Only hours before Noah Presgrove was found dead beside a remote Oklahoma highway, the 19-year-old was partying with some of his closest friends.
Noah was discovered naked, with several teeth knocked out, on US-81 near Terral, Oklahoma, on September 4, 2023.
He had suffered catastrophic injuries to his head and upper body and died from internal bleeding. Nearly three years later, the circumstances surrounding his death remain unresolved.
No one has been arrested or publicly identified as a suspect. Investigators say the case remains open but have released few details.
Noah’s death has become one of the most closely debated unsolved cases in the United States. Some believe he died in a tragic accident, while others suspect he was killed.
His family appears to support the latter theory. They sued six of his friends and three adults, alleging that Noah was beaten to death. Each defendant has denied liability.
The final hours of Noah’s life are obscured by alcohol, incomplete memories and sharply conflicting accounts.
Our News Outlet has reconstructed the events that are broadly accepted to have occurred before and immediately after his death, although many details remain disputed by those who attended the gathering.
Noah Presgrove, 19, was wearing only his shoes when his body was found on a deserted stretch of US-81 near Terral, Oklahoma, on September 4, 2023
The September 2023 gathering was held to mark the 22nd birthday of Avery Jo Combs, whose family owns substantial amounts of land in and around Terral. Avery was reportedly in a relationship with Noah at the time.
The party was promoted among friends on Snapchat and took place at the home of her grandfather, Johnnie Wilcoxson. The property was one of three homes on a small dirt road 1.2 miles north of town, surrounded by open fields.
Those attending came from several small communities along US-81, including Ryan, Waurika, Duncan and Comanche, where Noah lived.
Many were among Noah’s closest friends. Their lives have been transformed since his death.
The group included Avery, her sister Carter Combs, Noah’s best friend Jack Newton, who was dating Carter, and friends Logan Jernigan, Brylan Sweat, Isaac Rojas, Kaden Pressy and Jasmine Millan.
About 40 people attended at various points during the weekend. As the drinking intensified, videos of the group’s antics began appearing online.
Those Snapchat posts, viewed by many local residents as they were uploaded, became the only visual record of Noah’s final hours.
A photograph of Noah with friends late Saturday night during the party
Noah’s body was discovered roughly one mile north of the road where the party took place
The gathering took place at Avery and Carter’s grandfather’s trailer home, one of three houses on a dirt road 1.2 miles north of town
Saturday, September 2, 2023
One of the key videos from Saturday night showed several of Noah’s friends, including Avery, writing their names with marker on his bare buttocks.
At some point, Noah argued with Jack after Jack complained that Noah was sitting in a corner talking with Carter, Jack’s girlfriend.
‘We argued about girls for a second then ended up holding each other crying, telling each other how much we meant to one another,’ Jack later told a friend.
Avery was reportedly upset that Noah, with whom she was said to be sleeping, was spending time with another friend.
‘Noah fell asleep on the ground with Logan [Jernigan] on Saturday night – they didn’t do anything, but when I woke up I remember Avery saying to Logan “if you did anything, I was gonna kill y’all” but they laughed it off,’ Pressy later told police, according to a report.
That comment appears to have formed part of an allegation in the lawsuit’s first amended complaint that Avery ‘made one or more statements about harming or killing him.’
Noah drove home late that night and took a shower, although it is unclear how much of the marker could be removed.
‘We argued about girls for a second then ended up holding each other crying telling each other how much we meant to one another,’ Jack told a friend after Noah’s death
Noah, left, with Jasmine Millan, center, Jack Newton and Carter Combs on Saturday night
Avery was reportedly upset that Noah, shown with Logan Jernigan, was close to another friend
Sunday, September 3, 2023
Sunday’s party, during which Noah was filmed wearing black shorts, began after Jack reportedly called him at about 2.30pm.
Jack told Noah he planned to attend the party the following day, and Noah said he would join him for at least part of it.
7pm
Several partygoers picked Noah up from his home in Comanche, approximately 34 miles north of Terral along US-81.
They arrived about 30 minutes later and began drinking with dozens of other friends.
At some point, Jack stopped at Napoli’s convenience store in Marlow, Oklahoma, where he allegedly purchased alcohol for the gathering.
