Human Interest Human Interest News Tragedy News Cause of Death Revealed for Noah Presgrove, Okla. Teen Found Dead on Highway Wearing Only Shoes A trooper found Noah Presgrove’s body on Sept. 4, 2023 By Emily Palmer Emily Palmer Emily Palmer is a Senior Crime Writer at PEOPLE, where she has been a reporter since 2023. Her work has frequently appeared in The New York Times. She has also been published in The Boston Globe, Cosmopolitan Magazine and ELLE Magazine. People Editorial Guidelines Updated on May 2, 2024 09:54AM EDT A medical examiner’s summary report says 19-year-old Noah Presgrove died of “multiple blunt force injuries.” But the death of the Oklahoma teen — who was found by a highway patrol trooper on the side of the highway, wearing only his shoes Labor Day 2023 — remains shrouded in mystery. (Oklahoma’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s refers to Noah Presgrove as Noah Alexander Nichols, although the summary report, obtained by PEOPLE and other outlets, corresponds to the same person.) In the one-page summary report, Dr. Leonardo Roquero checked the box “unknown” for Noah’s manner of death. Noah’s brother, Dailen Presgrove, told News Nation he believes foul play was involved. “He was in the fetal position. And his body was covered up,” Dailen told the outlet, adding: “You can see blood seeping through the covering. … As I’m looking at it, it just seems weird. The placement of the body. The tooth, the shorts. It doesn’t look like a hit-and-run.” Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Noah Pregrove. Madison Rawlings/GoFundMe In September the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said they were investigating Noah’s “suspicious death,” KFOR reported at the time. After graduating high school, Noah planned to join the military, per News Nation. But after a party that lasted for days, the teenager went missing over the Labor Day holiday. The medical examiner still does not know when – or for what reason – Noah was injured. Noah’s body was found by an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper at 6:18 a.m. Monday, Sept. 4, 2023, per the summary report. The medical examiner viewed his body the following day, per the summary report, and finalized the case Monday, April 29. “Even if it was an accident, it doesn’t matter, come clean,” Noah’s cousin, Avery Poucher, tells KSWO. “It hurts not to know. It’ll hurt knowing, but it hurts more not to know, and wondering, and just thinking every night what happened?”