Post Mortem | Tracker Dakota Black
48 Hours correspondents Anne-Marie Green and Peter Van Sant discuss Dakota Black, a tracker and detective who relentlessly hunted for answers when Makayla Meave went missing in 2023. They explore the fraught relationship between Makayla and her husband, Frank, Lt. Black’s emotional connection to this case, and evidence that led to Frank's arrest.
- Duration
- 20m
- Broadcast on
- 18 Nov 2025
- Audio Format
- other
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[MUSIC] Welcome to Postmortem, I'm your host Anne Marie Green, and today we're discussing Michaela Mayavi, who was first reported missing by her husband, Frank Byers, in 2023. Now he told police that his wife had gone out on a date with another man, saying that they had an open marriage, but then she never returned from that date. An extensive search was launched, and Lieutenant Dakota Black, a tracker and detective with the Potomomie County Sheriff's Office, was brought in on this case. So joining me now is 48 Hours Correspondent, Peter Van Sant, who reported on this episode. Peter's always great to see you. Hi Anne Marie, great to be with you again. And of course we want to remind the viewers and listeners, if you haven't listened to this episode of 48 Hours, you can find it in your podcast feed, the full audio version of it. So go take a listen and come on back for this conversation, because we got questions. And Peter has the answers. So Peter, Michaela and Frank Byers, they're living in a small rural town of Macomb, Oklahoma. Lieutenant Dakota Black described the area as beautiful and serene, and it certainly looks that way, but also said there are a lot of dark secrets that live there too. What does she mean by that? Well, it's hard to believe, but Oklahoma has the highest rate of domestic violence of any state in the country. And Dakota Black told us she and her own life has experienced violence in a relationship. And while Macomb only has a population of less than 30, and keep in mind, Michaela, Frank and the girls, they make up 20% of the population of Macomb. It's near an intersection of multiple interstate highways. And Dakota Black said criminals moving through the area are known to dump victims' bodies there. And there are people living in Potawatomi County in poverty there. Some are off the grid with no electricity or running water toilets or even a roof over their head. There are some drug problems, and it's an open carry state. A lot of people have firearms. Lieutenant Black said they have missing people that are never found, homicides that are never solved. And I do want to say that while the sheriff's office there is small, they serve this large rural county with distinction and professionalism. And they were outstanding in their efforts to find Michaela. That's the impression that I got just from watching the hour, like they just seem so on point. So unbiased and completely focused on where the evidence is driving them. That's right. So let's talk a little bit about Michaela and Frank's relationship. They were old high school classmates. They did not date in high school, but then many years later, out of the blue, Frank contacts her on Facebook and they start a relationship. They are married in 2022, and it's a large blended family because Michaela, she already has two kids. Frank has four of his own daughters, but was Michaela's family worried about the relationship that she had with Frank because there must have been red flags. Yeah.
Transcription truncated.
48 Hours correspondents Anne-Marie Green and Peter Van Sant discuss Dakota Black, a tracker and detective who relentlessly hunted for answers when Makayla Meave went missing in 2023. They explore the fraught relationship between Makayla and her husband, Frank, Lt. Black’s emotional connection to this case, and evidence that led to Frank's arrest.