Detective hunts for answers when an Oklahoma woman goes missing and finds young mother was murdered | Forensic Files

At [music] first glance, when you come to this area in Oklahoma, it is very beautiful. It's serene, but we have
missing people that are never found. There are homicides that are never solved. There's lots of dark secrets
that live here. My [music] name is Dakota Black. I'm a tracker and detective with the Pawatami
County Sheriff's Office and I was brought into the missing person's case for Michaela Mi
and as soon as we arrived on scene we started tracking the area and trying to locate her.
We had multiple deputies and detectives in the woods looking for her. We were searching every place that we
could potentially think of to try to locate [music] Michaela. >> There's something strange.
>> She might be in there. She might be. She may not be alive. >> I was not looking for an individual that
was breathing. I was looking for my daughter's body. And I don't know why. >> Sometimes it's hard to not take cases
personal. They tug at your heartstrings. And this one was one of those. What was it about [music] this woman
that fueled you this way? >> Just who she was? [music] >> My sister Michaela is the strongest
person I know. Has the biggest heart. Is the most caring. Wants to take care of everyone and put everyone before
herself. >> I love you. [music] >> I love you most. >> I love you more. >> Her main goal in life was to be around
children, to help children, especially ones in need. >> [music] >> Everybody that knew Michaela had nothing
but love for her. We had a huge response from our community. Everybody really wanted her
family. >> We just went out there looking for her. Didn't sleep for days. Didn't eat for
days. Was raining cold. We were just out there for days. >> Was there a part of you that say, you
know, there's a chance we may not find her? >> Yes. It seemed day after day the chances were
getting more slim of finding her alive. >> I just knew that [music] she was gone.
>> I can't imagine how scared she was. It's just sad. Sad that it ended the way it did.
[music] It didn't have to end this way. I was driven and I was not going to go home. I was not going to stop until this
case was solved. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> the guys at The sheriff's office call
her a cool dude with long hair because they say she's meaner than any of them in the gun range and in the field.
>> That fence that's hanging, I had to go underneath that into the water. >> Her name is Lieutenant Dakota Black.
She's a trained tracker and detective with the Padawatami County Sheriff's Office in Shaunie, Oklahoma. I go out to
scenes when there's manhunts or trying to locate individuals. >> Her specialty is finding the missing,
whether alive or dead. I have found them underneath piles of leaves and trees and
abandoned homes, sheds. I've found them pretty much in any area you can think of. Often by her side, her partner,
Deputy Haven, a trained therapy dog [music] for kids and other family members caught in the crossfire of
tragedy. Haven provides comfort and consolation, a consoling presence she herself would rely on in the coming
months as she embarked on one of the most heart-wrenching cases of her career. >> This case will stay with me forever and
it will be one that I always remember through my whole life because of how cruel it was.
The last thing [music] we said to each other was, "I love you." >> Friday, September 15th, 2023 began like
most days for Andrea Mayavi, with a 7 a.m. phone call from her best friend and younger sister, Michaela.
>> I wish I would have known. I would have said so much more. I'm grateful for that. At least I said I
love you. >> The next morning, Saturday the 16th, the phone rang as usual around 7:00 a.m.
Only this time, it wasn't Michaela. It was Michaela's husband, Frank Buyers. >> He's hysterical, crying, screaming, can
barely understand what he's saying. And he says Michaela didn't come home last night.
He ended up telling me that Michaela went on a date the Friday night before with a bald man in a white truck.
They left and she never came home last night. At the time, Michaela and Frank were
headed for divorce, says Andrea. They were still living on the same 10acre property in Mcome, Oklahoma, but in
separate homes. So, at first, Andrea wasn't worried. >> My first thought is she's single. I hope
she had fun. >> But Andrea's mood began to shift when her many calls to Michaela went to
voicemail. >> By noon, I was worried. And 1:00, I was really worried. >> Their mother, Barbara Harper, was also
anxious. Michaela was supposed to help out at the family restaurant that afternoon, but she didn't show and
hadn't called. Unheard of for Michaela. And the more I prayed about it, the more
I realized that something serious had happened. >> Frank also reported Michaela [music]
missing to the Podawatami County Sheriff's Office that afternoon. >> My wife's been missing since late last
night. She left at 5:30 and last time that anyone has heard from her has been at 8:00 p.m.
>> And your name? My name is Frank Buyers. B Y R S. >> What's her name? >> Her name is Michaela Buyers.
>> The deputy on duty, Dustin Richardson, felt he needed to put eyes on the ground. He got to MCOME around 400 p.m.
His body cam rolling. >> He'd given me the information over the phone, but I just wanted to see where
she was coming from and and see more of the details. Frank made a point of showing the deputy
the last Facebook message he said Michaela sent him after she left, assuring him she was quote fine and to
back off. >> Did you see the guy at all? >> Then he told him the story about Michaela driving off with a bald man in
a white truck. >> So I was 6 and 61. >> Okay. He was completely bald and he had a beard.
If I if I had a guess of weight, I don't know, maybe 200. >> Deputy Richardson then asked if he could
see the house where Michaela was temporarily living. >> Can I go take a look around?
>> So, she's been staying in this little thing. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Locked up. >> But the shedlike home was locked. And
Frank said he didn't have a key, but he did have something to say about their relationship.