The lawsuit alleges that Jack gave some of the alcohol to Noah and contributed to his intoxication.
Later that evening
A stream of Snapchat videos and photographs showed drunken behavior throughout the night, although the precise posting times for most of the material are unknown.
One video showed Noah shirtless and dancing inside the house with other guests. Another showed a woman running headfirst through a sheet of cardboard.
Photographs from around the same period showed Noah posing with friends, pulling faces and standing in a bathroom with Jack.
As the crowd became smaller, those who remained began challenging one another to stand still while being slapped across the face.
A young blonde woman slapped Noah, but he barely reacted.
The gathering celebrated Avery Jo Combs’ 22nd birthday. Noah was reportedly sleeping with her at the time
Noah, left, poses with Jack in a bathroom during the party
Late September 3 or early September 4
Later that night, Noah became involved in another confrontation after a friend known as Mikey accused him of hiding his phone.
Noah’s family alleged that Mikey ‘fishhooked’ him and that Noah bit Mikey’s finger in response. Some friends, however, said the dispute never became physical.
The phone was eventually discovered beneath another friend who was asleep on a couch, and the two boys reconciled.
Monday, September 4, 1.42am
The last known video of Noah was recorded at 1.42am. It showed him urging Brylan Sweat to slap him, as the young woman had done earlier.
Noah repeatedly encouraged Brylan to hit him. Brylan eventually delivered only a light tap before running away, apparently worried that Noah might retaliate playfully.
Isaac Rojas could be seen holding a rifle in the background while Noah persuaded Brylan to slap him.
September 4, 1.50am
Jack said he went to bed because he had to wake early for a fishing trip on Waurika Lake, around 30 miles north of Terral, with his father, Caleb Newton. The party carried on after he went to sleep.
The final known video of Noah showed him daring Brylan Sweat to slap him
Isaac Rojas was visible holding a rifle in the background as Noah urged Brylan to hit him
A garage and patio beside the house where part of the party took place
3am: The ATV accident
The ATV incident is one of the few events consistently described by witnesses and was included in the autopsy report. Noah was reportedly not injured in the crash.
‘Earlier that night he [was riding in an ATV] and he flipped it but then after that he was just hanging out at the house,’ Stephanie Milan, who attended the party, wrote in a Snapchat message to a local who was asking questions.
‘Like he turned it on its side but they flipped it back on its wheels.’
Beyond that, accounts differ substantially. Some people placed the incident around midnight, while others said it happened at about 3am.
Jack, who owned the Polaris Ranger side-by-side, said he was asleep when the crash occurred and learned about it from others.
‘I took my keys out of the SxS and apparently Noah came in my room and grabbed them while I was asleep. A bunch of people went and drove the Ranger and wrecked it,’ he told Our News Outlet in 2024.
Noah is generally believed to have been driving the Ranger when it overturned. Although he was not hurt, the vehicle’s impact left him covered in dirt.
!['Earlier that night he [was riding in an ATV] and he flipped it but then after that he was just hanging out at the house,' Stephanie Milan, one of the girls who was there, wrote in a Snapchat message to an inquiring local](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/26/01/85343291-13400809-image-a-32_1716684653042.jpg)
‘Earlier that night he [was riding in an ATV] and he flipped it but then after that he was just hanging out at the house,’ Stephanie Milan wrote in a Snapchat message
Noah argued with Avery after asking to sleep in her bed. She refused and told him he would have to sleep on the floor
Early September 4, after the ATV crash
Carter and Jasmine reportedly helped Noah shower because he was too intoxicated to wash the dirt from himself.
Avery’s mother, Stevie Howard, said in a Facebook comment that a video showing the shower was posted online, but the footage has never been found.
Other people said they remembered seeing the video, although some claimed Noah appeared barely responsive.
According to the autopsy report, the only remaining mark on Noah’s back was a stick figure drawn in marker. It remains disputed when and how the names and drawings applied to his body Saturday night, including markings visible on his front in a Sunday photograph, were removed.
After the shower, friends said Noah changed into another pair of shorts, described in the autopsy report as white, and was not wearing underwear. Jack called them ‘loose-fitting wrestling shorts.’
