arkansas unsolved murders arkansas unsolved murders

They appeared as a series of 10 circles as large as 9 meters (30 ft) in diameter. Theres a serial killer running loose between Hot Springs and LR. Feb 25, 2019 - Explore AY Magazine's board "Arkansas Murder Mysteries", followed by 987 people on Pinterest. "Five bodies have been discovered since March, each dismembered and left in secluded areas in local Arkansas. When they were about six poles away from Kevin and Don, his conductor yelled out big-o and he immediately realized that there were bodies on the tracks. On April 16th, 2004 Chester Roberson was found murdered inside AA Auto Sales on Highway 161 where he was employed. The idea that someone could complete disappear in the digital age seems rather implausible, but thats exactly what John Glasgow did in 2008. One of Richard Garretts first directives was to have the bodies exhumed for further examination. That led police to suspect that they had ended up arresting the Phantom Killer. Also called the Southern Sasquatch, sightings of the Fouke Monster date back to the 1940s, but arguably the most famous accounts occurred in the early 70s. Crime Tip Hotline. Family history says that her maiden name was Carpenter and that her mom was from TN and father from KY. She was supposedly born in Illinois ca 1850. A family is still looking for answers after a Sebastian County woman's murder case remains unsolved 42-years later. Swinney died in 1994, and no evidence has come out to unequivocally prove whether or not he was the Phantom Killer. Hot Springs police shared the NPS statement to its Facebook page and urged people to "please pay attention to the 2nd paragraph" which says "there is no indication that this was other than an isolated incident.". There is a homicide investigation in Hot Springs involving a 32-year-old woman found dead on National Park Service land, but investigators said it is an isolated incident. They thought maybe that was evidence of a possible ransom or extortion, but the money in his bank accounts hasnt been touched. Nearly half of US murders going unsolved, data show by: Tyler Wornell. He occasionally stayed overnight, but he always left the following day on the afternoon train. They hoped to force the authorities to reopen the investigation. Map Message from the Sheriff Most Wanted Press Releases. Read on to find out the 10 creepiest. Other medical experts and researchers stated that it was highly unlikely, if not impossible, for a person to pass out from smoking marijuana. In the early morning hours of August 23, 1987, the mangled bodies of Henry and Ives were discovered on a set of railroad tracks in Bryant, a suburb just south of Little Rock. Date: August 23, 1987. The next victims of the Phantom Killer, however, would not be as fortunate as his first. The ensuing investigation unearthed an intriguing lead. Results: Unresolved. The Faulkner County Sheriff's Office revealed DNA evidence has identified Edward Keith Renegar as the primary suspect in the 1990 slaying. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Murdered Ella Barham was the authors long-dead cousin. He also suspects that there was some sort of police cover-up involved in the case; however, he was not sure if it was inadvertent or deliberate. A Growing Whisper. The number of homicides stood at 10 - an increase of 4 compared to 2018. Crawfords last known whereabouts place her at home. Hempstead County SHERIFF. He was usually present when Kevin returned home from school and his mother, Linda, was always home at nights. That night, they chose their usual hunting ground, along the railroad tracks that ran behind Dons house. Arkansas Cold Cases. To see a complete list of Butler Center Books, visit www.butlercenter.org/publication. Their parents would not accept Dr. Malaks conclusion. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Two more appeared in the following yearsone in 2004 in Peach Orchard and another in Delaplaine three years later, two towns less than five miles apart. Arkansas cold case from 1990 finally solved, Faulkner County Sheriff's Office revealed. When a tribute gift is given the honoree will receive a letter acknowledging your generosity and a bookplate will be placed in a book. NeverForgotten.ar.gov includes all missing persons from Arkansas and will be updated regularly. Little Rock, AR. As a result, the families were not able to move forward with their investigation. All Rights Reserved. Suspects: The man wearing military fatigues witnessed by police and others remains a possible suspect, but police have never been able to locate or positively identify him. In Cold Blood: The Brutal 1959 Murder of the Walker Family. He determined that tears in Don's t-shirt fabric indicated that he had been