>> And we have an open marriage where Oh, that's that's a brand new thing. I don't like it, but um I agreed upon it
cuz I'm trying to fix our marriage. >> At that point, the deputy decided to take a quick drive to the school where
Michaela worked as a teacher's aid. Maybe she had gone there. What's up, >> man? This uh Frank Buyers called in
saying his uh wife was missing. >> He called his son, also a deputy, from the car.
>> This guy is squirly, man. This Frank guy is squirly. >> The sensation was that there is nothing
about this story that is really true. While the deputy was at the school, friends and family started
showing up at [music] the property, including Michaela's mom, Barbara. >> When I first got there, I didn't even
speak to anyone. I was on my hands and knees crawling through [music] brush out in the
pasture. We've got to find where she's at. >> How are you? This is Deputy Richardson
with his body camera rolling as he returned to the property late that afternoon.
Frank had smashed open the lock to Michaela's place with a hammer. >> I looked and I I immediately saw empty
shell casings from what appeared to be 22 caliber. He told me that she sits in there and shoots out at animals, the
coyotes and stuff. >> There's a few times I've heard her shoot. By then, more deputies had
arrived. >> I had asked him where she kept that gun and he said it was in his house.
>> Is it in there? Now, >> I had him walk me to his house and he walked inside and he pointed at it. I
had pulled it from where it wasn't there. >> Like always >> and put it in my vehicle.
>> The gun, according to the deputy, appeared to have been recently fired. >> That's pretty recently.
I uh made phone calls to u get our criminal investigation team out there because I just it was off. There was
something that needed to be looked into more. Hey, I'm on that I'm on that missing person thing still. This
suspicious as >> investigators ushered family and friends off the property and blocked the
driveway. I remember walking back [music] to my car and just screaming at God, asking him, "Why?
Why did you do this? Let this happen. [snorts] Just take me. Take me and let us find
her and just take me." >> The missing person's investigation was now a possible criminal investigation.
And that's when the call went out to lead detective, Lieutenant Dakota Black. >> We definitely needed to figure out what
was going on. As [music] soon as Lieutenant Dakota Black got the call that Michaela Mayavi
was missing, she jumped in her vehicle [music] and sped to Mcome. >> What was your immediate mission?
>> To locate Michaela. We We needed to locate her. We didn't know where she was.
>> So, it was 1366. Detective Black and her partner on the case, Detective Marcus
May, now the under sheriff, put out a bolo alert. >> Be on the lookout. >> It was be on the lookout for a white
male with a beard, bald head, driving a white truck. We wanted all of the local law enforcement and surrounding agencies
aware that that we do have a situation developing over here. The tips from this rural area where everyone seems to know
everybody came pouring in. >> Every white pickup truck with tanned windows was getting called into the
sheriff's office. >> None of the sightings panned out, but the search took on a life of its own.
>> Flyers were posted everywhere. Social media ads were everywhere. >> Michaela Miyave was beloved by
everybody. They were demanding every resource possible to go find Michaela. >> And Dakota, this was a a woman with
enormous heart. Right. >> Absolutely. She loved her family. She loved her friends. She loved children.
>> Michaela fell in love with children when she herself was still a child. Her mom,
Barbara, ran a daycare. >> We weren't [music] just a daycare. We were the family. and she loved those
kids, especially the babies. >> Sadly, Michaela was unable to have children of her own. But that didn't
stop her. In her [music] 20s, Michaela fostered and would eventually adopt these two kids, a brother and sister.
>> She dropped what she was doing, went to and took classes, got certified to make sure that she could give those
kids a home. She did. Around that time, an old high school classmate named [music] Frank Buyers contacted her out
of the blue through Facebook. Frank, [music] who was divorced, had primary custody of four young daughters.
>> Frank was telling her a story that the current girlfriend he was living with was abusing his four daughters. So, my
sister [music] took him and all four girls in and just started basically taking care of them. She felt like the
kids needed her and she sure needed them. Probably the happiest I'd seen her in a
long time with those girls. >> Frank and Michaela got married in 2022. They built their lives together in
Mcome. Population 24. >> It's just country. It's 100% country. The kids are 100% country.
Michaela was going to college to get her teaching degree while working at the local elementary school.
>> When she would stand up for the kids and and if she saw a child that was dirty or
wasn't taken care of, she would take it to the principal and you know bring awareness to it.
>> I think that was her biggest thing in life was to help little innocent kids that needed adults help. She always felt
responsible to do that. Countywide, dozens of people turned out in the cold and pouring rain to slug through mud and
tickinfested woods in search of their beloved teacher. [music] But one person at the heart of
this mystery conspicuously appeared not to search. Michaela's husband, Frank Buyers.
>> He never participated in a single search. He never volunteered to go out with any of the search parties to go out
and try to find Michaela. >> It wasn't like, "Oh my god, my wife is missing." >> He never seemed like concerned about
that. He seemed more concerned about himself. >> What were you noticing about Frank
Buyers? >> The the lack of any human emotion. I mean, he he did not seem scared. He just
wanted to know what we knew. He just it didn't seem human at all. Investigators were already zeroing in on Frank.
>> We strongly suspected Frank. >> 3 days after Michaela was reported missing, Frank Buyers agreed to be
questioned by Detective Black at the sheriff's office. The interview was audio only.
