated with mischief but resulting in real tragedy. Despite investigations at the time, leads dried up quickly. Contemporary newspaper archives from the era yield few details, common for small-town crimes before widespread digital records,and the case faded from headlines but never from official files.

Today, Charlene's murder is highlighted by advocacy groups as one of Oklahoma's longstanding unsolved homicides. It appears in historical crime research collections and cold case databases, underscoring how some cases from the pre-DNA era persist without resolution.

The 1960s lacked modern forensic tools: no widespread DNA testing, limited fingerprint databases, and reliance on eyewitnesses or confessions. If evidence was collected—blood, fingerprints, or the murder weapons, it may not have been preserved in a way usable today. Advances in genealogy and forensics have cracked similar vintage cases elsewhere, offering hope here too.

As of December 19, 2025, the case is still open with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, though not actively featured on the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation's (OSBI) public cold case deck, likely due to its age.