Reward for information about murder of two young girls in rural Oklahoma

From MSNBC:

TULSA, Okla. - The bodies of two girls were found shot to death in their rural community, along a dirt road the best friends used dozens of times to play and walk to sleepovers.

Taylor Paschal-Placker’s grandfather found the bodies of the 13-year-old and her 11-year-old friend, Skyla Whitaker, on Sunday after his wife got no answer when she called Taylor’s cellular phone. The girls were sleeping over at Taylor’s house and had decided to take a walk down the desolate road that afternoon.

Peter Placker sobbed uncontrollably Monday as he told of finding the girls’ bodies about a quarter of a mile from his house near Weleetka, about 70 miles south of Tulsa.

“I can’t describe coming up on it,” he said. “I done it once and I can’t do it again.”

Stan Florence, inspector with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, confirmed the names of the girls Monday. Florence said the victims were shot multiple times and it was unknown if they were molested.

By Monday afternoon, at least 20 investigators were examining the crime scene and pursuing leads. No arrests had been made as of midday Tuesday; the state Bureau of Investigation was offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information.

The bodies were found in a community where some drivers leave their keys in their cars and people who live 10 miles apart call themselves neighbors.

Skyla’s family said she walked barefoot almost everywhere and rode her bicycle down endless dirt roads. Where she went, her many cats followed, along with her pet goat. Skyla wanted to become a veterinarian, said her grandmother, Claudia Farrow.

Taylor rescued helpless turtles crawling in the middle of the road and wanted to become a forensic scientist like the ones on TV shows, said Placker, who raised the girl.

“She was the best kid I’ve known,” he said.