>> At this time, I just want her found. >> The detective tried to win his trust by
playing the good cop. >> Again, I couldn't imagine. I mean, it's hard not knowing, you know, and when
everybody's pointing a finger at you, I'm sure it doesn't make it any better. [snorts]
>> Yeah. I feel like I got to defend myself and tell everyone that, "No, this is
what happened. This is the truth." >> She pressed him, but not enough to make him stop talking.
>> Did you ask her about the date before she left? >> I did, and uh she told me it was none of
my business. Same thing as if I went on a date, it's none of her business. Okay.
So, she never said a name or anything. How she met him, how she knew him? >> No.
>> After answering questions for 2 and 1/2 [music] hours, Detective Black let him
go home. The search for Michaela continued. Barbara remembers [music] crawling through brush wearing snake
protectors when she says she had a premonition. [music] >> I heard Michaela tell me, "Mama, I'm in
a tin horn." And I said, "Oh my god, she just told me she's in a tin horn." [snorts]
>> Barbara frantically started looking for tin horns, pipes or culverts used to divert water under roads. But there was
no sign of Michaela. Then [music] came the call to 911 on day five that would prove her mother's
intuition was right. >> Ma'am, I don't know exactly where I'm at, but I'm on Hamilton Road. I was
searching with my friend for my cousin. that's missing Michaela Mi >> and I think that we just found her
The chatter of locust permeated the air, an eerie sense of foroding. Michaela Mayavi [music] had been missing
for 5 days. >> I got a phone call from my friend and she said, "I need you to sit down."
[music] And she said, "They found someone and it's a female." And I'm like, is she
dead or alive? >> Earlier that day, a cousin and her friend had been [music] out searching
about half a mile from Michaela's house when they were stopped in their tracks by a strong, sickening [music] odor. The
friend followed the intense smell down a ditch to a tin horn. He saw something sticking out. It was a hand.
>> I was searching with my friend for my cousin that's missing, Michaela Mi. Mhm.
>> And I think that we just found her. >> It was the call Detective Dakota Black
had been dreading. >> It was devastating to everybody. I mean, it was absolutely terrible.
>> Just as Barbara had imagined, Michaela was in a large drainage pipe beneath the
road. >> She had been drugged into the middle area and she was wrapped in the carpet.
Uh, she had one sock on her foot that had teddy bears on it and her shirt was actually pulled up over her face to
cover it. I mean, it was hard. It was really hard. >> So dark in there. >> Detective Black wouldn't leave
Michaela's side. The two women had been born one day apart in the same year. But
that wasn't their only bond. >> I did feel a connection with Michaela. I have a history also. I've been in bad
relationships. It could have [music] been me on more than one occasion. I just got
lucky. >> While the detectives were working the scene, Michaela's family gathered just
up the road. >> You could hear hear them crying up there and they were trying to come down here
where she was. >> But the crime scene was blocked off. >> I could bar >> please. This ain't
>> I never once doubted that it was her. >> If anyone goes to the tape without permission, they immediately go to jail.
I I don't know what to say. I'm sorry. >> Can you tell them we're here? >> Of course. Of course. Okay.
>> I felt like I needed to see her because she had been out there for 5 days without me
and I just needed to be with her and they wouldn't let me. She needed me. >> [laughter]
>> It wasn't there. >> Michaela's remains were placed in the coroner's van for the journey to the
medical examiner's office. >> My mom and I both realized that it was probably her
in there and that we would never be able to hold her and hug her again. My mom started to chase the van.
[laughter] I just followed it down the road just as fast as I could and [snorts] somebody
hollered at me and asked me what I was doing and I said, "My [snorts] my baby's in that van."
>> Detective Black was so angry she had to hold herself back. >> I wanted to leave that night and go and
arrest Frank, but I knew um it's better to move thoroughly than to act quick. The two investigators had already begun
building a strong circumstantial case against Frank Buyers. The bullet casings in her home.
His unlikely story that Michaela agreed to an open marriage. >> She wanted to start dating other people
>> and left with a bald man in a white truck. >> She embraced the guy in a hug and then
they got in the truck and left. And >> when you asked Michaela's family about this open relationship, what' they say?
Absolutely not. They said there was absolutely no possible way that Michaela would have ever done that.
>> Investigators learned from interviews and from Frank's own social media accounts that he was the one who was
cheating. >> Frank Buyers is the [music] biggest cheater. He was cheating on her as soon
as he moved in. Every time he would go out of town, he was creating dating profiles.
Frank worked for an environmental cleanup company cleaning up hazardous materials. He spent a lot of time on the
road. >> He would meet women at gas stations. He would meet up with them at hotel rooms.
He would text them while he was home with Michaela and hide it from her. >> He was communicating with females the
day Michaela was murdered and immediately afterwards. He was sending pictures to women the day of her
funeral, asking, "How do I look in my tux?" >> Frank's cheating got so bad, Michaela
moved out about 3 months before her murder. >> She packed a bag and she came and stayed
with me for a week. I held her where she cried every night. She felt like a failure,
>> but I wanted to. [laughter] But Michaela's love for the little girls kept drawing her back, says Andrea.
>> I love you. >> I love you most. >> I love you more. >> I love you more. >> Michaela went back to the 10acre
property, but not to Frank. She temporarily moved into that little structure behind his to stay [music]
close to the girls. Frank tried to win her back, promising to change, but the cheating continued. Detective Dakota
Black would later discover this conversation in which Michaela told [music] Frank she was done.
