True Crime Chronicles: Death of Western Oklahoma mother remained a cold case for almost a dozen years

Tracy Lynn Allen was a 26-year-old mother of two, known for her warmth, generosity of spirit, and fierce devotion to her daughters.

Tracy Lynn Allen

She worked as a caregiver at a local nursing nursing home and had a deep appreciation for Native American art. On an ordinary spring evening in 2001, Tracy disappeared from her home in Altus, Oklahoma -- a quiet exit that left behind echoes of heartbreak and unanswered questions.

Her estranged husband, Garland Allen, insisted she’d left with another man. He dropped off their children with his mother and vanished. But on an ordinary spring night in 2001, Tracy vanished from her home in Altus, Oklahoma--leaving behind only mystery, heartbreak, and two children who would grow up with a void where their mother’s truth should have lived.

Garland Allen, her estranged husband, insisted she had run off with another man.

He dropped the children off with his mother and then disappeared himself. For over a decade, Tracy’s absence lingered like a question no one could answer.

The silence grew heavier with each passing year, pressing against a family that refused to stop looking.

In 2013, the case drew renewed attention thanks to a collaboration between Altus Police, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and the TV series Cold Justice.

Garland Allen, then living in Hillsboro, Texas, was arrested after confessing that Tracy had died during a physical altercation. He claimed she hit her head on an anvil in the yard. He then wrapped her body in a blanket and carpet and buried her near Tom Steed Reservoir in Kiowa County—a remote campsite that would become her hidden grave.

Investigators, led by Texas Ranger Jim Holland and Wise County authorities, followed Garland to the burial site. There, they uncovered skeletal remains wrapped just as he described. The discovery confirmed what Wanda had feared but never stopped fighting to uncover.

Garland Allen was extradited to Oklahoma and pled guilty to second-degree murder and unlawful removal of a body. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison, with 25 years suspended on the murder charge and five years for the unlawful removal. The sentences were to run concurrently.

For Wanda, the discovery came after twelve years of desperate searching and public appeals. She arranged for Tracy’s cremation and began preparing for a memorial—a moment to replace silence with remembrance. Tracy’s daughters, once lost in confusion, now know the fate of the woman who loved them fiercely.