Investigators followed a trail of familial DNA matches to a man suspected of sexual assaults in Texas and Oklahoma in 2021, according to a Tuesday media release from the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Hunter Mackey, 27, was arrested by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation in McCloud, Oklahoma, on Feb. 17, the DPS said in the media release.
He was being held Tuesday in the Pottawatomie County Jail in Oklahoma, the DPS said.
Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent until convicted beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law.
According to the DPS media release, on Oct. 10, 2021, a woman in North Texas told investigators she was assaulted by a man now identified as Mackey.
The woman told Fannin County Sheriff’s Office investigators that she had met him through social media, and he had picked her up in a sedan with Oklahoma registration, driven her to a location and sexually assaulted her, the DPS said.
Two months later, investigators were notified of a possible DNA match between the Fannin County case and another similar sexual assault case in Ardmore, Oklahoma, the DPS said.
DNA collected during the investigation was submitted to a national database to check for possible DNA matches between suspects and unsolved cases nationwide, the DPS said.
According to the media release, Texas Rangers began coordinating with law enforcement in Oklahoma to conduct a familial search of the DNA samples from the Ardmore case.
In August 2024, evidence from the Ardmore case was sent to BODE Technologies for DNA testing and genealogy research, which ultimately led to the identification of three brothers as potential suspects in September 2025.
Further investigation yielded a positive match for Hunter Mackey, the DPS said. On Feb. 17, the OSBI located and arrested Mackey.
“Cases like these highlight the importance of collaborative investigative work between the Texas Rangers and our partner law enforcement agencies to bring justice and closure to victims and their families in unsolved crimes,” the release said.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Familial DNA leads to arrest in Texas, Oklahoma sexual assault cases
Reporting by Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News / Wichita Falls Times Record News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
