Harassing the Elderly: Disputed Survey Pins, a Church, and Tribal Police in Seminole County

The following is based solely on the account of one individual and has not been independently verified. EastOklahoma.com has reached out to all parties named for comment.

A Seminole County man is speaking out about what he describes as a years-long property dispute involving a local church, a survey company, and members of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Light Horse Police — a situation he says has left an 81-year-old woman at risk of losing her land.

John Wilkins says the trouble began in February 2022, when a neighboring landowner sold a portion of his property to a church called New Hope Fellowship. A survey company called Arkoma was hired to conduct the survey for that transaction — and according to Wilkins, also surveyed the property line adjacent to his land, establishing corner pins at 1,322 feet.

Pins Moved, Then Gone

According to Wilkins, problems started almost immediately. He says the church moved a survey pin at the 310.86-foot mark roughly five feet north, across the property line to an old fence line, claiming it better suited their needs.

Then, he says, the situation became more complicated when the Oklahoma Department of Transportation removed a highway monument during road repainting — a monument that had served as a key reference point for the area's property boundaries.

Shortly after, Wilkins says his two neighbors joined together in a land deal and hired a second surveyor, Ben Nagel, to conduct a new survey. Because Nagel reportedly could not locate any existing monument to use as a point of beginning, he set new pins at the 1,322-foot mark established by the original Arkoma survey.

Enter the Light Horse

With what he believed was a confirmed SE corner pin now in place, Wilkins says he began clearing a fence line along the property boundary — stretching a string between the two established corner pins to ensure a straight line.

That's when things escalated.

According to Wilkins, the church and his neighbor to the south contacted the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Light Horse Police. An officer named Maverick Williams responded and attempted to contact Wilkins, who says he tried to explain that there was no property dispute — that the string marked the true property line and that the pin the church was relying on had been moved from its original surveyed position.

Wilkins says he followed up by sending an email to Light Horse Police stating he would not tolerate harassment over his property line. Days later, he received a phone call from Officer Williams accusing him of stealing something from the church property.

When Williams arrived, Wilkins says he spent approximately 30 minutes walking the officer through the original church plat from 2022, but that Williams "couldn't comprehend it or didn't want to hear anything that went against the church."

Williams reportedly told Wilkins that Arkoma had been contacted and would come out the following day to re-survey the property. Hours later, Wilkins says Williams called back to say Arkoma had verified the pins over the phone and would not be coming out.

When Wilkins stated he intended to proceed with his fence on his side of the property line, he says he was told he would be arrested for trespassing if he did so.

Wilkins then drove to the Light Horse office in Okmulgee and filed a formal complaint against Officer Williams.

A Counter-Complaint and More Confrontations

According to Wilkins, Officer Williams and Mickey Hill — whom Wilkins identifies as the church's pastor — responded by filing a complaint with the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, claiming Wilkins had moved approximately four property corner pins.

Every subsequent attempt Wilkins made to work near his fence line, he says, resulted in Light Horse being called out and threats of arrest — even when he says he was clearly working on his own side of the property.

Frustrated, Wilkins paid Arkoma $750 to come out and re-establish the property line based on the original February 2022 survey. Instead, he says, Arkoma placed a pin at 1,317 feet — 5.5 feet short of the original 1,322-foot mark — effectively cutting into the SE corner of his property. This left two competing corner pins at the SE corner: one at 1,322 feet set by Ben Nagel and one at 1,317 feet set by Arkoma.

Pins Disappearing

Approximately a month and a half later, Wilkins says he discovered that the 1,322-foot pin set by Ben Nagel had been completely pulled from the ground — the pin and its marker stake both gone.

He contacted the Seminole County Sheriff's Office to file a report, intending to use it as evidence in a complaint he had already filed against both Arkoma and Ben Nagel with the Oklahoma State Surveyor Board. A deputy, he says, refused to take the report.

The deputy did call Light Horse, and Captain Fixico arrived with another officer. Wilkins says he argued with the officers and the deputy for roughly 20 minutes. During that exchange, he says, the story from the officers kept shifting — first that he had moved the pin himself, then that it wasn't a real property pin, then that it was just a stick in the ground, and finally that it had never existed at all and that Wilkins had imagined the entire survey.

According to Wilkins, in total: Arkoma placed four corner pins for the church — one was moved and three have been pulled and destroyed. Ben Nagel placed four pins — at least three, and possibly all four, are now gone.

The Bigger Picture

Wilkins frames the dispute not just as a property disagreement but as part of a broader pattern he believes is designed to pressure an elderly woman — whom he describes as 81 years old — off her land.

He has provided photographs he says show survey stakes and marker flags, as well as excavated areas where pins have been removed.

EastOklahoma.com has contacted New Hope Fellowship, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Light Horse Police, Arkoma survey company, and the Seminole County Sheriff's Office for comment. This article will be updated as responses are received. The accounts described above represent the perspective of John Wilkins alone and have not been independently verified.