>> I've never once been dead set for divorce until today. >> Michaela recorded it 2 days before her
murder. >> I'm just saying you have have officially lost me. >> Detective Black believes she recorded it
to expose Frank's infidelity. I'm stating to you right now that you have officially
broke the last string that was holding me to you. >> Okay? >> And you have nobody to blame but
yourself for doing it. >> That Friday, September 15th, Michaela returned from work to pick up her things
and leave for good. But Frank, it seemed, had other plans. Detectives would later recover these images
captured on a home security camera on his phone. >> Detective Black believes he thought he
had deleted them. >> Where is Michaela in this picture? >> This is Frank's home and she's coming
through the front door. >> Michaela stayed for 14 minutes. The detective believes they were [music]
arguing. >> Here's Michaela again. She's leaving. This is the last picture of [music] the
series. Frank standing at the door of his home. And what do you believe happened [music] after this last
photograph was taken? >> I think this is when he exited his home and went to her home and killed her. I
think this is when he killed Michaela. Within minutes, >> Michaela was shot in the head.
>> Michaela had a gunshot wound right here in the front. [music] She had one on the
left side and then she had a graze wound on the same side. >> The last image she may have seen on this
earth was her own husband holding a rifle [music] and then the shot fired. >> Yes.
It started as a simmering anger. >> And I just got to say this because I'm pretty angry.
>> And grew into a raging fury. People wanted to know why Frank was still walking free.
>> I'm sorry. The most difficult part was knowing that we were accumulating evidence of Frank's
guilt in Michaela's murder, but we were unable to release that or share that with the public. [music]
>> We knew Frank was guilty. We knew Frank was not a good husband. We knew Frank
was lying. We knew lots of things, but we couldn't prove everything. [music] And I wanted to prove everything to make
sure he stayed in jail. Detective Black spent 18-hour [music] days at the office with her sidekick,
Haven. >> Having here, >> the therapy dog now there for her. Give me a sense emotionally how tough
this was for you. >> It was tough mentally. I was drained. I was mentally exhausted. I had lost
weight. I was tired. But I was not going to go home until this case was solved. >> Frank used the time to defend himself on
social media. I am innocent and everything will come out. >> He also appeared on local news.
>> Even today I called her. I mean, I know she's not here, but it's just a fact that I have her number
still and her phone still on somewhere and uh it just it would have been nice just to hear her voice.
Many in the community tuned in to watch Frank Byer's interview, including Lieutenant [music] Dakota Black.
>> Did it make you angry? >> It did make me angry. It was sickening to see that a beautiful woman was gone
from the world and that while he's on TV professing his innocence, he's still in
communication with other women, trying to have intimate relationships with them.
>> Detective Black tracked down scores of these women. [music] Crystal Cantrell was Frank's girlfriend before he met
Michaela. >> He's very good at making you believe him. And then he's kind of like a snake.
Once he gets you in there, he bites you. >> Detective Black learned Frank wooed [music] Crystal the same way he wooed
Michaela with a false story that his daughters [music] were being mistreated by his current girlfriend. And like
Michaela, Crystal [music] had a soft heart. I love kids, you know. I have kids of my own. So, I just felt really
bad for them. >> Shortly after they moved in together, Crystal says Frank started to show his
true colors. He isolated her from friends and family and controlled her every move. They fought. One night, she
woke up to see him looming over her, clutching a pair of handcuffs. >> I closed them so he couldn't use them on
me. And then after that, he just got on my back and was choking me. He had wrapped his arms around me and had his
hand on my throat and he [music] just didn't let go. Crystal was able to get away, but was too afraid to report the
incident [music] to the police. She left Frank for good, but says it could have been her in that ditch.
>> He would have killed me. If Frank ever harmed Michaela, she never told her mom and sister. Sometimes they
saw bruises, but Michaela always said they were just from roughousing with the kids.
I think if I think about it too much is where I will go down a dark hole and not come out because I did see the
bruises and I just chose to believe and not question and maybe if I would have questioned it
would come out differently. Bit by bit, [music] Detective Black and her team built a profile of a murderer.
>> So, this photo was taken at Walmart. >> Using the date on a Walmart receipt found on [music] Frank's property, the
detective was able to track down this security camera photo. What's in [music] the cart?
>> There is bleach, ammonia, and a mop. >> And [music] mop, ammonia, and bleach equals what? in your mind as an
investigator. >> Crime scene [music] cleanup. >> They were also able to match the carpet
in the ditch. >> I I'll help you. >> Oh, I got it. >> To one a neighbor had given Frank and
Michaela for their dogs. >> You You gave them that carpet about eight or nine months ago.
Frank took the carpet that was given to him by the neighbor and used that to roll Michaela's body in.
>> They believe Frank killed Michaela around 400 p.m. and left her [music] body in her home. He then picked up his
girls after school and drove them around. returning home about 8:00 p.m. That's when the detectives believe he started
to move her body. >> The kids reported in interviews once they returned home that Frank was
outside most of the night. He he wasn't in his bed. >> Detective Black [music] says there were
fresh tire tracks leading to Michaela's little house. We believe that the tire tracks actually came from a vehicle
backing up to load her body to take it to where she was located. >> The detectives believe Frank drove
Michaela's body to the edge of the ditch, pulled her out, and then let her body topple the 12 to 15 ft to the creek
bed. They believe Frank then climbed down and dragged her into that pipe underneath the roadway.
