The friend of a teenager who was found dead by the side of the road has opened up about the hours leading up to the tragic discovered.
On September 4 2023, Jack Newton came across the body of his best friend Noah Presgrove lying by the side of Highway 81 in Oklahoma.
When he spotted Noah, Jack, 19, recalled that he had seemed as though he was just passed out.
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Speaking to People, Jack said: “It just seemed like he was drunk, passed out on the side of the road when I first seen him.
“He was laying on his side. His knees were kind of pulled up to his chest a little.”
Unfortunately Noah was not passed out, but dead.
He was wearing just a pair of mismatched slip on shoes, with a pair of white shorts nearby that were not damaged.
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Noah's skull had been cracked and his spine was fractured.
Just a few hours earlier the pair had been celebrating their graduation from high school together.
Despite numerous interviews, including with loved ones, attendees at the party, and law enforcement, the details surrounding Noah's death remain unclear.
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Police say it is not a murder investigation, but the truth remains elusive leaving his loved ones still struggling to find answers.
Jack believes his friend was the victim of a freak accident, saying: "To me, it seems like he asked somebody for a ride [and] fell out of the back of the truck. ... I don't know. Something like that."
People confirmed some details of the tragic night, including that Noah walked away from the party.
They also confirmed that after leaving the party Noah's body was first spotted by passing drivers on Highway 81 before 6am on September 4 2023.
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Noah's injuries were horrific, with the base of his skull split in two and an eight-inch head wound having peeled his scalp back.
Tyler Hardy, a trucker who was one of two people who called 911, was at the scene already when Jack arrived.
Jack remembered Hardy asking 'you know this kid?' and replying: "He's my best friend."
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Hardy was forced to pull Jack away from Noah, who he had known the pair had gone to preschool together.
It's thought that Noah had left the party to 'cool off' after being separately rebuffed by two female friends who had been attending.
After he left accounts vary wildly as to what happened next.
Jack said he isn't bothered by strangers being sceptical of his story, as people who were there know what really happened.
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He said: “It’s just the people that have known me and Noah forever and were around. That’s the people that get to me.”
Kit Roberts