PICHER, Okla. -- Thirty years and hundreds of millions of dollars since work began to clean up this former lead and zinc mining boomtown, progress is still being measured in inches or feet.

Into the Shadows Picher, Oklahoma: America’s Most Toxic Ghost Town Posted: February 21, 2025 | Last updated: March 26, 2025 Could an entire town be wiped off the map by pollution? That’s ...

Special batteries made by Eagle Picher Technologies of Joplin, Mo. power the guidance systems of many U.S. weapons — from antitank missiles to cruise missiles to the "smart bombs" used in ...

PICHER, Okla. – A businessman who refused to leave the Oklahoma ghost town of Picher has died. The Thomas Funeral Home confirmed Gary Linderman's death. According to an obituary on its website ...

When the land around Picher is cleared of mining waste and abandoned structures, the Quapaw Tribe plans to flood it to create a massive wetlands. John Berrey, chairman of the tribe, on Wednesday ...

OTTAWA COUNTY – The Tulsa Medical Examiner’s office is in the abandoned community of Picher on Saturday after human bones were found Friday evening. Angela Berg, a forensic anthropologist ...

PICHER, Okla. — A fresh search for the remains of Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible got underway at around 9 a.m. today in Picher. Investigators have been digging at several spots on vacant lots ...

When a tornado tore through tiny Picher, Okla., in 2008, leveling homes, flipping cars and destroying the last place in town to buy gasoline, there was little reason for folks to stick around.