That summer, Dana spent some time living with her cousin, Kristy Smith, before moving into a different apartment with her brother, Larry, and a roommate in Centerton, Arkansas. Rose Harsent was stabbed to death on 1 June 1902, in Peasenhall, Suffolk, England by an unknown assailant. They pointed out that the couple had recently received word they were approved to adopt a child and earlier that day Carol Blades had bought Christmas presents and set up the tree at home. Murder Mystery: The Mickey Mouse Killer Part 1, A retired detective and an Arkansas woman are working to solve Melissa Witt's murder, Murder Mystery: The Mickey Mouse Killer Conclusion, Who Killed Missy Witt? It's believed that Melissa wore a white v-neck sweater and blue jeans. Danas personal belongings, however, were not inside the car. Heultimately raped and murdered two elderly women in the River Valley, Arkansas area: Juanita Wofford in 1993, and Ruth Henderson in 1995. He chose not to cooperate and therefore remains a suspect in this murder. It was described in news storiesas "torn up." if(window.innerWidth<700){ezoicSiteSpeed(jQuery(document),String(/documentReady/).substring(1).slice(0,-1),String(/jQuery-document-dot-ready/).substring(1).slice(0,-1),function($){$("#skip_expand").html("(Expand+)");$("#toc ul").css("display","none");$("#skip_expand").on("click",function(){$("#toc ul").toggle()});$("#toc h3").on("click",function(){$("#toc ul").toggle()});});}. Image. You can download the data here. Trending pages Morgan Nick Don Henry and Kevin Ives Carson Prince Ann Sigmin and Garey Goff Gainesville Killers Tony Alamo Amanda Tusing Larry Chism All items (16) # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Other A Amanda Tusing Ann Sigmin and Garey Goff Who killed Missy Witt? More than 30 years later, Fisher's estranged wife was charged with first-degree murder. The victim is identified as 35-year-old . We must note that this report is not an analysis of the effectiveness of local police departments. Both girls were 19 at the time of their death, and both were murdered and found in large forests in Arkansas. When a crime happens, and you dont know who the other party is. No one else has been. There also was a younger male voice, also with a really strong Southern accent. It is now home to large manufacturing plants; St. Edward Mercy Medical Center and Sparks Regional Medical Center, which provide healthcare to residents beyond the confines of the city; and the . Photo credit: Kurt Wilson/ Missoulian. Though the fourth boy, Nils Wilhelm Gustafsson, survived the attack and lead a relatively normal life, he became a suspect in 2004. There could easily be a scientific explanation for this one, but do you really want to risk it to find out? "They was just looking for anything to say, they was all upset.". 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. December 1, 1994, was a typical day for Missy. More:'I want justice for my father': An investigation into the 1989 death of Ronnie Johnson. The body was discovered by a Conco employee. The massacre inspired the movie "The Town that Dreaded Sundown." Mark Alan SMITH: 1966 - 1970: 4 - 12: Arkansas, USA : Richard Wayne SNELL: 1983 / 1984: 2: Arkansas, USA . Ashley County Obituaries, 1965-present from the Ashley County Ledger - also includes cemetery listings. It could not be determined how she was killed. In a May 13, 1990, News-Leader story, Whitney said: I dont think this was a planned-out deal, other than they saw her and made a quick plan, he says. Her body was fully clothed. First-time author Barbara Kemm-Highton spent three years working on herbook. Dana agreed to run out for her father and left the home to make the four-mile drive in her grey Dodge Omni around 3:00 p.m. Georgia said she got home after work around 4:00 p.m., and Lawrence told her Dana had not yet returned. Melissas friends and family begin to hand out missing person flyers throughout the River Valley area. She was shy and didn't like to smile much; she was self-conscious about a crooked front tooth. Best Places To Raise A Family In Arkansas, Download The Entire Arkansas Ranking Data. In addition, a homicide can be cleared if there is enough evidence to arrest and charge a suspect, but that suspect is dead. You can visit his grave at Graceland Cemetery in Pine Bluff, but we can't promise it will reveal any clues about his mysterious demise. 6:30/6:40 pm:Witness reports hearing woman in distress in Bowling World Parking. And give us some information about what they actually told the police department back there in 1979, daughter Nikki Ensey told 5NEWS. 2023 www.news-leader.com. 1. Case of Missing Person: Nona Jean Young (Coleman) W/F, 02-26-51 . The 2019 Fort Smith crime rate rose by 17% compared to 2018. What haunted locations can I visit in Arkansas? Unsolved Ozarks murders: Woman was last seen mowing cemetery, man shot by burglar Steve Pokin Springfield News-Leader The unsolved 1989 murder of Ronnie Johnson of West Plains is but one. His father, Alex Murdaugh, a local attorney and the son of Randolph Murdaugh III, owns the boat.. Most accurate 2021 crime rates for Fort Smith, AR. After stopping at the store, Blades went to a Nixa laundromat. Georgia dreads that outcome. Between 6:30-7 pm, after class and work, Missy went to the same bowling alley that her