Pittsburg County Mother Hopes Son's Murder Is Solved 8 Years Later

A Pittsburg County mother is trying to remain hopeful nearly eight years after her son was murdered.

The case was never solved, and with a new investigator, she hopes for justice.

Nathan’s mother, Melanie, said Nate was an outgoing and talented man, and the pain she’s suffered is something she wouldn't wish on the people who killed him.

 Melanie Scoggins remembers her son Nathan as kind from the start.

 She thinks back to how he helped those in need, even at just seven years old.

“He got a Ninja turtle blanket, and he had me stop to give this homeless person his blanket," she said.

Melanie said Nathan started roping and training racehorses at age 15, something he went on to do for a living. 

She said he was a jokester and always made others laugh.

"He was very outgoing; he was the life of the party," said Melanie.

On February 26th, 2016, Nathan was at Melanie's house in Longtown.

Melanie had just come home after taking Nathan’s son Bryce to school.

Nathan’s girlfriend told her she heard a shot.

"I ran to the kitchen, where I found him lying on his back dead," she said. "A gunshot wound to the temporal and the back of the neck.”

"Nothing that a mother should ever have to discover or deal with.”

No arrests were ever made. But Melanie said in her small town, somebody must know something.

Now, a new investigator is looking over the case with the Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office.

“This is the first time we’ve had any hit to move forward with the case," Melanie said. 

For Melanie, the pain is excruciating. But she finds hope in helping others who are grieving. 

She sees her son in Nathan’s now 16-year-old son Bryce, whom Melanie takes care of.

“He’s so much like Nathan," she said. "I don't know what I would do if I didn't have him.”

"My only way of healing is helping others.”

OSBI has increased the reward for this case to $10,000.

If you have any information, you are urged to call their tip line, 800.522.8017.