Sister Of Muskogee Hit-And-Run Victim Urges Driver To Come Forward

Muskogee Police said a man is dead after a driver hit him, then left the scene.  Police said it happened around 11 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17 near N 43rd Street and West Broadway. 

Police said Geoffrey Chaplin, 41, is the victim.

“He knows a lot of people in Muskogee. Pretty much everybody in Muskogee knows Geoffrey,” Kimberly Reynolds said.

Reynolds said she is Chaplin’s sister.

“I just talked to him yesterday on the phone. He was happy and he was full of joy. And this morning I wake up and hear that he’s gone,” Reynolds said.

Eyewitnesses have come forward to police about what happened, but only with a vague description, saying the driver was in a blue GMC or Chevy pickup truck.

“We don’t know if it’s a single cab, extended cab, that’s all the information we have at this point,” Muskogee Police Officer Lynn Hamlin said.

Hamlin said police are also looking into whether there is any surveillance video from nearby businesses.

Family and friends describe Chaplin as someone who was funny, had a good heart, and loved children and the elderly.

Investigators, along with Chaplin’s family and friends, are urging the driver to come forward.

“Give us their side of the story,” Hamlin said. “It was dark. It’s late at night at that point so if it was an accident and you didn’t know what you hit, just come forward and talk to us and let us know.”

"If he did it and it was an accident, maybe he just didn't know. Maybe he thought he hit something, maybe a dog or he didn't know what it was, just to come forward," Reynolds said.

Muskogee Police ask anyone who has information about what happened to call them at 918-682-COPS.