mother had mentioned in her note. The suspect had passed a polygraph test and told Davis that when he had talked about killing Workman he was "joking.". Continue with Recommended Cookies. Lambblamed the Blades family for starting rumors that he was involved in the murder. Turner retired from law enforcement in 2020 after nearly 24 years with the Ozark Police Department. Jenkins told Dateline. A homicide is considered cleared if at least one person has been arrested, formally charged and handed over to a court of law for trial. Each of these victims were submitted by families or law enforcement through our submission page. Manage Settings It stated: The problems with the case, according to the story, included: Dave Smith, then a sergeant, said: "We have to find someone with firsthand knowledge that he was out there that night.". Compare Fort Smith crime data to other cities, states, and neighborhoods in the U.S. on NeighborhoodScout. The rate of crime in Fort Smith is 55.87 per 1,000 residents during a standard year. Swearingen denied murdering Missy Witt and was executed on January 27, 2009, for Melissa Trotter's murder. You'll receive your first newsletter soon! Most Dangerous Places in Arkansas The 10 Murder Capitals Of Arkansas For 2021 1. An old wives tale is one thing, but once physical evidence gets involved these stories become especially chilling. Finally, we averaged the two scores into an index: We felt as if a small place with 2,500 people and two murders makes it a lot more dangerous than a city of 25,000 people with three murders. In 1965 it was 90 percent. Dana had been very well-liked, her cousin Kristy said she didnt have any problems with anyone. Melissa Witt was abducted from the parking lot of Bowling World in the evening. No circumstance has a more devastating effect on a family than the unknown whereabouts of a loved one. She says her mothers abduction and murder affected the entire family. Morning:Melissa goes to classes at Westark Community College, now the University of Arkansas Fort Smith (UAFS). Ron Davis, the reporter, interviewed one of them. Above the railroad tracks near Gurdon, a mysterious floating light has been spotted. Jenkins told Dateline. Resources. On a daily basis, JC. It is our seventh time ranking the most places with the most murders per capita in Arkansas and is updated for 2021. Wanted for Arrest. Many conspiracies were prompted by the tragedy, including a (mildly far-fetched) drug smuggling cover-up connected to a former U.S. President. But could he have been responsible for another murder? in Library Science. The BridgeWay mental-health hospital, admitting it had wronged a 14-year-old patient who . Making it tougher for investigators to gather evidence. We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a homicide that happens not that far away from us. I wanted a better life for him than I had. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Some theorize she may have been the victim of a local serial killer, "The River Valley Killer.". While the city with highest number of murders period? Danas parents continued to drive around, but did not find their daughter. Captain Philip Pevehouse with the Sebastian Co. Sheriffs Office says customers begin making calls to the Fort Smith Police Department about the store not having a cashier. Fort Smith murder unsolved after 42 years, family still has hope In 1979, Lois Ensey was abducted while working at J's Night Owl Grocery off Highway 271 in Fort Smith. Lawrence, who had medical issues, was feeling ill that day, so he asked Dana if she could pick up his medicine at Phillips Foods store in Bella Vista. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. But we're certain he got the idea from some of the real life eye witness reports. I can't stop thinking about this case because it's from my home town. The murders of Greg Collins, Daniel Bearden, James Milan, Jordan Kettleson, and Mike Samples remain unsolved. But she never made it inside. I don't want to go to my grave not knowing, she told Dateline. Two Hunters Person With Information / Witness, Larry SwearingenPerson With Information / Witness, Travis Dale CrouchPerson With Information / Witness, Unnamed older woman and younger manPerson With Information / Witness, Charles Ray VinesPerson With Information / Witness, Douglas Lawrence LoganPerson With Information / Witness, William Dillard TaylorPerson With Information / Witness, Tara LimbirdFriend / Acquaintance of Victim, Morning:Melissa and her mother have a disagreement over money. "This would have been around 1989 or 1990," McCaster told HuffPost. The family alleged that the defendant failed to exercise ordinary care to provide for the safety of business. A pseudo-documentary, The Legend of Boggy Creek, highlights the towns monster lore. Denver Post . A week later, her body was found some10 miles south of the cemetery and about six miles east of Oldfield, in Christian County. Murderpedia . Diaz is president of the Vallejo chapter of. Should Smith, now 73, ever be releasedin Illinoishe would face a life sentence in Arkansas. Theres a seedy underbelly to almost everywhere, but knowing these dark occurrences happen in your own backyard is particularly nerve wracking. More Cost of Living or Compare Fort Smith's Cost of Living. Two people witness