stabbed in the back with a large knife and that Kevin had apparently been struck in the head with a rifle butt, possibly Don's (the wound to his cheek matched the shape of the rifle butt). In March of this year, however,the sheriff's office announced investigators were using Snapshot DNA Phenotyping for the first time in hopes of tracking down the killer. The boys' bodies were terribly mangled. In July 1994, he was convicted of kidnapping a "young, small frame lady" in Cleburne County, Ark. The locomotive engineer engaged the brakes while blowing the horn, but the train could not stop in time and rolled over the bodies. Little Rock, AR. He ruled their deaths an accident. Box 1817. The 2019 crime rate in Hot Springs, AR is 620 (City-Data.com crime index), which is 2.3 times higher than the U.S. average. She successfully nominated several Boone County, Arkansas, properties to the National Register of Historic Places, including her own Barham ancestral home. Felkins, 32, was kidnapped Feb. 2, 1990 from a video rental store in Greenbrier, Ark., located about 40 miles northwest of Little Rock. Then under the direction of Captain Leonard Montgomery, the cold case squad was officially in operation. Since then, three more retired officers, Al "Big Al" Schultz from NLRPD, Bob Scott from Jacksonville PD, and Del Geiber from the VA Police, joined the team. Name: Date: Victims: Location : B: Charles Jason BALDWIN: May 5, 1993: 3 ? Adding to the intrigue, all of his files on Crawford disappeared after a short trip away from the office. No answers 29 years after murder of Arkansas teen Dana Stidham Eighteen-year-old Dana Stidham was last seen on July 25, 1989 leaving a grocery store in Bella Visa, Arkansas with medicine for. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Leave your legacy with a planned gift that can help ensure quality materials, programming, and services for our libraries. Despite his death, investigators are working to collect evidence in the case and the sheriff is asking for anyone who knew Reneger to come forward. Creating an account gives you access to all these features. North Arkansas Murder Remains Unsolved, Billboard Now Offers $25K Reward For Information IZARD COUNTY, Ark. Lying parallel to both of them was Dons .22 rifle. In the 1970s, Arkansas wasnt the most hospitable place for an unwed mother of three. It seemed difficult to believe that they would lay on the tracks without moving a muscle, while a huge freight train was hurtling towards them blaring its horn. Home Email Facebook. Thats where Maud Crawford came in. It was featured in a two-part episode of "The Trail Went Cold" podcast. He later served time in prison on federal drug and racketeering charges. The train was over a mile long and was traveling at a speed of fifty-two miles per hour. Rumors began to circulate that the man she had been having an affair with, Sgt. Thurman Abernathy, had gotten her pregnant. The man ordered Hollis to take his pants off, then beat him badly enough to put him into a coma for several days. However, he was never charged in the case or officially labeled a suspect. Five minutes later, Celine County officers showed up. A reporter from the local paper thought enough of the incident to file a story, earning the attention of low-budget filmmakers, who turned the encounter into a clumsy horror movie that propelled the creature to national stardom. Harmon dropped all charges against Abernathy, who had recently been promoted to lieutenant. . Post Sep 03, 2007 #1 2007-09-03T19:31. . "ATTENTION Be on high alert in HOT SPRINGS, AR, and surrounding areas," reads a widely shared Facebook imageposted April 12. Simply go tokrogercommunityrewards.com, click Create an Account to sign in, and selectCALS Foundationas your organization to support. Speculation began to rise, with many residents wondering if the boys had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Prior to working on this case, Garrett never carried a gun. When 18-year-old Ella Barham was raped, murdered, and dismembered in broad daylight, the crime sent waves of shock through surrounding counties, the Ozarks, and even the national press. by Janie Jones | Mar 25, 2022 Murder Mystery: The Moab Murders, Pt. In September of 2004, the North Little Rock Police Department started a pilot program designed to reduce the number of open investigations by using retired law enforcement officers to supplement the existing group of investigators. Little Rock That all changed in 2010, when a series of relatively minor earthquakes shook the town. Curtis was not worried about them going into the woods because he did not think they would get in trouble. "She's waited 42 years for answers. His behavior had aroused suspicion. After serving a 10-month sentence