Could a recent discovery at Grand Lake in Oklahoma help solve a 25-year-old cold case?

Authorities believe that a rusted-out 55-gallon drum, located at the bottom of a cove, may contain important clues to the disappearance of Peggy A. Sweeten went missing on January 13, 1998. Peggy, who was 52 years old at the time of her disappearance, lived with her husband, James Lee Sweeten, in a lakefront home at Four Seasons Resort on Grand Lake. None of her personal belongings, including her car, clothing, photos or mementos, were missing from the property.

According to a search warrant filed in 2011, Peggy's son, Patrick Sweeten, told investigators that he learned his mother was missing in March 1998 and had to force his father to file a missing person's report in June 1998. James Sweeten reportedly told authorities that his wife had left with a man she had met online. However, this statement has been called into question as Peggy Sweeten did not use email and never had an email address.

Patrick Sweeten also reported noticing a 55-gallon drum on his parents' property that was suddenly missing. When he questioned his father, James Sweeten, about the barrel, the elder Sweeten shrugged his shoulders and said he didn't know anything about it, according to Mark Wall, a Delaware and Ottawa County Cold Case detective.