Bartlesville Woman Found Dead On Mother's Porch

Police in Bartlesville say the heat may be to blame for a woman's death. Shantelle Ishem was found dead Thursday afternoon, after being outside all day.

The family is hoping they'll soon get answers to how she may have died.

The family says Shantelle Ishem had just gotten out of jail, walked to see a few friends and family, and wound up dead hours later on her mother's porch.

"She got out yesterday, she called and told me that she was out, and I said, it was real hot out today...don't go nowhere if you don't have to," said Karin Martin, her mother.

Those were the first words Ishem's mother said on the phone, as her daughter got out of the Washington County jail on a hot Thursday morning.

"She went to, I think, three places and then ended up here, looking for us, and no one was here," Martin said.

Temperatures in Bartlesville topped 99 degrees. The heat index in the area averaged around 110 degrees.

But hours later, 30-year-old Ishem was found dead.

"When we arrived from Tulsa, our house was like a crime scene," said Ishem's aunt, Cherita Adair.

"A neighbor spotted her laying on the porch, called us, we got there and she was deceased," said Bartlesville Police Chief Tom Holland.

Police can't say just yet if heat played a role in Ishem's death.

"We're going to rely on the medical people and the doctors to tell us that. We're not going to speculate," Holland said.

Isham's mother, on the other hand, believes a medical condition could be responsible for her death. Her mom believes she suffered a seizure, while trying to get inside her home.

"Even though my daughter had an illness, she had a good spirit, a good soul. She's a good girl," Martin said.

Adair said, "Shantelle was a beautiful, loving, caring person. She would give you her last, you know, her shirt off her back."

Court records show Ishem pleaded guilty to a drug possession charge earlier this week.

Ishem's Mother thinks she was in jail too long and without medication, and when she got out it was just too hot and it took a toll on her.

Ishem's body is with the Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office in Tulsa. Police say it could be weeks before they get any results back.