Once Frank got rid of the body, he concocted a plan to cover up his crime. >> So, she took the phone with her?
>> Yeah. As far as I know, she took her phone with her. >> Remember, he told the deputy that
Michaela had messaged him from her phone that evening, telling him, "Back off." But investigators would later find
Michaela's phone in Frank's bedroom. Detective May confronted Frank in a second interview.
>> So, I'm just trying to understand how if she left with her phone and was communicating with you
through her phone on Facebook, how that phone was in your bedroom. >> I understand.
>> Okay. Um I mean I I don't I mean I I don't have an explanation honestly. >> But investigators did have an
explanation. Michaela had two phones, an iPhone and a Moto G phone. Frank had both of them.
>> The Moto Gone was an old phone of Michaela's that she hadn't been using for quite some time.
>> She just pushed in that hole. It pops the tray out. >> Frank knew how to get into that old
phone. >> So, there's a SIM card for those who don't know. That's what it looks like.
>> So, he switched the SIM card from her iPhone. >> Why does he do that? to gain full access
to all of her accounts. That's how he was texting himself, pretending to be Michaela.
And in fact, it was him the entire time. >> The evidence was mounting, [music] but
they were still waiting on two key pieces of evidence they had sent to the forensic lab for testing.
>> I needed a smoking gun that I knew was not going to let him out. I knew it was
going to keep him there. >> What have you just unwrapped here? This uh what do we have here is the
projectile recovered from the 2x4 inside Michaela's bedroom. >> In addition to the shell casings found
on the floor in Michaela's home, they later found this [music] bullet wrapped in what they believed was Michaela's
hair embedded in the wall. They hoped it would test positive for Michaela's DNA.
And then there were these boots. >> So these are Frank's work boots. They were recovered on the night of the
missing person's report uh from his bedroom. >> And what did you spot on these boots
that was of interest? >> So, we had found a substance that we believed could be blood, but he also
works with lots of chemicals, so we were unsure if that would be something that got on there while he was at work.
>> 38 days after Michaela went missing, they finally got the results. They weren't able to get a genetic
confirmation on the hair, but the boots were a different story. The substance on
Frank's boots was blood. Michaela's blood. >> As soon as we got that, we were like,
"We're going [music] right now." >> You had your man. >> We had our guy. >> Yes.
We were waiting for that arrest. >> So, it moved fast after that. >> It was close to midnight. Flashing
police lights lit up the darkness. 38 days after Michaela was reported missing, Detective Black, Deputy
Richardson, and a special ops team moved in to arrest Frank Buyers. >> I got with the SWAT team, organized the
take down, and went in and got him. >> He's in under arrest. >> He thought he was smarter than everyone,
but he was outsmarted, right? >> Yes. I think he was surprised. I swear I didn't do
>> Lieutenant Black finally had Frank in her grasp [music] and right where she wanted him, in handcuffs, headed to
jail. Detective May called Michaela's family with the news. >> That was a hallelujah moment.
That was about time moment. We couldn't get her back, but we knew he wasn't walking free anymore.
Detective May says they were done with Frank's lies. How you doing, Frank? >> And they confronted him with the hard
evidence they'd taken weeks to gather. >> Now's opportunity to let us know what happened.
I I didn't do it. I mean, >> why was there blood on your boots? >> I mean, I can't answer. I mean, I I I don't I
don't know. me honestly. >> Frank Buyers was charged with firstdegree murder. The DA was seeking the death penalty,
[music] but the defense requested a deal to save his life. 15 months after Byer's arrest,
he agreed to plead guilty and serve life without parole. Michaela's mom was bitterly
disappointed. I feel that the plea deal was a copout. The moment, the second that she took her last
breath, he chose that. And he got to choose what he got for punishment, too. And that's not okay.
It's not okay. >> The plea deal isn't the only thing upsetting Barbara. She doesn't think Frank [music] acted
alone. >> You're absolutely convinced that Frank had somebody help him. >> I'll go to my grave. Believe in that.
>> I think [music] he had to have had an accomplice. I don't think that he could
have moved her body on his own at all. >> Physically, he could not have done it.
>> No, I don't believe so. I think we all agree that it would absolutely be difficult to move her, but people are
scared. They can do amazing things. >> What they're saying is not unreasonable. If the evidence is presented to us one
day that that uh that suggests that we will take it and we'll run with it to its fullest extent.
>> I come and I sit and I look at that place down there. I went down and [music] hung all kinds of crosses and
different things. He didn't [music] just take from us. He took from his own children. Someone that
loved them, that put them first. >> It didn't have to end this way. He could have let her leave,
but he didn't. There's cold justice [music] for Michaela. For detective Dakota Black
Tracker, her painful work continues. Michaela would want her life to mean something.
>> Barbara is starting Michaela's Purple Butterfly Foundation to fight against [music] domestic violence. That was her
goal, her mission in life was when you see someone in need, help them. >> When I think of the Michaela, I think of
sunflowers. I think of joy. >> She would love that though. You know, she would with all those sunflowers.
