Sheriff's Deputies Looking Into The Latest Homicide In Taft.

There's a murder mystery in Taft, Oklahoma. Last week part time rancher Jack Guthrie was killed as he was checking his cattle. Guthrie also owned a barber shop in Muskogee. Investigators and friends

Tuesday, July 27th 1999, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

There's a murder mystery in Taft, Oklahoma. Last week part time rancher Jack Guthrie was killed as he was checking his cattle. Guthrie also owned a barber shop in Muskogee. Investigators and friends say they don't know why someone would kill him. Jack Guthrie touched hundreds of lives over the thirty years he cut hair at his Muskogee barber shop. His friends say Guthrie could hold a conversation with anybody. "I'm going to miss those chats that we had when I'd go in and see him," says Rev. Conrad Barrett. Guthrie was found shot to death just outside his ranch in nearby Taft last week. "His pick up truck was parked so that it looked like he was just coming from the property, gotten out and closed the gate," says Lt. Tim Brown, Muskogee County Sheriff's Office. Investigators and friends don't understand how it could happen. "He's such a good man, an honest man, I couldn't realize why a person would want to kill a man like this," says Barrett. Investigators do have a few clues, they found a fishing pole, a tackle box and two stringers of fish nearby at a pond. Trespassers often went onto Guthrie's land. Investigators say he would chase them off himself. Three neighbors also saw a white truck in the area. The truck had a white camper on it with a triangular shaped window. "We have a feeling that the truck we are looking for is going to be key to what happened out here," says Brown. Guthrie's long time friend, Rev Barrett urges someone, anyone, to step forward because so many people have been hurt by the loss. "Hurt that our society has lost such a good man for apparently no reason at all," says Barrett. Investigators say although they know little, there is a reason and they'll find out who killed such a loved man. Guthrie's friends have donated more than $9,000 for a reward. If you have any information, call the Muskogee County Sheriff's Department.