3.15am to 3.30am: Noah disappears
Shortly afterward, Noah argued with Avery when he asked to sleep in her bed. She refused and told him to sleep on the floor.
‘She told him he couldn’t sleep in her bed because he messed with her friend the night before,’ Jack told a friend earlier this year.
The exchange upset Noah. He walked into the night ‘to cool off’ and was never seen alive again.
‘He walked off to clear his head but he wasn’t mad and there was no beef… We don’t know why he got mad. No one had beef,’ Stephanie wrote in her Snapchat message.
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Friends said Noah often wandered away from gatherings, so they initially assumed he would return as he had before.
Noah argued with Avery after asking to sleep in her bed, but she told him he had to sleep on the floor
Jasmine posted this Snapchat selfie at 3.41am with the caption ‘well, Noah’s missing,’ a post that continues to draw criticism and speculation
3.41am
At 3.41am, Jasmine posted a selfie on Snapchat captioned ‘well, Noah’s missing.’ The post has continued to fuel criticism and online speculation.
‘I just want to make something clear I posted this picture not knowing that the worst was gonna happen, not knowing Noah would never come back,’ she later wrote in a Facebook post defending herself.
‘It was normal for Noah to wonder [sic] off nobody thought he wouldn’t be back.’
Jack told a friend that those still awake eventually searched for Noah but were not yet seriously concerned for his safety.
‘After he was gone for a while, everyone was looking for him, they said, but knowing Noah I bet he was kidding and didn’t let anyone find him,’ he wrote.
Jack told Our News Outlet that his ATV was used during the search. ‘They said they took my Ranger to look for him in the ditches and stuff, but knowing Noah he was probably seeing everyone looking for him and was just hiding out.’
The group did not find Noah and went back to the house, believing he would eventually return.
Jack Newton, 22, and his fiancée Carter Combs, 23, are named in the Presgrove family’s lawsuit. They later welcomed a child after announcing their pregnancy in March last year
Carter Combs, Avery’s sister, was also named in the lawsuit as one of the party hosts
Jack, who maintains that he was asleep when Noah died, later described the basic sequence of events to a friend
Before 5.30am
Chris Payette was driving south on US-81 when his vehicle struck something in the road. He felt a bump but continued, believing he had hit a small animal.
After learning about Noah’s death later that day, Payette contacted police. Investigators examined his pickup and cleared him of any involvement.
The object he hit is believed to have been a rolled-up carpet found one or two miles north of Noah’s body.
About a year later, after new investigators assumed responsibility for the case, police conducted forensic testing on Payette’s vehicle and again ruled him out.
5.30am
Jack said he woke sometime after 5.30am to prepare for the fishing trip and was told Noah was missing.
‘I figured maybe he got a ride or something, Noah’s done that before – got mad and left,’ he told Our News Outlet.
‘He was not one you usually worry about. I wasn’t really thinking about it.’
5.43am: Noah’s body is discovered
Noah was found after two vehicles traveling along US-81 spotted a body beside the road and called 911.
The callers were Gulfmark Energy field supervisor Tyler Hardy and a semi-truck driver also named Tyler, who did not provide his surname to the dispatcher.
Three calls came from the area. One lasted only 20 seconds and contained static; local police said it was Hardy attempting to call from a poor signal.
‘He had a bad connection and he to re-call. I confirmed it was the same phone number,’ Hardy said.
The first call, made at 5.43am, came from Tyler. Hardy had previously said the trucker worked for Oklahoma Petroleum Allies and had turned around in Terral, about two miles south, before returning to the scene.
‘I had a bunch of cars behind me, but it looks like someone got hit, like somebody walking down the highway, [they are] lying on the shoulder in the road,’ he said.
‘Yeah, like on the shoulder, like maybe they were walking and somebody hit them… unless it was a deer, but it looked like a body.’
Gulfmark Energy field supervisor Tyler Hardy, pictured with his wife Mallory, was among the first people to find Noah’s body and called 911 at 5:48am
Drone footage shows the location where Noah’s body was found, bottom circle, and the party house in the distance, top circle
Noah’s body was found beside US-81, a remote Oklahoma highway that eventually connects Oklahoma City and Dallas
The dispatcher told Tyler that an officer would respond and said Sheriff Wilson was on his way.
