Kendra Battelo walks into a room and people look. She is beautiful, but what people really notice is her smile. A smile that is contagious and seems to infect everyone that she comes in contact with.
One of Kendra’s joys in life was her family. She was close to her mother, siblings, grandmother, and several cousins.
Kendra lived in Enid, Oklahoma in 2022, and was struggling a bit. She was in a tumultuous relationship with her boyfriend Colby Sheppard.
Their relationship was more than tumultuous, actually, it was violent. In June 2022, Colby had been arrested for domestic violence against Kendra, with Kendra stating that Colby had strangled her. There were photographs in the police file depicting Kendra’s injuries.
Colby’s court date was scheduled for July, and he was released on bail.
In early July, Kendra was with friends and staying at a home on West Randolph Avenue in Enid.
Kendra visited her grandmother on or around July 4th, something that Kendra did often. She was close to her grandmother. But her grandmother would later note that Kendra seemed ‘off’ somewhere. She wasn’t her bubbly, chatty self.
Around midnight on July 7, Kendra had a conversation with her mother on the phone.
Little did her mother know, that would be the last time that anyone saw or heard from Kendra.
After a few days of trying to reach Kendra with no luck, and no signs of her on her social media, her family reported her missing.
Sightings would come in here and there, but Kendra remains missing. Her social media and phone have also been silent.
Where is Kendra Nicole Battelo?
Kendra Battelo was born on August 24, 1997. She grew up and lived in the Enid, Oklahoma area and had a large and close-knit family. Although they did have their struggles, they all stayed in contact with each other regularly.
Kendra is described as a girl with dark features, dark hair, and dark hazel eyes. She was part Native American, belonging to the Muscogee Nation.
Sadly, the Muscogee Nation is one of the many Native Americans who had a very harsh history in our country.
They resided mostly in Florida and Alabama, and in the 1830s, were relocated to the area that is now known as Oklahoma. Their journey from the Southeastern United States is what is famously known as the ‘Trail of Tears’.
Truly a sad time in our history in the U.S.
But many of the Muscogee continued to thrive in Oklahoma, and in 2010, the Muscogee population was estimated to be around 88,000, with most of them living in Oklahoma.
Kendra and her family lived in Enid, Oklahoma.
Kendra was also dating a man by the name of Colby Sheppard. A man with a history and their relationship was described as violent. And in fact, Colby would be arrested and charged with domestic violence that summer of 2022.
Kendra would be the witness against him as it was her that he had allegedly physically assaulted.
I say allegedly, only because this trial would actually never officially take place, not because I doubt Kendra’s claims or the police report, which contained photographs, in any way.
THE DISAPPEARANCE.
We don’t know much about Kendra’s actual disappearance, but we know a little bit about what happened leading up to her going missing.
We know at some point there was an altercation between her and Colby, in which Colby was arrested. This was likely in June 2022. Colby was arrested and released, pending a trial.
On or around July 4th, Kendra saw her grandmother. Her grandmother would say that while nothing special was said or done, Kendra did seem to be acting ‘off’. She almost always wanted to chat with her grandma about how she was doing, but not this time. Kendra was much more reserved and quiet.
On July 6, Kendra saw some friends. Not much else has been reported about this day.
On July 7, around midnight, Kendra called her mother. They chatted for a bit, about nothing in particular, and hung up the phone.
The next few days- are a mystery. No one was able to reach Kendra and no one had heard from her, or seen her.
Her family’s efforts to find her were unsuccessful.
She had been staying at a home on the 1400 block of West Randolph Avenue in Enid. But no one had seen her there in days. Her social media had also gone silent, which was not like Kendra.
In fact, the last known communication with Kendra, that is known, is the call she had with her mother at midnight on July 7.
So where was Kendra? She seemed to have vanished into thin air leaving no clues behind as to where she was, or what might have happened.
To make matters worse, in the following days, Colby’s domestic violence case was dropped, primarily because Kendra wasn’t there to follow through on her statement.
THE SEARCH.
Kendra was last seen, actually heard from, on July 7th, around midnight when she spoke to her mom on the phone. She wouldn’t be officially reported as missing until July 12th, a whole five days later.