I sure miss her smile, her laugh. Oh, that laugh was something else. She was my best friend. I strived for
her to be proud of [music] me because I looked up to her even though she was the
little sister. I still lay in bed and talk to her like she's still right there. Like she's watching over us every day.
>> [music] >> Welcome to Postmortem. [music] I'm your host, Ann Marie Green, and
today we're discussing Michaela Mayavi, who was first reported missing by her husband, Frank Buyers, in 2023. Now, he
told police that his wife had gone out on a date with another man, saying that they had an open marriage, but then she
never returned from that date. An extensive search was launched and Lieutenant Dakota Black, a tracker and
detective with the Podawani County Sheriff's Office, was brought in on this case. So, joining me now is 48 hours
correspondent Peter Vans, who reported on this episode. Peter, it's always great to see you.
>> Hi, Anmarie. Great to be with you again. And of course, we want to remind uh the
viewers and listeners, if you haven't listened to uh this episode of 48 Hours, you can find it in your podcast feed,
the full audio version of it. So, go take a listen, then come on back for this conversation cuz we got questions.
Um and Peter has the answers. So, Peter, Michaela, and Frank Buyers, they're living in a small rural town of Mcome,
Oklahoma. Uh, Lieutenant Dakota Black described the area as beautiful and serene, and it certainly looks that way,
but also said there are a lot of dark secrets that live there, too. What did she mean by that?
>> Well, it's hard to believe, but Oklahoma has the highest rate of domestic violence of any state in the country.
And Dakota Black told us she in her own life has experienced violence in a relationship. And while Mcome only has a
population of less than 30 and keep in mind Michaela Frank and the girls they make up 20% of the population of Mcome
uh it's near an intersection of multiple interstate highways and Dakota Black said criminals moving through the area
are known to dump victims bodies there and there are people living in Pawatami County in poverty there some are off the
grid with no electricity or or running water toilets or even a roof over their head. There are some drug problems and
uh it's an open carry state. A lot of people have firearms and Lieutenant Black said they have missing people that
are never found, homicides that are never solved. And I do want to say that while the sheriff's office there is
small, they serve this large rural county with distinction and professionalism, and they were
outstanding in their efforts to find Michaela. That's the impression that I got just from watching the hour. Like
they just seem so on point and so um unbiased and completely focused on like where the evidence is driving them.
>> That's right. >> So let's talk a little bit about Michaela and Frank's relationship. Um
they were old high school classmates. They did not date in high school, but then many years later out of the blue,
Frank contacts her on Facebook and they start a relationship. Um they are married in 2022 and it's a large blended
family because Michaela, she already has two kids. Frank has four of his own daughters. But was Michaela's family
worried about the relationship that she had with Frank because there must have been red flags.
>> Yeah. Her sister Andrea said that at the beginning of this relationship, Frank
was a romantic person. One time he left rose petals in the bathtub, but that didn't last long. According to the
family, Michaela couldn't have kids of her own, but she had such a maternal gene and her family believes that these
four kids that Frank had were a really draw for her more than Frank himself. Um, detectives believe that Frank used
those young girls, his four daughters, to lure Michaela in. He told her that they had been abused by his then
girlfriend. And investigators would later determine that that was all a lie and a tactic he used to convince other
women to be with him as well. You might say it was Frank's business model and it
worked. >> What a way to describe it. >> And um her mother Barbara and her sister
Andrea say that they saw bruises on Michaela, but Michaela said they were just from roughousing with the kids and
the family believed her at the time. And looking back now, the family wish they had questioned her more about those
bruises. According to Barbara and Andrea, he was also a compulsive liar. And Frank had this pattern of cheating,
lying, and Michaela had left at least once. Let him know that's it. I'm not going to deal with this anymore. But she
came back. She always felt because of this devotion she had to those four children that she couldn't leave them
just in Frank's hands. Michaela's sister, Andrea, said that they were headed for divorce and Michaela had
temporarily moved to another structure on the property. But then on September 15th, 2023, Michaela returns home from
work, intending to pick her things up and leave for good, but she was never seen alive again. Frank then reports
Michaela missing in the afternoon of September 16th and the responding officer, Deputy Dustin Richardson, went
to the buyer's property to check it out. Typically, police will wait longer than
just a few hours for a missing person's report. But why did Richardson decide to
investigate this one, you know, relatively quickly? >> Yeah, investigator Richardson, his
instincts right away told him this just isn't adding up. He listened to Frank on
the 911 call and also spoke to Frank on the phone. And he just had a hunch that something seemed off. And when he got
there, Frank launched into his explanation as if he had a story planned out in in Richardson's mind that the
last time he saw Michaela, she was leaving to go on a date with a bold man and a white truck. And Frank also
claimed that they had an open marriage. And he said that they agreed to this arrangement to try to fix their
marriage. And we hear on Deputy Richardson's uh body camera footage that he thought Frank Buyers was squirly. You
know, as a audience member, I kind of went through like what does that word mean to me when I hear somebody squirly.
I think of them as kind of like a fast talker. Someone's got an answer to everything, but nothing's adding up.