Hardy, traveling in one of the vehicles behind Tyler, stopped beside Noah and called 911 at 5.48am. The first attempt failed, so he immediately called again.
‘I was driving to work south of Terral, and I am pretty sure someone is lying dead on the side of the road,’ he said.
‘They look naked, I’m staying back.’
The dispatcher replied that a deputy was heading to the scene.
Hardy said he had stopped in the center of the road to prevent passing motorists from running over the body.
‘I am sitting here blocking the road. The body is lying right on the white line… I turned around because I just about hit it,’ he said.
‘At first, I thought it was a deer, and I was talking to a guy I work with and said, “I don’t think that is a deer.”‘
Hardy then reported that ‘it actually looks like there’s a piece of clothing lying in the middle of the road.’
‘I don’t want to get too close… I’ll just go ahead and make sure nobody runs it over or anything else,’ he said.
The clothing was a pair of white shorts, according to the autopsy report. Friends said Noah was last seen wearing them.
When police arrived, the shorts had been folded near Noah’s body, matching the description in the autopsy report.
Jack later said he retrieved and folded the shorts in the minutes before officers arrived so passing vehicles would not run over them.
Noah’s body was found beside the highway between the two chalk lines. Circles indicate where his teeth were discovered, with a memorial visible in the background
Police chalk outlines marked the location of Noah’s body, shown by the white line, and at least one tooth, marked by the circle
Jack texted his father, Caleb Newton, at 5.53am to say he was leaving
Jack’s father, Caleb Newton, pictured with his wife
5.53am
Jack texted Caleb to say he was on his way to the lake for their fishing trip.
‘I’ll meet y’all at the lake. Can you bring me a hat please… Someone messed with mine after I went to bed,’ he wrote. Caleb replied, ‘ok.’
Still believing Noah was safe, Jack drove north toward the lake. He then saw the semi-truck and pickup stopped beside the highway.
6.05am
Moments after pulling over and seeing Noah’s body, Jack called his father to tell him that his best friend was dead.
‘I was standing on my boat in my yard, I know exactly where I was when that call came in,’ Caleb later recalled.
Jack returned to the party house, woke several people and told them the news. He then drove back to the scene to wait for his father.
6.18am
Jefferson County Undersheriff Jimmy Williams was the first law enforcement officer to arrive, responding to the 911 calls.
He made a brief initial assessment before concentrating on securing the area. Williams later told Our News Outlet that there was not enough blood to make it immediately obvious.
‘I didn’t observe a lot [of blood] from what little I was there checking – once we determined he was in fact dead, I was just securing the location,’ he said.
Williams said five people were at the scene when he arrived. Sheriff Jeremie Wilson joined him six minutes later, at 6.24am.
The two motorists who called 911 were joined by two Terral Rural Volunteer Fire Department officers, including the chief, who arrived at 6.15am, as well as Jack.
Williams said that between his arrival and departure at 8.17am, the sheriff and Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers were the only additional officials to come to the scene.
‘We kept traffic moving except for people who needed to be there… not long after OHP arrived we shut the road down completely,’ he said.
Noah’s sister Madison Rawlings, pictured with him, sued six of his friends and three adults, alleging he was beaten to death. All defendants have denied liability
Noah played high school football until graduating in May 2023
April 18, 2024
Our News Outlet published its first investigation into Noah’s death, prompting renewed attention to the case.
May 1, 2024
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol issued its first statement on the case in months, saying it was not investigating Noah’s death as a murder.
The agency did not specifically rule out manslaughter and maintained that the investigation was continuing. It has released no significant further statement since then.
May 11, 2024
Noah’s autopsy report was released. It concluded that he had suffered severe head and upper-body injuries that caused fatal internal bleeding.
June 23, 2025
Noah’s family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Avery, Carter, Jack and Logan, as well as Caleb Newton, Stevie Howard, Johnnie Wilcoxson and the store that sold Jack the alcohol.
October 2026
The first page of the lawsuit’s first amended complaint appeared on social media. The amended filing added Jasmine Millan, Brylan Sweat and Christopher Payette as defendants and removed Caleb Newton.
