Norman police filed an arrest warrant for Caleb Furley on a complaint of child stealing while he and his 4-year-old son, Andres “Harry” Furley, were still missing, according to the affidavit filed Wednesday in Cleveland County District Court. They were the subjects of the two alerts sent out Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning.
Furley’s phone was found off a road near Lake Thunderbird, in a spot police said was consistent with being thrown from a vehicle, and his truck was captured on a Flock camera in Texas around 11:30 a.m. Monday, according to the affidavit.
Furley and Harry were found dead in Gainesville, Texas, Wednesday afternoon.
According to the affidavit, the city of Norman Emergency Communications Center received a call about the pair at 10:42 p.m. Monday. Officers pinged Furley’s phone, which showed it near Lake Thunderbird, and later found it just off Alameda Street, near a bridge on the lake. The affidavit states a forensic download of location data showed the phone stopped there around 9 a.m. Monday after traveling to different locations around Norman.
Norman police issued an arrest warrant for child stealing while the pair were still missing. The affidavit, sworn Tuesday and filed Wednesday, was sworn to Norman Police Department Sgt. Ryan Rylant. It states Harry’s mother, Ivette Perez, was supposed to pick him up from Furley’s Norman apartment around 5 p.m. Monday, but could not reach Furley by phone or in person. Harry had not attended school that day, which was unknown to his mother at the time, according to the document.
Flock camera data showed Furley’s 2012 Dodge truck in Noble around 9:30 a.m. Monday and in Cooke County, Texas, around 11:30 a.m., the affidavit states.
According to the affidavit, Perez and Furley did not have a custody agreement but had an arrangement for Furley to watch Harry on weekends while Perez worked.
Perez told police the two separated about a year ago and that Furley did not handle the breakup well. She said he entered her home this past summer without her knowledge and created a “shrine” for her, which she believed was an attempt to win her back.
Perez and Melinda Furley, Caleb’s mother, told investigators his behavior had changed in recent months. Perez said he had become increasingly unstable, and both women said they believed his mental health was deteriorating and that he refused to take medication. The affidavit states he had been seeing a counselor through OU but stopped attending appointments a few weeks before the incident.
Perez also told police Furley had taken Harry to church the Sunday before and had started talking more about religion. Melinda said he had recently texted her that the Bible was scary, “especially when you read it right to left,” according to the affidavit.
The affidavit does not say why police believe Furley left with Harry.
Gainesville Police Department Chief Kevin Phillips told OU Daily Thursday that to his knowledge, the medical examination of the remains found has not yet been conducted. He said the bodies were sent to the Dallas County Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences and that it could be several days before identification is officially confirmed.
Phillips declined to name the business referenced in the department’s press release, stating businesses aren’t named when they aren’t directly involved.
He also declined to say how the relative who contacted officers is related to Furley, saying the department is trying to protect the family. Phillips said police will not release an incident report until the investigation is closed.
This story was edited by Audrey McClour and Macey Thaxton. Larkin Bock copy edited this story.
