Wife and son still searching for missing Oklahoma farmer, four months later

Sixty-nine-year-old farmer Bruce Benson was final seen by his solely baby, Grady Benson, on November 9, 2022, on his property in Randlett, Oklahoma. Grady, who typically works on his dad and mom’ property, informed Dateline that his dad had introduced dinner out to him within the discipline he was working in that night time. From there, Grady says, his father headed again house, after telling him that he wasn’t feeling his greatest and won’t be out to work within the fields the subsequent day. Grady mentioned his father, actually, didn’t come to the fields the subsequent day, however he didn’t assume something of it since he’d mentioned he won’t.

Bruce’s spouse, Maxine Benson, had been away on a visit with some girlfriends that week. She had been attempting to contact her husband of fifty years, however he wasn’t answering the cellphone. She informed Dateline her husband wasn’t a lot of a texter, however questioned why he hadn’t at the least been answering her calls.

On November 11, when Maxine still couldn’t get involved along with her husband, she thought perhaps she simply had unhealthy reception. “I called Grady and I said, ‘Go check on your daddy. He hasn’t answered his phone,” she mentioned. 

“My mom had called me and said that she hadn’t talked to him the day before. And, yeah, that was really odd,” Grady informed Dateline. He thought perhaps there was a difficulty together with his dad’s cellphone, so he headed over to verify. When he went in the home he noticed a brand new pair of trainers his father had purchased subsequent to the chair he all the time sat on, with a pair of socks laid on high of them. But Bruce Benson was nowhere to be discovered. Grady informed his mom he would come again to verify once more after lunch. When he went again, still nothing. “When I realized he wasn’t at his house, you know, that’s when I went to kinda panicking,” Grady recalled. 

Grady mentioned he reported his father missing on November 11, and that authorities instantly jumped into motion. “They sent people out and we started looking,” Grady mentioned of the Cotton County Sheriff’s Office. The Cotton County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook on November 12 saying Bruce was final seen round 8 p.m. on November 9 and asking the general public for any information they might have relating to his whereabouts. Dateline reached out to the Cotton Country Sheriff’s Office for additional particulars, however has but to listen to again. According to Grady, his father’s cellphone, pockets, the keys to his car and his crimson jacket have been discovered inside his pickup truck throughout their search of the property. 

Maxine mentioned she returned early from her journey once they realized her husband, Bruce, was missing.

She doesn’t consider Bruce even entered the home after leaving dinner with their son on the ninth. She informed Dateline that earlier than she left, she and Bruce had gone grocery buying so he would have meals at house whereas she was on her journey. “When we got up the next day, we both had pie for breakfast,” Maxine mentioned. When she returned on the eleventh, she seen that the pie hadn’t been touched since they ate it collectively. With Bruce having a candy tooth, Maxine mentioned, that might have been out of character for him. “He would have come in that night and before he went to bed, he’d have had a big piece,” Maxine mentioned. “I just know him that well.” The pair had been collectively since they have been simply 16 and 18 years outdated. Maxine was a junior in highschool and Bruce had simply graduated once they met at her job at an area truck cease. The two bought married a yr and a half later. 

Since his disappearance, there have been no indicators of Bruce Benson, however the search efforts proceed. Maxine informed Dateline that authorities searched neighboring counties with drones, airplanes, helicopters and canine groups. “I’ve even talked to a psychic,” Maxine mentioned with a chuckle. “I’m reaching for anything I can do to keep the story out there and keep everybody looking.”

Maxine informed Dateline that their group has been extraordinarily supportive as they proceed the search for Bruce. “You just can’t imagine the people that reached out to me and, you know, are sharing it,” Maxine mentioned. Grady is hoping somebody on the market will come ahead. “If someone knows anything, please step up and mention it,” Grady mentioned. “If anybody has seen anything out of the ordinary or knows of anything, step up and mention it.”

Bruce Benson is 69 years outdated. He is 5’11’ and weighs 210 — 220 lbs. He has blue eyes and grey hair. According to the Cotton County Sheriff’s Office, he was final seen carrying blue denims, a white striped polo shirt, and worn-out work boots. 

There is a $25,000 reward being provided by the household for information that results in Bruce’s whereabouts.

If you’ve gotten any information about Bruce’s disappearance, please contact the Cotton County Sheriff’s Office at (580) 875-3383, or the OSBI at (800) 522-8017 or electronic mail them at ideas.obsi.okay.gov.