in north Arkansas, he was released from prison in May of 1995. You cansubscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here. Adding to the creepiness of the case, some self-proclaimed web-sleuths have tenuously linked the Phantom with San Franciscos notorious Zodiac Killer. Arkansas Unsolved Murder--Luther Gerald (Jerry) Parks, Jr. jerrysgirl67. To cover their tracks, they laid them on the railroad tracks and covered them up with a tarp. 1. Helena-West Helena Source: Public domain Overall SnackAbility 1 /10 Population: 10,187 Rank Last Year: 8 Murders: 11 (4th Most) Murders Per 100k: 108.0 (Most) More on Helena-West Helena: Data | Photos 2. Watch Video: Ark. subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here. His true identity will likely forever remain a mystery. NeverForgotten.ar.govincludes all missing persons from Arkansas and will be updated regularly. Details: In the pre-dawn hours of August 23, 1987, a seventy-five car, 6,000 ton Union Pacific cargo train made its regular night run to the UP freight yard in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Al Capone was a frequent visitor to the state in the 1920s, spending ample time in Hot Springs to bet on horse races at Oaklawn and relax in some of the many bathhouses that lined Central Avenue. Halloween night, back in 1995, a Rogers mother was stabbed to death while passing out candy. It also looked into an alleged drug ring in Saline County which ran out of Mena Airport and was covered up by police. MISSING PERSON CASE --- 1. Knowing him only by his first nameand after a postmortem search failed to turn up any identificationthe townspeople did the only sensible thing they could think of. Spreading your gift out through monthly contributions is a great solution for your budget and ours. Thats where Mike sat for the next six decades. Who had covered them with it and why? Garrett also believes that the tarp existed. Knowing that most of the evidence against him was hearsay, Abernathy decided to appeal his case. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Additional counties and states will be added to this database as time and funding permit. Source: HBO. Witnesses say that they saw her standing next to a maroon car driven by a man in his 30s on August 9, 1970. Five people were killed, and three were wounded. A mother's 30-year missions to uncover the truth about what happened to her son's in 1987 has led a federal judge to order an urgent review of several tightly guarded government . The third victim was identified as 27-year-old James Barker. In August 2016, Linda sued the United States over Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Before thiswebsitewas created, the public had limited access to information on missing persons. But their tryst was interrupted by a man wearing a white sack with eye and mouth holes cut into it, shining a flashlight into their car. There is a homicide investigation in Hot Springs involving a 32-year-old woman found. . Garrett had another autopsy conducted on Kevin and Don. Since the 1930s, people have been debating the cause of the light. Stephen noted that although three seconds does not seem like a long amount of time, it felt like an eternity for him. Crime Tip Hotline. Eventually, in 1975, the state attorney generals office requested that he be buried, and Mike was finally laid to rest later that May. Location: Alexander, Arkansas 50 of these have been sexual assualt cases, 15 of which had evidence suitable for modern DNA testing. Read our Privacy Policy. But as they drove him to the station, the young man asked a strange question for someone accused of car theft: "Will they give me the chair?" However, investigators noted that Glasgow received a hefty bonus before he vanished. A prominent figure in the Little Rock construction industry, Glasgow was raking in a seven-figure salary as CEO of CDI Contractors when heallegedlybacked out of his driveway at 5:15 a.m. on January 28 to leave for work. Market data provided by Factset. Dr. Frank Schambagh, a professor at Southern Arkansas University, said that the tracks were man-made and that the anatomy of the Fouke Monster didnt fit with the known species of primates. Yet the true story behind the "Texarkana Moonlight Murders" is as chilling as anything seen on the silver screenand made all the more unsettling because the case remains unsolved nearly 70 years later. All rights reserved. They put him behind bars for car theft. A traveling salesman, he would swing by each month to sell stationery to homes and local businesses. ", Pam Felkins, 32, was kidnapped on Feb. 2, 1990 from a video rental store where she worked in Greenbrier, Ark. Crawford was looking into a potentially illegal transfer of assets between Berg and some of his family members. Kevin and Dons parents are determined to continue working on and investigating the case until it is solved. In the last 5 years Hot Springs has seen . On October 23, 2018, Garrett passed away at the age of seventy-two. who was the head of the Investigations Division at the time. For almost 20 years Ernestine Andregg's family has not only suffered her loss, but also not knowing . It's time she . They were lying exactly across the tracks; their legs were across the rails, their torsos were between the tracks, and their arms were straight down by their sides. Western Arkansas was also on the circuit of back roads Clyde Barrow used to evade lawmen from other states. 