Suspect In Missing Woman's Case Allegedly Lied About His Name And Marriage During Relationship

The search for a missing 33-year-old Texas woman may have come to a tragic end, as investigators shared on social media that they found the body of a dead woman in a field on Wednesday.

The Collin County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook late Wednesday night that a body was found in a Grand Prairie field, about 13 miles west of Dallas, and the remains will be examined by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office. The identity of the woman has not yet been released as of Thursday afternoon, and the sheriff’s office told Oxygen.com no updates are available yet.

This comes after the sheriff’s office asked on social media for the public’s help Sunday to find missing 33-year-old Kayla Kelley. Friends reported her missing on Jan. 11 after she wasn’t seen for several days, according to the sheriff’s office.

When authorities conducted a welfare check at Kelley's apartment on Jan. 12, they found her dog had been left without food and water for what appeared to be days, according to an arrest warrant obtained by Law and Crime. Her family indicated this was unusual, as they said the "dog was like Kelley's child."

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A Texas man is now under arrest in connection to the case, according to the warrant, which states that he was in a relationship with Kelley under a fake name and married to another woman.

The sheriff’s office said in a press release that Ocastor Ferguson, 32, is a person of interest in Kelley’s disappearance. Ferguson is currently in the Collin County Jail after he was arrested on Saturday. He’s charged with kidnapping, a third-degree felony, as well as arson, a second-degree felony, and is being held on a $1 million bond. His wife, Latrina Ferguson, is on his list of approved visitors, according to Collin County jail records.

Collin County deputies learned Kelley had a boyfriend named “Kevin” and she recently found out he was married, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by “Law and Crime.”

Kayla Kelley and Ocastor Ferguson Photo: Collin County Sheriff's Office

“Kelley told friends she was going to blackmail ‘Kevin.’ Friends and family advised Kelley they did not want to talk to her about dating a married man, so no one had any further information about ‘Kevin,’” the affidavit said.

One day after she was reported missing, the Frisco Police Department found Kelley’s vehicle on a deserted county road, according to the Collin County Sheriff’s Office.

“The car had been burned beyond recognition and the incident was not consistent with a natural fire,” the affidavit said.

After looking into Kelley’s phone records, investigators found she was talking to a man identified as Ocastor Ferguson, according to the affidavit. Deputies found Ferguson’s vehicle, a Lexus — his wife had recently reported it stolen — in the area of Kelley’s duplex, and gloves, duct tape and a blanket were allegedly found inside of it.

Last Friday, investigators spoke to Ferguson at his work, and he allegedly admitted to knowing Kelley, who he claimed to have last seen on Jan. 10, when she dropped him off for work, according to the affidavit. He told investigators the two met online and started dating in the summer of 2022.

He said his vehicle was at Kelley’s duplex because he was hiding it from his wife, deputies said.

He also allegedly admitted to going by the name “Kevin Brown” to Kelley so she wouldn’t know his true identity, according to the affidavit. Ferguson told investigators Kelley later figured out his real name and the fact that he was married.

Ferguson let investigators read his phone conversations, according to the affidavit, and in them, Kelley allegedly told Ferguson she would tell his wife about their affair if he didn’t answer her.

Investigators talked to Ferguson’s wife.

“She advised on January 4 she received a text message from an unknown person advising they needed to tell her something,” according to the affidavit. “Ferguson’s wife never made contact with the person, but felt it was a female based on the language used in the text exchange. The wife’s phone was broken, so she was unable to provide the number she received the text messages from.”

Investigators looked into call detail records of Ferguson’s phone, and it allegedly showed Ferguson left work on Jan. 10 and traveled to his home in Grand Prairie, before driving up the Dallas North Tollway to the area of Kelley’s duplex, then to the area where Kelley’s vehicle was found burned, before traveling back to his home, according to the affidavit.

When questioned, investigators said Ferguson allegedly denied being in the area where Kelley’s vehicle was found and claimed to have no knowledge of what happened to it, but admitted to driving Kelley’s vehicle while she sat in the back seat, according to the affidavit. He allegedly told investigators he doesn’t know where Kelley is.

If you have any information about Kelley’s disappearance, you’re asked to contact the Collin County Sheriff’s Office at 972-547-5100 or by texting 847411.