>> Squirly is a great word. Uh and it just means you can't trust him. There's something about him that's just not
right. >> And uh and that's what what he picked up on right away. Right. So, he goes to the
school where she works, where Michaela works as um a teacher's aid, and then he goes back to the buyer's property, and
Frank at this point has smashed open the lock to the structure where Michaela was
living temporarily when she sort of like moved out of the first structure cuz she
doesn't want to be with him. Um, this is all starting to look kind of more and more suspicious to Richardson.
What is it that is bothering him? Well, Richardson asked Frank if he had a gun because they had discovered some
shell casings inside Michaela's shed where she lived. And Frank said yes. And he shows the gun to Richardson. Well,
Richardson noticed he was able through his training to tell that the gun had been recently fired. And Frank told him
that, well, these shell casings on the floor of Michaela's shed were from Michaela, get this, shooting at coyotes
on the property. He claimed she would sit inside her shed with the door open and and and fire at coyotes, which was
ridiculous to her family because she hated guns. >> And uh the shell casings were found that
they were going in a direction that showed that the shooter was not firing outside of her shed, but rather into the
shed, which told Richardson, "We may have a homicide scene here." >> Right. this guy's something's off about
what he's telling police. So, this missing person's investigation pretty quickly turns into a criminal
investigation. There's a massive search that's launched. And we are introduced to Lieutenant Dakota Black. She is
leading the charge. She is a detective, but she's also a tracker. What exactly is a tracker? Well, Dakota Black told us
that she is trained to look for signs that a normal detective might not see. Uh, she found people in all kinds of
places like trees and houses that didn't belong to them. And she's trained to use
her power of observation to look for the little clues, like evidence that someone
had once been through an area, details that others might miss, helping to locate missing people, fugitives, or
suspects. People always think of a tracker too from the old cowboy movies and saying, "Yes, someone was just here
45 minutes ago." True. She's not that precise, but she's close and she has a way about her that she notices things
that others don't. >> Well, listeners may also associate the term with a CBS show that we have called
Tracker, starring uh Justin Hartley. He's a sort of a bit of a lone wolf, this character. Lone wolf, wolf for
hire. Um but Lieutenant Dakota Black is not. She's an essential part of a team at the county sheriff's office, right,
Peter? >> Absolutely. Cops have always told me, you know, that they stay emotionally
detached, sort of like a doctor treating a patient, but Dakota Black keeps her heart right on her sleeve, and that
extra caring, that devotion really works for her. And during one interview with producer Liza Finley, Dakota Black
teared up. She cried as she thought about the horrors that Michaela went through and how in her own life she had
been threatened. I had never seen this level of emotion from a law enforcement detective ever in my career. And that
passion pushed and pushed her to get this case solved. >> And as I understand it, Dakota's whole
team was kind of singing her praises. >> Absolutely. Her colleagues, they have so
much respect for her. Dakota Black is a woman in her early 30s and she's working
with a lot of male colleagues. Um, some of whom uh she's in charge of and she said, "You can ask all the guys. They
call me a cool dude with long hair because I'm meaner than any of them and they know to listen to me." And Dakota
Black brings her own dog, Haven, to serve as a comfort dog to victims and for herself. if they ever make a TV show
about her. Here's a detective with a comfort animal in her office. And we have Dakota Black talking about her dog,
Haven. >> Um, she works with victims of um, homicides. She also works with victims
of domestic violence and sexual assault and then as well as with children. And she works with a lot of victims every
year. Her first year we had her, she worked with over 300 victims. They can cry on her, they can love on her, they
can hug her. Um sometimes she will lick them, you know. Um but she just provides
comfort for them and that's what her name represents which is a safe place. So that's what she does for our victims
and she does a good job. >> I was really struck by the professionalism and the humanity of this
whole team in Podawatami County. Dustin Richardson had been working at the sheriff's office for only four years at
the time of Michaela's case. And because of his great work, he was recently promoted to detective. And the under
sheriff is Marcus May. He's a terrific guy. And then the sheriff, Freeland Wood, who runs all of this, introduced
himself at the shoot and said he was so happy that 48 was covering this story. I'm telling you, the Podawatami County
Sheriff's Office has a peer support group to help police, first responders deal with the trauma that they
experience on the job, and they told us, "We see things that no one should have to see." And that weighs very heavy on
them. [music] So, it's a tiny sheriff's department with a big heart and a lot of
very professional, seasoned [music] investigators because they've got a lot on their hands in this rural county.
Welcome back. As search efforts were underway with dozens of people turning out to try to find Michaela, there's one
person who's absent. It's her husband, Frank Buyers. After Michaela had been missing for 5 days, she was found in a
large drainage pipe under a road and she is wrapped in a carpet. Investigators quickly zero in on Frank Buyers as the
primary suspect. Meanwhile, Frank continues to spin his narrative of being the grieving husband and he actually
goes on TV. So, I want to play a clip from a TV interview that he did with a local uh Fox affiliate, Fox 25. Just
take a listen to this. >> Even today, I called her. I mean, I know she's not here, but
It's just a fact that I have her number still and her phone still on somewhere and uh it just it would have been nice
just to hear your voice. >> You know, Peter, I was looking to see if I was seeing any real tears coming out
of those eyeballs of his because often, you know, often sometimes people make crying noises but they're not actually
crying, >> right? Yeah. This is one heartless, uncaring phony. uh this uh emotion that he had
there was all fake. He had crocodile tears that didn't really flow. Um Frank was so comfortable lying on TV. He says
her phone still on somewhere, but in reality he had her phone the whole time before investigators took devices into
evidence. So he knew exactly where it was. >> So you know days turn into weeks. There's no arrest. Michaela's family.