2023 Central Arkansas Library System. . or redistributed. 100 Rock Street Shortly after 7 a.m., Phillip's little body was found. Hope, AR 71801. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. On the night Kevin and Don died, witnesses again reported seeing a man in military fatigues. The second attack came about a month after Hollis and Larey were assaulted. The train then went over them. Last updated February 23, 2023. . He was certain that the tarp was there. Over a month after she went missing, her body was found in the Ozark National Forest. One week before Kevin and Don were killed, a man wearing military fatigues had been spotted in the vicinity. On April 16th, 2004 Chester Roberson was found murdered inside AA Auto Sales on Highway 161 where he was employed. Others countered that he was in good spirits before he vanished. Gould explains that her goal was to create a complete account of the crime and its consequences. Butler Center Books is the publishing division of the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System. The Attorney Generals office supports families of the missing, law enforcement and social service agencies by hosting an annual Never Forgetten event. Arkansas911news said the bodies were dismembered and chopped up. Harsent was six months pregnant at the time of her death. Administrative Office Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm. He also drove a mustard yellow, long-wheelbase Ford pickup, a small gray car, and a Ford LTD. Edward Keith Renegar drove a red 1984 B2200 Mazda Pickup with a white camper shell, according to police. He took Curtis spotlight and took his own .22 rifle. Upon a close examination of the crime scene, police discovered that each victim had been struck in the head with some kind of blunt object. Neither had they ever seen Kevin spaced out nor any signs that he was into drugs. To keep creating Crop circles first popped up in Arkansas in summer 2003. The claim that there is an active serial killer in Hot Springs, Arkansas, is FALSE, based on our research. On most weekends, the two double dated. According to Texas Monthly, however, local journalist James Presley's book The Phantom Killer: Unlocking the Mystery of the Texarkana Serial Murders: The Story of a Town in Terror presented a compelling case for Swinney's guilt in 2014. By all accounts, Kevin and Don were typical teenage boys who both loved to work on their cars and hunt. He is not sure why someone would do that, however. These are the three cases that remain unsolved. After fighting to get the case reopened, they finally succeed in early 1988 when a new prosecutor was assigned to the case. It started as a normal Saturday night on August 22, 1987 in Bryant, Arkansas. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! I relied extensively on primary, legal, and academic sources such as court case files, original newspaper articles, history and law books, and Barham family documents.. Maine's oldest unsolved murder case is that of 13-year-old Mary Catherine Olenchuk. Several people were implicated in this conspiracy, which involved numerous investigations and two grand juries. Unsolved Cases - Howard County Sheriff AR Unsolved Cases Howard County Sheriff's Department Case of Missing Person: Nona Jean Young (Coleman) W/F, 02-26-51 On August 20, 2002, the case of Nona Jean Young was reopened at the request of her family. Congestion was also found in their lungs which indicated that they had been hurt before being hit by the train. USA TODAY was unable to reach the Facebook users for comment. While traveling through this part time or even full time jobs in Arkansas have come to call home. Both are similar in appearance, with witnesses describing them as glowing white lights that occasionally move throughout the woods. Those brave enough to wander into the woods risk running into the nefarious Fouke Monster. The term "serial killer" hadn't been coined yet (according to Refinery29, it entered the lexicon via a 1981 article in The New York Times), but authorities in Texarkana strongly believed that