Bart Perrier, Sheriff

Serving and Protecting
Osage County, Oklahoma

Oklahoma’s Largest County

Oklahoma map

At the Osage County Sheriffโ€™s Office, our mission is to provide a solid foundation on which the residents of Osage County can thrive. We are committed to building public trust and fostering safe, secure communities through professional, high-quality professional law enforcement.

Osage County holds a unique place in Oklahomaโ€™s history and geography. As the stateโ€™s largest county by area, it was established in 1907 when Oklahoma gained statehood. The countyโ€™s name and heritage are deeply tied to the federally recognized Osage Nation, whose reservation boundaries are coextensive with the county itself. This land became the Osage Nation Reservation in the 19th century following the relocation of the Osage people from Kansas.

The county seat, Pawhuska, is one of the first three towns founded in the county and remains a hub of history and culture. As of the 2020 Census, Osage County had a population of 45,818 residents.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county spans an impressive 2,304 square miles (5,970 kmยฒ), with 2,246 square miles (5,820 kmยฒ) of land and 58 square miles (150 kmยฒ) of water, accounting for 2.5% of its total area. Much of the landscape is part of the Osage Plains, characterized by open prairie, while the eastern portion features the rolling Osage Hillsโ€”an extension of Kansasโ€™ Flint Hills. Nature enthusiasts can also explore the renowned Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, located just north of Pawhuska, where remnants of the once-vast tallgrass ecosystem are carefully preserved.

WHAT’S HAPPENING LOCALLY


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๐—ฆ๐—–๐—›๐—ข๐—ข๐—Ÿ ๐—œ๐—ฆ ๐—•๐—”๐—–๐—ž ๐—œ๐—ก ๐—ฆ๐—˜๐—ฆ๐—ฆ๐—œ๐—ข๐—ก!

The Osage County Sheriffโ€™s Office reminds everyone to ๐˜€๐—น๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ป, ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜, and ๐—ผ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ฐ ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜„๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—น ๐˜‡๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—น ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฒ๐˜€.

When a school bus has its red lights flashing and stop arm extended โ€” ๐—ฆ๐—ง๐—ข๐—ฃ. A few extra seconds of patience can help protect a childโ€™s life.

Watch for students at bus stops, crosswalks, and along roadways, and please put the phone down while driving.

Drive safe. Stay alert. Help us keep our kids safe this school year!

โ€” Sheriff Bart Perrier

6 hours ago
๐—ฆ๐—–๐—›๐—ข๐—ข
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Congratulations, Investigator Kyle Wilson! ๐ŸŽ‰

Weโ€™re proud to congratulate Kyle Wilson on his recent promotion and transition from Patrol Sergeant to the Osage County Sheriffโ€™s Office Investigations Unit.

This video was recorded while Kyle was still serving as a Patrol Sergeant, where he shares a little about himself, his law enforcement career, and his commitment to serving Osage County.

Please join us in congratulating Investigator Kyle Wilson as he begins this next chapter of his career with OCSO!

#OsageCountySheriffsOffice #OCSO #Congratulations #Investigations #ServingOsageCounty

4 days ago
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Remembering Captain Willy Hargraves ๐Ÿ–ค๐Ÿ’™

On August 19, 2022, the Osage County Sheriffโ€™s Office lost a dedicated public servant when Captain Willy Hargraves succumbed to injuries sustained in a traffic accident while serving in the line of duty.

Captain Hargraves devoted his life to serving others. Through his years with the Sheriff's Office, his service as a volunteer fire chief, and his commitment to his community, he consistently answered the call and put others before himself.

While we remember the tragic circumstances of his passing, we choose to remember the way he lived โ€” with courage, integrity, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to his community.

His service made a difference. His sacrifice will never be forgotten. His legacy continues through the many lives he touched and the community he worked so hard to serve.

Today, and always, we honor Captain Willy Hargraves.

End of Watch โ€” August 19, 2022

Gone, but never forgotten. ๐Ÿ–ค๐Ÿ’™

#RememberingCaptainHargraves #EndOfWatch #NeverForgotten #HonorTheFallen #OsageCountySheriffsOffice

5 days ago
Remembering Captain
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Here are our monthly stats for July!

1 week ago
Here are our monthly
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๐Ž๐’๐€๐†๐„ ๐‚๐Ž๐”๐๐“๐˜ ๐‚๐‘๐ˆ๐Œ๐„ ๐€๐‘๐‚๐‡๐ˆ๐•๐„๐’
๐‡๐š๐ซ๐ฏ๐ž ๐‚๐š๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ž๐ฒ & ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐…๐จ๐ซ๐š๐ค๐ž๐ซ ๐‡๐ข๐ฃ๐š๐œ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐  ๐‚๐š๐ฌ๐ž โ€“ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ—๐Ÿ๐Ÿ‘

In the early 1920s, Osage County was no stranger to bold crimesโ€”but one attempted robbery near Foraker would stand out for both its violence and its unusual outcome.

On the night of July 7, 1923, three pipeline workers near Foraker were confronted inside their residence by two-armed menโ€”later identified as Harvey (Harve) Bond Caughey and W.S. Bowers. According to reports, the suspects entered with guns drawn and ordered the men to โ€œstick them up,โ€ taking approximately $36 and a watch.

But the robbery didnโ€™t go as planned.

In a sudden turn, the unarmed victims fought back. Despite facing armed assailants, they overpowered the suspects. One of the attackers fired his weapon, but it had no effect. The victims then disarmed the gunman and used his own weapon to beat him, eventually turning him over to authorities. The Caughey fled but was later located hiding in a railroad boxcar.

