Michael Robert Creel, 18, was pronounced dead at just after 1 p.m. by Howard County Justice of the Peace Benny Green after law enforcement officials say he apparently fell or was thrown from the back of a pickup truck traveling on Longshore Road, north of Big Spring.

Jeffrey Ray Pierson, 18, of Glasscock County was located shortly after Creel's body was discovered and arrested on a charge of intoxicated manslaughter, according to HCSO Chief Deputy Mark Hall.

Hall said the two young men were at Creel's residence the evening before the young man's body was discovered, and had left with a juvenile just after midnight.

“We have confirmed there was a juvenile in the vehicle at that time,” said Hall. “They left Creel's residence at about midnight. Pierson returned to the Creel residence at about 2:30 a.m. Creel was missing approximately 13 hours before his body was found, but he was never reported missing to the authorities.”

Hall said rumors Creel had been beaten or hit by a car prior to his death have been cleared by the preliminary autopsy.

“According to the medical examiner's report, Creel showed no signs of having been assaulted or hit by a vehicle,” said Hall. “The medical examiner concluded his injuries were consistent with having been thrown from a moving vehicle. It is possible he had alcohol in his system at the time of his death, but there's nothing at this time to indicate he was intoxicated.”

Hall said good information regarding the 13-hour period leading up to Creel's death and the discovery of his body has been hard to come by.

“Pierson told us he thought Creel had gotten out of the back of the truck at a stop sign during their trip between midnight and 2:30 a.m.,” said Hall. “However, when he (Pierson) went back to look for him, he was unable to locate him. It's been really hard to get good information on just what happened.”

Hall said evidence to suggest how Creel was thrown from the back of the vehicle or fell from the pickup truck has yet to surface, and confirmed no other arrests have been made or charges brought at this time.

“It's really still too early in the investigation to say whether more charges will come out of this,” said Hall.

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it