a single killer had been behind all of the attacks. A federal judge later dismissed many of the agencies listed, but ordered three of them to turn over the pertinent documents to him. However, he was unable to stop it in time. Arkansas State Parks kicks off centennial celebration 16 hours ago. Honor or memorial gifts are an everlasting way to pay tribute to someone who has touched your life. Arkansas parents dispute ruling on sons' deaths, Parents Doubt Report Blaming Marijuana: Youths' Deaths on Train Tracks Probed, Forensic photos indicate teens were injured prior to being struck by train, Garrett says, Second Autopsy Report Concludes Teens Murdered, Saline County Sheriff criticizes Malak for his handling of deaths, Prosecutor says teens hit by train may have seen drug dealers before death, Prosecutor: Teens killer will be brought to justice, Teens deaths ruled homicides after parents push for facts, Patrick Matrisciana's US Court of Appeals. Meanwhile, the Crossett Light also originated from a fatal railroad incident, this time with the unlucky worker being beheaded by the train. His findings did little to sway the rest of the force, Henry recounted, and he was reportedly told by his superiors that theres too much money involved before being reassigned. In the documentary, two veteran sheriff's deputies, Jay Campbell and Kirk Lane, were alleged to be the killers. The book is also available from online retailers and through the University of Arkansas Press (via University of Chicago Press) at (800) 621-2736. He believes that Kevin and Don stumbled on either drug traffickers or a drug lab that manufactured methamphetamine and that they were killed as a result. Thank you for supporting our journalism. It's been over 20 years and people are still looking for answers in the murder of Arkansas teenager, Melissa Witt. The 2019 Hot Springs crime rate rose by 12% compared to 2018. Relatively little new information ever surfaced in subsequent years. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, U.S. General Services Administrations Missing Child Notice Program. The boys' bodies were terribly mangled. At the time, Edwards had been missing for months. Now author Nita Gould unveils the remarkable story in her book Remembering Ella: A 1912 Murder and Mystery in the Arkansas Ozarks, just released by Butler Center Books. The exception to this is when DNA evidence can be processed. Remembering Ella reveals the truth behind an atrocity that has been a staple of local folklore for more than a century and still intrigues true crime sleuths and historians across America. In March 1990, Kevin and Don's manner of death were officially changed from "accidental" to "homicide." Dig deeper into the stories you've heard before, and encounter many others you . Having had no formal legal classes, she aced the exam and eventually became an expert in abstract and title law. For more information, contact 501-918-3025 [email protected]. He referenced a YouTube and Facebook video. Spotlighting was a fairly widespread activity among the local boys. Updated: Feb 28, 2023 / 08:40 PM CST. It is not known if the boys were Kevin and Don. Kevin and Dons families hired a private investigator to try and figure out what happened to them. Medical examiners reported that both boys had suffered injuries prior to the train accident. The initial investigation was swift. While the 70s saw interest in the Fouke Monster peaka local radio station even put out a bounty for its capturethe late 90s was the last time the mysterious beast ever saw a resurgence in popularity. ", A composite photo of a potential suspect based on DNA was released earlier this year. The first time you log in to our catalog you will need to create an account. Five months after the deaths, Kevin and Dons parents held a press conference. . In June 1988, a local man came forward, claiming that on the night of the murder, he saw two police officers beating two boys senseless in a store parking lot before tossing them into a police car and driving away. Legal Statement. Curtis recalls that Don came into his bedroom at around 12:15am. A $10,000 reward is offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for this crime. The trail went cold from there. Virgil and Katie Starks were shot in their own home in May. The state medical examiner, Dr. Malak, concluded they had smoked the equivalent of twenty marijuana cigarettes. Kevin and Don had avoided being caught. The killings were also the inspiration for the 1976 movieThe Town That Dreaded Sundown, which Texarkana still shows each Halloween in a park near one of the crime scenes. Nona Young went missing sometime around June or July, 1973. Suddenly, while going through the town of Alexander, he saw something in his path; he could not tell what it was. While there, he allegedly witnessed the murders. Police quickly orchestrated an intense investigation. This database currently consists of unsolved homicides from 50 Florida counties, 46 U.S. states, and 3 international countries. Extra Notes: Results: Unresolved. The day after the conference, the investigation was officially reopened. He had apparently passed away the night before. Judge orders North Little Rock mental health facility to pay $2.5M in teen rape case. What had caused Kevin and Don to lie side-by-side on the railroad tracks? Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. (KATV) It was September 27, 2004, when the family of 22-year-old Rebekah Gould. Nita Gould is an avid student of Ozarks history and a preservation enthusiast. Article continues below advertisement. 7. The legal aftermath of the horrific event led all the way to the Supreme Court and a hanging. EMERGENCY 911. She was found dead on August 22 in a barn in Kennebunk with a rope around her neck. At 5:30 am on 7 January, 1977, a young boy, Phillip Watts, aged 11, left his house to deliver newspapers around his home in St. Laurent, Montreal. Six weeks after the investigation was reopened, Garrett came up with a strangely similar case. Ursula Herrmann (10), disappeared on 15 September 1981 and she was found dead in mysterious circumstances. Besides being a frequent visitor to the video rental storethe 32-year-old was abducted from, Renegar lived near the dump site in Greenbrier and also had a history of sexual assault and abuse of women, according to the sheriff's office. She works in the field of information technology in Tulsa, where she lives with her husband and two catsbut her passion is wandering the hills of the Arkansas Ozarks. These cases surround themselves with weird clues, strange evidence and testimony, and odd circumstances, all of which serve to launch them into the realms of the most mysterious unsolved crimes. Over 50 years later, the case remains cold. - It was the scandal that rocked the state of Arkansas in the mid-1970s - a well-known doctor's affair leading to a murder for hire. From mafia to monsters, check out these 10 unsolved mysteries in Arkansas. However, the swarms continued over the next two years and increased in magnitude, with one reaching as high as 4.7 in February 2011. The Creepy Truth About The Texarkana Murder Mystery, The Phantom Killer: Unlocking the Mystery of the Texarkana Serial Murders: The Story of a Town in Terror. She hoped to force eight federal agencies and three Arkansas-based law enforcement agencies to produce any documents they had about the case. Friends said he was anxious over it. He wanted to make some money to buy Christmas presents. Dont let the serenity of the Arkansas landscape fool you. Despite various theories, the case remains unsolved. He also drove a mustard yellow, long-wheel base Ford pickup, a small gray car, and a Ford LTD. Edward Keith Renegar was convicted of kidnapping a "young, small frame lady" in n Cleburne County, Ark. However, Linda and her attorney did not find anything in the documents related to the murders. These investigators examine and submit evidence for testing to the state crime lab for new testing using modern techniques, especially in the field of DNA. "You may not know a thing, you may know something you don't realize you know, so we would love to be able to speak to anyone who had a relationship with Mr. Renegar," the sheriff said. A federal judge is to review an unsolved 1987 murder case of 2 young boys from Arkansas who were believed to have been killed by Clinton operatives. The sheriff office's said that Renegar drove a red 1984 B2200 Mazda Pickup with a white camper shell. It was unusual for husband not to keep in touch. In late December 1988, the grand jury investigating the case released their final report, stating that the deaths were the result of foul play; however, no indictments were issued regarding the deaths. Don was a natural comedian and Kevin was his best audience. Hempstead County Sheriff's Office . Three hours later, Stephen Shroyers locomotive came speeding down Bryant Hill. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. Teenagers Don Henry, 16, and Kevin Ives, 17, popular students who were gearing up for their senior year at Bryant High School, had decided to hang out with a group of friends at a local commuter parking lot, a popular gathering place for teens. Only days before disappearing, she had confronted him face-to-face about the issue. Virgil, 37, was killed, but Katie made it to the safety of a neighbor's house despite being hit in the face with two bullets. The other most investigated type of crime is rape, as the statute of limitations on this type of crime is 6 years.