Grisly twist as bodies of four cyclists found chopped up and dumped in river

The dismembered bodies of four men who were reported missing after going on a bike ride have been found in a river.

A missing persons case that intrigued America has taken a grisly twist after the dismembered bodies of four cyclists were pulled from a river.

Police on Monday confirmed that bodies pulled from an Oklahoma river were four cyclists reported missing days earlier — and revealed that the men had been shot and dismembered while on their way to commit a crime.

Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice said the human remains pulled from the Deep Fork River belonged to Mark Chastain, 32, his brother Billy Chastain, 30, Mike Sparks, 32, and Alex Stevens, 29.

He said authorities believe that the cyclists had been in the process of committing a crime when they went missing on a bike ride from one of their houses last Sunday evening.

“We believe the men planned to commit some kind of criminal act when they left the resident on West 6th Street,” Prentice told reporters.

“That belief is based on information supplied by a witness who reports they were invited to go with the men to ‘hit a lick’ big enough for all of them,” he said, using slang for obtaining money illegally.

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Billy Chastain, 30, and his brother Mark Chastain were reported missing after the bike ride.

Mike Sparks, 32, was reported missing along with his friends.

Officials said one of the victims’ phones last pinged at a salvage yard owned by a person of interest in the case, Joseph Lloyd Kennedy II.

A search of a nearby scrap yard turned up evidence of a “violent event,” and police were looking to speak to Kennedy, who had been interviewed by cops Friday before going missing a day later, police said.

State records show Kennedy is a convicted felon serving a 10-year suspended sentence for assault and battery.

According to a report by News on 6, the 2013 conviction stems from a confrontation between Kennedy and six intruders who broke into his business, A&A Auto Salvage, in 2012. Kennedy fired at the would-be burglars, wounding one.

The body parts were pulled from Deep Fork River. Picture: News on 6

“Mr. Kennedy is a person of interest that we would like to talk to [again],” the chief added, noting Prentice was not a suspect.

Local, state and federal investigators said they believed they pulled the last of the victims’ dismembered body parts from the river Monday morning.

Prentice said the remains had likely been in the water since last Sunday and were not weighed down. The victims’ bicycles had not been recovered, nor had a murder weapon, according to police.

Alex Stevens, 29, was reported missing along with his three friends when relatives hadn’t heard from them.

Mark Chastain’s wife said she knew nothing, and was heartbroken by his disappearance.

“I did speak with the family members,” Prentice said. “I think they had already resolved themselves that this was their loved ones, but the additional information about dismemberment was obviously a shock and they were very distraught.”

“I’ve worked over 80 murders in my career. I have worked murders involving multiple victims. I have worked dismemberments. But this case involves the highest number of victims and it’s a very violent event. So I can’t say I’ve never worked anything like it, but it’s right up there at the top.”

Mark Chastain’s wife told Fox News Digital she was heartbroken by the situation.

“I know nothing, and I’m feeling lost. I’m heartbroken. I’m sad. I have so many mixed emotions and thoughts,” Jessica Chastain said.

Okmulgee has a population of more than 11,000 and is roughly 50km south of Tulsa.

This article was originally published by the New York Post and reproduced with permission