One Year Later, Cops Searching For Answers In Oklahoma

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Skyla Jade Whitaker, 11, was an animal lover and talked of becoming a vet.

On June 8, 2008, two young girls were assassinated on a rural road near their Oklahoma homes, and a year after the killings that shocked the nation, investigators said that the case is nowhere near cold.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation held a press conference to update the media on the murders of Skyla Whitaker and Taylor Paschal-Placker on the one-year anniversary of their tragic passing.

Although no arrests have been made, the OSBI said that they have utilized countless resources and thousands of manhours searching for answers. The OSBI urged the public to remain conscious of murders, and to realize that the investigation is still very much active.

The dramatic moment when Skyla Whitaker and Taylor Paschal-Placker were discovered dead on a road was captured on a 9-1-1, which the OSBI played for reporters at the news conference.

In the call, one of the girls' grandmothers screams frantically for help.

Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, And Skyla Jade Whitaker, 11, Murdered Near Taylor's Home

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Taylor Dawn Paschal-Placer was only 13. She was described as a big-hearted girl

County Line Road, near Weleetka, Okla., was a very familiar place for 13-year-old Taylor Dawn Paschal-Placker and her friend, Skyla Jade Whitaker, 11.

The two friends frequently spent the night at Taylor's house on County Line Road, and June 8, 2008 was no different.  At about 5 p.m., Taylor and Skyla left the house to go on a walk they'd taken many times before.

This trip though, would leave Taylor and Skyla dead, and leave detectives working to solve one of the biggest murder mysteries in Oklahoma history.

Shortly after the pair left, Taylor's grandfather and her guardian called Paschal-Placker's cell phone, trying to get them to come back.

When the call went unanswered, he went looking for them. About a half mile north of the house, he found both girls on the side of the road.

Taylor Paschal-Placker and Skyla Jade Whitaker had been shot to death.

In Okfuskee County, A Small-Town Crime, A Big-Time Investigation

Okfuskee County Dispatch received the 9-1-1 call at 5:41 p.m.  By 6 p.m., several jurisdictions -- including the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations -- were on scene in Weleetka, beginning the arduous investigation of the grisly crime scene.

They recovered shell casings, DNA and other evidence, which they sent to the OSBI crime lab in Edmond, Okla.

The question remains: who would want two innocent girls dead, and why? One thing was clear: whoever killed the two girls wanted them dead, and the killer -- or killers -- made sure the job was done before fleeing the scene.

OSBI investigators theorize that the location is not the kind of place someone would happen upon. It is about three miles from Highway 75, and all signs point to the killer or killers being local.

The location is isolated, and it's unlikely anyone would have heard the gunshots: in fact, Taylor Paschal-Placker's home is the nearest house to the crime scene.

Still, OSBI investigators say there are currently no suspects and no persons of interest in this case.

That's why their need your help. Two girls are dead, and cops are working to bring the killers to justice.

All calls to the AMW hotline -- 1-800-CRIME-TV -- can remain completely anonymous.