Both Caughey and Bowers were arrested and charged with conjoint robbery, a serious offense carrying a potential sentence of 5 to 50 years.

๐—”๐—ฟ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐˜€, ๐—˜๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฌ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฅ๐˜‚๐—ป

Following his arrest, Caughey was released on a $10,000 bondโ€”a significant sum at the timeโ€”but failed to appear for trial. The bond was forfeited, and Caughey disappeared, sparking a manhunt that would last more than two years.
During that time, he was later arrested in western Oklahoma and returned to Pawhuska. However, due to the absence of key witnesses, the case against him was dismissed, and he was released.

Meanwhile, his co-defendant, W.S. Bowers, was tried, convicted, and sentenced to 25 years in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

Caugheyโ€™s legal troubles did not end there.

After his release in Osage County, he traveled into Seminole County, where he was convicted of bank robbery and sentenced to another 25-year term. While being held in jail in Wewoka awaiting transfer, Caughey escaped custody and once again went on the run.

๐—–๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—”๐—ณ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น ๐—˜๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ

A prolonged search for Caughey finally came to an end when he was in Buffalo, Oklahoma, following a tip from John Lynn of Pawhuskaโ€”the same man who had signed his earlier bond and suffered its forfeiture.

Caughey was arrested on June 25th 1927, and returned to Osage County by deputies, where authorities determined whether he would face remaining local charges or be returned to serve his sentence out of Seminole County.

๐—” ๐—–๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐—ด๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜†

Caughey had once been a taxi driver in Pawhuska and was a familiar figure in the area. His repeated encounters with the lawโ€”from robbery to escapeโ€”made him a known name in early Osage County criminal records.

Yet his story did not end in violence.

He served during World War I and eventually became a member of the local American Legion. On June 27, 1933, Harve Caughey died at the U.S. Veterans Hospital in Muskogee, Oklahoma, after several weeks of treatment. He was laid to rest in Pawhuska with military honors, escorted by fellow veterans.

The Caughey case is a reminder of the unpredictable nature of early Osage County crimeโ€”where bold robberies, citizen resistance, and long manhunts often defined the line between justice and escape. And sometimes, the same man could be remembered both as an outlawโ€ฆand as a veteran laid to rest with honor.

2 weeks ago
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๐Ž๐’๐€๐†๐„ ๐‚๐Ž๐”๐๐“๐˜ ๐’๐‡๐„๐‘๐ˆ๐…๐…โ€™๐’ ๐Ž๐…๐…๐ˆ๐‚๐„
๐๐‘๐„๐’๐’ ๐‘๐„๐‹๐„๐€๐’๐„

๐€๐ซ๐ฆ๐ž๐ ๐’๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ž๐œ๐ญ ๐€๐ซ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐…๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐’๐ก๐จ๐ญ๐ฌ-๐…๐ข๐ซ๐ž๐ ๐ˆ๐ง๐œ๐ข๐๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐‘๐ฎ๐ซ๐š๐ฅ ๐’๐š๐ง๐ ๐’๐ฉ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ

SAND SPRINGS, Okla. โ€” August 10, 2026, Osage County Sheriffโ€™s Office deputies responded to a report of shots fired at a residence near 688 N. Pawnee Road in rural Sand Springs, Osage County.

At approximately 9:09 p.m., deputies were advised of a disturbance involving an armed individual, later identified as David Stanworth. The reporting party told deputies that Stanworth had allegedly made threats toward her and her property. She further reported that earlier in the day, Stanworth had displayed a firearm during a confrontation with her son-in-law.

As deputies were responding to the area, the situation quickly escalated. At approximately 9:22 p.m., the reporting party advised dispatchers that Stanworth was allegedly shooting in her direction as she fled toward a nearby family memberโ€™s residence. She reported hearing bullets passing near her and believed rounds may have struck or been directed toward her residence.

Upon arriving at the scene, deputies approached Stanworthโ€™s residence and attempted to make contact using the public-address systems in their patrol vehicles. As deputies began making announcements, they immediately heard approximately five to six gunshots coming from the area of the residence and were directed at them.

Deputies took cover behind their patrol vehicles and began issuing verbal commands for Stanworth to surrender. A short time later, deputies observed an individual wearing what appeared to be camouflage near the northwest corner of the residence. Deputies could see what appeared to be a firearm in his hands and continued issuing commands for him to surrender.

During the incident, Stanworth is alleged to have fired approximately 20 rounds in the direction of responding deputies, in addition to an undetermined number of rounds allegedly fired toward the initial victim and her residence.

Additional law enforcement resources responded to assist, including officers from the Osage Nation Police Department and Sand Springs Police Department, as well as the Tulsa Police Department helicopter. Responding personnel established a perimeter around the property and began tactical efforts to safely bring the incident to an end.

After an extended standoff, Stanworth ultimately surrendered to deputies and was taken into custody without further incident. No deputies or civilians were injured during the incident.

Stanworth was transported to the Osage County Jail, where he was booked on multiple charges, including nine counts of Shooting with Intent to Kill, Reckless Handling of a Firearm, and Possession of a Firearm While Under the Influence.

The investigation remains ongoing, and additional charges may be presented as investigators continue to review the circumstances and evidence related to this incident.

The Osage County Sheriffโ€™s Office would like to thank the Osage Nation Police Department, Sand Springs Police Department, and Tulsa Police Departmentโ€™s helicopter for their assistance and cooperation during this incident.

This is an arrest not a conviction.

2 weeks ago
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