Danny Lynchard's Kevo

Web query in Arkansas finds dead stranger’s kin
BY VAN JENSEN

Posted on Wednesday, April 4, 2007

As Della Oxendine sat down on a recent Saturday to resume her genealogical research, she thought of the short article in the previous day’s Democrat-Gazette that lay beside her.

At the computer desk of her home near Sheridan, Oxendine read again of the search by Tulsa police for the family of a man who had died in Tulsa in mid-March. Police identified the man as Kirk M. Staggs, 45, but they hadn’t been able to track down any relatives. His only listed address was a post office box in North Little Rock.

Tulsa police chaplain Danny Lynchard had said he hoped someone in Arkansas might know Staggs. If no relatives were found soon, he warned, Staggs’ body would have to be turned over to the county, cremated and buried in a pauper’s grave.

“On a whim,” Oxendine decided to type Staggs’ name into the genealogy program she had bought in January to track down her family’s past. In the months that she’d had the program, she’d learned that a great-grandfather fought for the Confederate Army in the Civil War and traced the route her family took from the Atlantic Coast to Arkansas.

Now, she stroked a few keys and pressed enter. In a blink, the result popped up: Kirk Staggs, with a brother named Craig E. Staggs living in Kansas City, Mo. The brother’s phone number was even listed.

“It’s magnificent,” Oxendine said of her program, which scours Web resources for information. “The Internet is so easy to use.”

She then called the number listed for Lynchard in the newspaper article and left a message.

Monday, March 26, was the deadline Lynchard had faced to find Staggs’ family. After Staggs died of a stroke while driving home from work a couple of weeks earlier, Lynchard had faced the stiff challenge of locating next of kin.

In most cases of a body without family, Lynchard said he puts a notice in the local newspaper. Most times, it works.

“We’ll get lucky and find them,” he said. “The problem with this one was this guy had only been here a week and didn’t know anyone.”

Staggs had moved to Tulsa to work odd jobs, Lynchard said. He lived with a friend he had met through work, but the roommate didn’t know Staggs ’ family and Staggs left no contact information. Every lead fell apart.

When Lynchard returned to his office that Monday, he received several calls from Arkansans, though none offered concrete help. Then he checked his messages and heard the one left by Oxendine.

He called her immediately and they cross-checked the dates of birth. They matched, and Oxendine relayed the phone number listed for Craig Staggs.

With another quick call, Lynchard learned the tip had been right.

“He was, first of all, very saddened by the news,” Lynchard said of Craig Staggs, “but also very appreciative of the effort Della put in to find him.”

Quickly, Craig Staggs arranged a trip to Tulsa and retrieved his brother’s body, taking it back to Kansas City for burial.

Today, Kirk Staggs will be laid to rest in the suburb of Raytown, where he grew up among six siblings. Most of the large family arrived Monday and Tuesday, Craig Staggs said. They’re expecting a big funeral, something far different from the lonely interment that was planned in Tulsa.

Older by a year and a half than Kirk, Craig Staggs said the family took the news very hard, though they hadn’t known Kirk had moved to Tulsa and Craig Staggs couldn’t recall the last time he’d talked to his brother. Kirk was a free spirit who moved often and didn’t stay in touch, he said.

“A great guy, very fun-loving,” Craig Staggs said of his brother, who never married. “He liked to make people laugh.” Kirk Staggs was known for his 10-foot-tall unicycle and his alter-ego as “Bilbo the Clown,” who spent nearly two decades entertaining at birthday parties around Kansas City and later in Arizona. Growing up, “We were pretty typical kids,” Craig Staggs said. “We went down to the woods most every day. Biking, fishing. We built ramps to jump our bicycles.”

Craig Staggs said he’s also waiting until after today’s funeral before calling Oxendine to thank her for helping find his brother’s family.

Reached on Tuesday, Oxendine said she hadn’t heard back from anyone about Staggs, so she assumed that she hadn’t really found a match. When she heard that her effort had paid off, she gave a laugh of happiness and relief.

“I’m glad it was the right person,” she said. “If that was my son or my brother, I’d surely want to know.”

April 4, 2007 - Arkansas Democrat Gazette