Melissa's abduction. Jenkins told Dateline. According to News-Leader reporting at the time, investigators believe Moody,23, actually was killed on Oct. 28, 1998, weeks before his body was found. When they find her body, she had been exposed to extreme temperatures, Rush said. Possibly the most spectacular of the crimes were the September 1983 bludgeoning deaths of News-Sentinel editorial page editor Dan Osborne, his wife, Jane, and their 11-year-old son, Ben, at their home on South Harrison Street. A patron had discovered her car keys and turned them in the night Witt disappeared. Do you feel thoroughly thrilled and chilled? in English and will soon be pursing her M.A. Sort All Cases By: Company Area | Male | Female | County | Year | Last Name Results: 13 Record (s) Found. The Colorado Cold Case Database features unsolved homicides, missing person, and unidentified person cases to assist law enforcement agencies in the development of information, which can lead to the identification, and arrest of any person (s) who may have committed any crime described on this page. The keys were still in the ignition. A DNA match helps link multiple unsolved murders down to one man in this clip from Season 2, Episode 5.Tune in to Cold Case Files, Fridays at 9/8c on A&E, an. Kristen said she spent weekends driving to nearby states with her mother and her aunt, Georgia, to see if anyone had seen Dana. Six people were on board the boat at the time of the crash, including 19-year-old Paul T. Murdaugh. While a murder just blocks or even a couple of towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, in the long run, most likely, where you live is relatively safe. The state has a surprising number of bone chilling tales, from cold cases to urban legends. The Social Security Administration records do not . No one has ever been charged. READ MORE 5. She hadthree children. 18 unsolved slayings in this area in five years. Missy kept very busy with classes and her part-time job at a local dental clinic where she worked as a dental assistant. Sheriff Lamb, who died at age 77 in 2001, was a former rodeo performer who as sheriff wasknown for straight talk and at times for roughing up those in custody. Soon after the shooting, the suspect went to prison for two years for other burglary convictions. If you have any updates in any of these cases please contact me. He said: There are many possibilities in the death of Mr. Moody. In 1979, Lois Ensey was abducted while working at J's Night Owl Grocery off Highway 271 in Fort Smith. An autopsy could not determine cause of death; she was not shot and apparently was not raped. There were no records found of her death. Blades was last seen at a Nixa store buying cookieson a cold Monday, Dec. 15, 1969. The following persons have active warrants for their arrest. 1. Cold Case Spotlight 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,. Both bodies were found in 1989 in different months in different parts of the hugeMark Twain National Forest, an area the size of Delaware. He loved tinkering with cars, being outdoors and being a loyal friend. Connect with Never Forgotten Taxes and utilities also rank low on the national scale allowing those searching for dens in early October and early November. Again, these statistics are an indication of where crimes occur, not a statement about the effectiveness of the law enforcement in the areas they serve. The Springtime Jonquil Festival In Arkansas Thats Unlike Any Other, Spend A Magical Evening Savoring This Wine And Fondue Experience In Arkansas, Arkansas Oldest Drive-In Theater Is Hiding In A Small Town And Youll Want To Visit, Dine At The Historic Spot In Arkansas Where The Legendary Gangster Al Capone Drank Whiskey, The Legend Of Arkansass Very Own Monster Will Chill You To The Bone, 9 True Arkansas Stories That Are Way Creepier Than The Clown Takeover, The Story Behind This Mysterious Creature In Arkansas Is Both Bizarre And Fascinating, The One Place You Have To Go In Arkansas If Youre Looking For Real Adventure, Naomi Rahim / Moment Collection via Getty Images, Calico Rock Historic District in Calico Rock, The Empress of Little Rock in Little Rock. The 25-year-old store clerk child was gunned down in an overnight robbery. The National Crime Information Center's (NCIC's) Missing Person File was implemented in 1975. He may have been lost at times, but who of us has not been lost? Blades was 5-foot-2 and 115 pounds. Arkansas law requires all missing persons to be entered immediately. FORT SMITH, Ark The Fort Smith Police Department is investigating a homicide in the 1300 block of Jackson St. Kemm-Highton saidin August she does not believe Smith killed Blades. His name was never released. He was active in the area at that time, and he had attacked another teenager in Arkansas. Sergeant Shannon Jenkins of the Benton County Sheriff's Office told Dateline that they received a phone call from Danas brother, Larry, at 9:15 p.m. on the 25th to report Dana missing. During the school year, Dana had been working after school and on weekends at Harps Food Store in Bella Vista, Arkansas. BOONE COUNTY, Ky. - Cold case detectives at the Boone County Sheriff's Office in Kentucky are investigating any possible connection between an unsolved double murder in 2011 and the 2017 . Tragically, we'll never know