They are livid. Frank is still walking around. So, I'm really curious, what sort of evidence were investigators
looking for before they felt comfortable making an arrest? >> They wanted a piece of forensic evidence
that would leave no doubt that Frank was the killer. And Lieutenant Dakota Black
told us towns people knew it was Frank, but investigators needed to find that beyond a reasonable doubt kind of
evidence. So, they started digging into Frank's social media and there was a treasure trove of information there. He
had multiple dating profiles and multiple Facebook accounts. They found comments from from women with
screenshots on text messages with Frank. And one disturbing find, Frank was actually texting other women on the day
of Michaela's murder. Even on the day of her funeral, Frank sent a photo of himself to multiple women asking
something along the lines of, "How do I look in my tuxedo?" They also tracked down another girlfriend he had
assaulted, and she said he used the same tactic on her with the story of Frank's
four daughters being abused. So, they found lots of stuff that really told them about how this man operates,
>> right? And we see in the hour something else that they found. Um they recovered
footage from a home security camera. And really, I mean, detectives believe that
this is sort of the last that anyone would have seen of Michaela. >> Yeah. I'm telling you, technology now is
solving so many of these cases. Um, investigators were never able to find the actual physical security camera that
recorded these images, but Frank used an app on his phone to view the images, and
he thought, according to investigators, that he had deleted them. But when investigators did the forensic
extraction on Frank's phone, they were able to find these images. The first image you see is Michaela coming into
his home, and she's there for about 14 minutes. The next image we see her leaving the home. The last image is
Frank standing at his door looking out like he was about to follow Michaela back to the shed where she was living
where investigators believe he confronted her and shot her. >> Investigators also used a Walmart
receipt to track down security camera photos. Frank Buyers is seen buying bleach, ammonia, a mop, and according to
Dakota Black, all of this looks like a possible, you know, toolkit to clean up a crime scene.
>> I mean, go to Walmart and buy all those things. Frank even called the police while he was at that Walmart buying
those cleaning supplies. >> And then there's also the carpet, right? And what um investigators find out is
that the carpet that Michaela was wrapped up in, that was a carpet that a neighbor had given to the couple for
their dogs. Um so the evidence is adding up here, but they had hopes that a specific bullet that was found embedded
in Michaela's wall would also test positive for her DNA. >> That's right. And they weren't able to
get a a genetic confirmation on hair that was stuck to that bullet, but a dark substance that was found on Frank's
boots was Michaela's blood. That's when they went in for the arrest. >> 38 days after Michaela was reported
missing, Frank Buyers is arrested and he's charged with firstdegree murder. His defense, though, negotiates a deal
to take the death penalty off the table. Then 15 months later, he agreed to plead
guilty and serve life without parole. Michaela's mother really feels like this is a copout because he chose to take
Michaela's life and then he gets to choose his own punishment. >> And I understand Barbara's frustration
with the death penalty being taken off the table. Moving forward, they have now turned their grief, the family, into a
charity. They have started Michaela's Purple Butterfly nonprofit to fight against domestic violence. And they
raised money by selling handmade crafts made by women affected by domestic violence to build transition housing for
victims. And once 48 hours learned of Michaela's case, we really wanted to honor her by telling this story.
>> Uh, well, you absolutely did. Um, what I kept on thinking over and over again was
just how remarkable she was in her daytoday life. She was transforming the lives of his daughters, her own
children, the children at school. And I think about all that was lost, the future impact that she would have had
because of one selfish person's actions, >> right? She was a guardian angel to those
four kids. And when Frank took her life, he really impacted theirs so profoundly.
And we wish the best for those children. >> Yeah. And you know, once again, just
spotlight on domestic violence. Those red flags, that gut feeling, listen to them. It may end up saving, you know,
your life or the life of somebody that you love. Um, Peter Vansen, always lovely having you here. Thank you so
much. >> Thank you, Emry. And to our listeners, if you like this episode, please rate and review on Apple
Podcast or Spotify. [music]

Watch "Tracker Dakota Black" and then catch up with "48 Hours" correspondents Anne-Marie Green and Peter Van Sant as they discuss a tracker and detective who relentlessly hunted for answers when Makayla Meave went missing in 2023.

00:00 Tracker Dakota Black 41:55 Watch the Post Mortem podcast

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Michaela Mayavi was murdered by her husband Frank Buyers, who was later arrested and pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty.

Key points

The Search for Michaela. Detective Dakota Black leads the search for missing Michaela Mayavi, facing dark secrets in Oklahoma.
Frank's Alarming Behavior. Michaela's husband, Frank Buyers, raises suspicion with his lack of concern during the search.
A Mother's Premonition. Michaela's mother, Barbara, has a chilling premonition about her daughter's fate.
The Discovery. After five days of searching, a chilling call reveals a tragic discovery.
The Truth About Frank. Investigators uncover Frank's infidelity and deceit, painting a troubling picture of their marriage.
Michaela's Last Conversation. Michaela recorded a conversation with Frank two days before her murder, stating she was done.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I wish I would have known. I would have said so much more.

5:14WatchJan 4, 2026

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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