VOM responds to probe, death

The Voice of the Martyrs headquarters in Bartlesville, completed in 2011, is pictured.
The Voice of the Martyrs, a Bartlesville-based organization that provides aid to persecuted Christians around the world, is responding to the sudden death of its executive director this past week and the subsequent news of a police investigation concerning an accusation of child molestation.

Walter Thomas “Tom” White was found dead Wednesday morning at the VOM complex, located east of Bartlesville, after he was reported missing Tuesday night. Court records obtained by the Examiner-Enterprise show that White had very recently been accused of molesting a young girl and authorities had launched an investigation.

In a statement issued Friday afternoon, VOM addressed the issues:

“The events of the last week are tragic. On Wednesday we learned that Tom White, VOM’s executive director, had died.

“Allegations were made to authorities this week that Tom had inappropriate contact with a young girl. Rather than face those allegations, and all of the resulting fallout for his family and this ministry and himself, Tom appears to have chosen to take his own life.

“None of those in leadership at VOM, including our Board of Directors, were aware of these allegations at the time of Tom’s death.

“There is no doubt that Tom cared about his wife, his children and his grandchildren. And there’s no doubt that he cared about VOM.

“We are deeply saddened by these events. Our hearts are broken.

“However, the work that God has called VOM to do is bigger than any one of us. There are persecuted Christians who need our help. The legal process will go forward, and we will continue serving with our persecuted brothers and sisters.

“We appreciate the many who are praying for our work, and we encourage you to join us in praying for Tom’s family during this difficult time.

“A letter from VOM’s president will be posted on our web site, www.Persecution.com, next week.”

According to an “application for order” requested last Tuesday in Washington County Court by investigators with the Bartlesville Police Department, the 64-year-old White “had been reported to have molested a (age omitted) juvenile female.”

“Mr. White was found around 10 a.m. in The Voice of the Martyrs warehouse in Bartlesville,” BPD Capt. Jay Hastings told the newspaper Friday morning. “(White) had been reported missing, and we were told that he had been gone since 7 (o’clock) the evening before.”

On Friday, the newspaper obtained a copy of an order, filed on April 18, by BPD Sgt. David Hackler, requiring mobile telephone service provider T-Mobile to provide “real time GPS pinging of (White’s) phone” in an effort to locate the device, as well as “any technical assistance requested by (the BPD) or any other employee of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.”

The public document states that the “requested records and information are relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation,” and provides a brief summary of allegations that were apparently made against White prior to his death.

“…Police had begun to investigate and Mr. White had disappeared,” states the document. “His vehicle was later found, but he was not located. A note was located in the vehicle that he was suicidal or possibly fleeing to avoid investigation. A search had begun to locate Mr. White but was unsuccessful. It was learned that this was his cell phone and needed to run a ping on the phone to locate Mr. White to check his safety.

“Applicant further believes that by learning the GPS location of the above cellular telephone, it could lead law enforcement to the person(s) responsible in this molestation.

“Applicant further requests this Court to order that the TELEPHONE COMPANY (T-Mobile) not disclose to the subscriber, or customer, the existence of this Application …”

Police stopped short of labeling White’s death a suicide. Hastings said Friday that BPD investigators were in the process of conducting a “death investigation,” but that the cause of his death White’s was not immediately known.

“As of now, the cause of death is undetermined,” Hastings said. “(We) won’t know until we get a report back from the Medical Examiner.”

Hastings declined to speculate as to when the report would be completed.

VOM initially posted the news of White’s death on its website Wednesday.

Founded in 1967, The Voice of the Martyrs is a non-profit, inter-denominational Christian organization that assists the persecuted church worldwide. White had served as executive director of VOM for more than 20 years.

White spent 17 months in a Cuban prison after being captured by Cuban authorities when the plane from which he was dropping Christian leaflets crash-landed on a Cuban highway in 1979.

White authored a book about his imprisonment, “God’s Missiles Over Cuba.”

A complete obituary appears elsewhere in today’s edition.
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