Kendra, at 24, was certainly able to go and do what she wanted. And that’s what she did, usually. (It’s not known who had her kids).
Her family was worried almost immediately, they always kept in touch regularly but truly felt Kendra would show up. When she didn’t however, the official report was made to the Enid Poice Department.
What efforts were made to search for Kendra? Well, not much.
Her family and friends tried passing out flyers, and a few of the local media stations picked up her story with some pushing.
Interestingly, a sighting would come in of Kendra from July 20th. A woman in Pawnee, a small town about an hour east of Enid, reported that a young woman came to her door asking for a glass of water. The entire communication isn’t known, but the next day this woman saw a flyer of Kendra and realized that she was the woman who had come to her door the day prior. It was reported to police and investigated- but we don’t know for sure if authorities believe it was Kendra.
Law enforcement also announced that Kendra was known to frequent Bristow, Oklahoma, and residents there should also be on the lookout for her. Pawnee is located between Bristow and Enid.
Eventually, a press release was issued that said the following:
*** PRESS RELEASE***
The Enid Police Department continues to seek any information concerning Kendra Nicole Battelo’s whereabouts. Kendra was reported missing on July 12, 2022, approximately 4-days after she was last seen in Enid by family members.Since that time investigators have been diligently following all tips and leads, served a number of search warrants, field searched several locations, seized potential evidence and attempted to ping Kendra’s cell phone. They’ve interviewed potential witnesses and tipsters, collaborated with other involved law enforcement agencies, and entered Kendra into NCIC and NamUs databases. They remain in close contact with Kendra’s immediate family. Despite all of this, Kendra remains missing.
Some family members dispute their comment on keeping in close contact with family, saying that they have not done so.
I’m also curious about their search warrants executed and what that turned up. Perhaps it was done to retrieve phone records? Maybe for the home she was staying at on West Randolph in Enid?
In any event, no information has been made public on the results of any of those search warrants.
Many wonder about Colby Sheppard, Kendra’s boyfriend at the time. He had recently been arrested for domestic violence against Kendra, allegedly almost strangling her.
His history is hard to follow since some charges were dropped, but it looks like he was once again charged with battery on August 18, 2022. That case looks like it may have also been dropped.
Colby is currently incarcerated however for several years on charges relating to drugs, paraphernalia, and receiving stolen property.
The fact that he was violent with Kendra just days leading up to her disappearance is troublesome, but again, there is no evidence that anything bad happened to Kendra or that Colby is responsible for her going missing. But one does have to wonder.
ENID, OKLAHOMA.
Enid, Oklahoma is a suburban type of city, with a population of around 51,000 residents. Enid is about an hour and a half drive north of Oklahoma City.
Enid is a farm-centered city. It actually offers the 3rd largest grain storage in the world.
But Enid is not just farm country. It’s a thriving suburb that seems to draw in many young professionals. The top employers in Enid are the U.S. Air Force, Koch Companies, UPS, and Tyson Foods.
Kendra and many of her family lived in or around Enid.
Kendra was known to be living in the 1400 block of West Randolph Avenue in Enid, which looks to be mostly a quiet, two-lane road in a residential area.
She was living with Colby, and another woman by the name of Tonya.
Enid is also a pretty dry area, with not many bodies of water around. The closest large body is a State Park Wildlife Preserve about an hour to the northwest.
So where could Kendra be?
Did Kendra leave on her own? Is she living somewhere undetected somewhere else? Away from family and friends for some reason?
Did Kendra have some sort of accident somewhere and has remained out of sight?
Or, did Kendra meet with foul play at the hands of someone else?
Regardless of what the truth is, her family and friends need to know. They need answers.
Kendra has been missing now for just over a year.
Kendra Battelo is described as a biracial woman, with Hispanic, black, and native American backgrounds. She stood 5’8” tall and weighed around 115 pounds when she was last seen in July 2022. Kendra was 24 years old then, and would today be 26.
Kendra is affiliated with the Muskogee Tribe.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Enid, Oklahoma Police Department at 1–580–242–7000 or you can email the OSBI tipline at: tips@osbi.ok.gov.