who murdered these young men. He was described as 5 feet 9 or 10 inches tall, a white man with a dark complexion andblack hair combed back. The National Crime Information Centers (NCICs) Missing Person File was implemented in 1975. At that time, we didnt have Caller ID in the office; it was a voice recording on the machine we had at our Major Crimes Office. "Since her death in 1989 our family has reached out to the law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation on numerous occasions," he said. When Georgia received the call from police that evening that Danas body had been found, she said her only reaction was, It just couldn't be. Officers found a receipt from Phillips Foods in the back of the car, time-stamped 3:17 p.m. on the 25th, according to Sgt. Rancher Ernest Wilhelm discovered her skeletal remains on his farmtwo miles west of Ponce de Leon. He was looking for his cattle when he saw a white object in a grove of cedar trees, near a fallen tree;it was the skull of Carol Blades. Arkansas native, Carol Ann Carson, has written for OnlyInYourState for three years now. Unsolved Cases . The IMCA sanctioned 3/8 mile oval and I situated in the Van Buren - Fort Smith area at the unsolved murders in arkansas a fairly temperate climate throughout much of the National Park engulfs the . Over a month after she went missing, her body was found in the Ozark National Forest. "But he could be lying and if he was high on drugs or alcohol as he frequently was at the time he might not even remember," she said. You can download the data here.We must note that this report is not an analysis of the effectiveness of local police departments. But one suspect is alive and living in an Illinois prison. She resides in Western Arkansas' Mountain Frontier but calls NWA home as well. Melissa Witt was abducted from a bowling alley parking lot in Fort Smith, Arkansas in 1994. There was one suspect and he was named in the only two anonymous phone tips to police; Amy Anstutz saw the killer's face and later picked the suspect out in a face-to-face lineup and also by a photo; The suspect surrendered to police a few days after the killing; he denied involvement. Uncovered is where the most passionate true crime enthusiasts can learn from and teach others. Christopher Reese's 2014 murder in Notus, Idaho remains unsolved. Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. Jaromir Chalabala/Shutterstock Steven Fisher, 20, and his girlfriend Melisa Gregory, 17, were bludgeoned to death on a ranch northwest of Newton, Iowa, in 1983. She was very sweet, but timid and scared to death of her boyfriend. Would you dare investigate what clawed monster lives in the deep? The FBI estimates the national clearance rate for murders is 61 percent. She was our joy. Arkansas Gravestones has over 1.3 million gravestone photos. Both Rush and Ensey believe police can solve the case. She was later found dead by trappers, who spotted her by a logging trail in the Ozark National Forest, about 50 miles from where she was abducted, the KTHV reported. Evening:Melissa arrives at Bowling World to have dinner with her mother but never makes it inside. Although not officially a suspect in any Washington . Melissa Witt was abducted from a bowling alley parking lot in Fort Smith, Arkansas in 1994. Its illegal to hunt "Whitey" within the protected land. Cold case is finally cracked and the killer is identified. No suspect was ever identified. Moody had not been reported missing, family members told police, because it wasn't unusual for him to not be in contact with his family for stretches of time. As of now, the Sebastian County Sheriffs Office says they havent received any new leads on this case in quite a long while, but if they do, they will immediately investigate. Our Cases. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks. He was elected sheriff in 1968; lost in 1972 (some say because of the unsolved Blades murder); and re-elected in 1976 and 1980. This can be a post about an unsolved homicide, a missing person, an unidentified person, a wrongful conviction, or forensics. Bowling World didnt have security cameras in the parking lot, and though some convenience stores in the vicinity did have cameras, they were too far away from the crime scene to be useful. Book 2), Oklahoma Author Looking For Answers To Arkansas Cold Case. All rights reserved. Six weeks after the abduction, two hunters in the Ozark National Forest discovered Missy's body on January 13, 199545 miles from her home in Fort Smith. The court determined that the events were not foreseeable and the case was ultimately dismissed. On July 25, 1989, 18-year-old Dana Stidham left her parents' home to pick up her father's . We were robbed of her wisdom and just her life in general.. True Crime Garage - Melissa Witt Part 2 /// 162, True Crime Garage - Melissa Witt Part 1/// 161, Murder in the Hills, episode 1: The Unsolved Murder of Melissa Witt & The Abduction of Morgan Nick, Local Documentarians Develop New Leads in Melissa Witt Cold Case, 304 // Who Killed Melissa Witt? Once inside, the responders found the brutalized bodies of four teenage girls-Amy Ayers, Jennifer Harbison, Sarah Harbison and Eliza Thomas. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development.

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