Download the Uncovered Citizen Detective Guide to learn more about how thoughtful and safe online sleuthing. Turner retired from law enforcement in 2020 after nearly 24 years with the Ozark Police Department. WEATHER & CLIMATE The clothes she brought to the laundromat were in a drier when she was reporting missing that evening. Often in unsolved murders, family members of the victim lose faith in the investigators trying to solve the case so charges can be filed. The lawnmowing job was only about one-third complete and her car was still there, with the keys in it. The body wasdecomposed. Anyone with information about the murder of Melissa Witt is urged to contact the Fort Smith Police Department at [emailprotected], or by calling (479)709-5100. She resides in Western Arkansas' Mountain Frontier but calls NWA home as well. Book 2), Oklahoma Author Looking For Answers To Arkansas Cold Case. She was really sweet, everybody liked her, she was friends with everybody.. Georgia was at work at the time, but her husband Lawrence was at home. Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact the Fort Smith Police Department. There is a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the people who killed . Family members bristled at those comments. We have had several people tell us she was not getting along at home. Each of these victims were submitted by families or law enforcement through our submission page. 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. The coat was corduroy and possibly fleece-lined. Lois Ensey left behind a husband and two daughters ages two and four. Instead, we looked at the hard numbers from the FBI's last year of reporting. Spiro man shot by law officers in eastern Oklahoma Fort Smith gunsmith arrested in Austin, Texas on federal charge FBI continues manhunt for Fort Smith fugitive Police release name of man shot and killed Friday in north Fort Smith Fort Smith man with ties to Pakistan . . 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. Project: Cold Case is a not-for-profit organization with an ambitious goal of publicizing all unsolved homicides in the United States while linking information, families, and law enforcement, and ultimately, helping to solve cold cases. She was shy and didn't like to smile much; she was self-conscious about a crooked front tooth. She was considering studying business at university. Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked. All rights reserved. According to Sgt. It is our seventh time ranking the most places with the most murders per capita in Arkansas and is updated for 2021. That left us with 26 cities to rank. Soon after she disappeared, the car was discovered about a quarter-milefrom the laundromat. Ten months after Blades vanished, Sheriff Lamb told the publiche doubted there was a crime. There also was a younger male voice, also with a really strong Southern accent. No one has been convicted of her murder, and there is currently a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the individual responsible for Missy's abduction and murder. Who Killed Dana Stidham? Denver Post . He was active in the area at that time, and he had attacked another teenager in Arkansas. The cases. Blades' husband, Larry, and her parents Louis and Geraldine Horton took issue with the sheriff's comments. Arkansas Gravestones has over 1.3 million gravestone photos. In the weeks that followed, Danas friends and family spent their time searching on foot and by car, and handing out missing flyers of Dana. We aim to deliver infotainment about where you live that your real estate agent won't tell you. The National Crime Information Center's (NCIC's) Missing Person File was implemented in 1975. OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. No one else has been. Instead, we looked at the hard numbers from the FBI's last year of reporting. If you have any possible . She loves exploring the trails around the Buffalo National River and has yet to find a waterfall that wasn't her favorite. Join a singles club and meet with great singles. Arkansas Crime Information Center. Melissa Witt was a hardworking and ambitious, 19-year-old college student. The Arkansas Crime Information Center (ACIC) receives monthly NCIC reports concerning the Missing and Unidentified Person files. When they find her body, she had been exposed to extreme temperatures, Rush said. There could easily be a scientific explanation for this one, but do you really want to risk it to find out? He chose not to cooperate and therefore remains a suspect in this murder. ARKANSAS (KNWA/KFTA) In 2020, Fayetteville has had seven homicides/murders; there were five in 2019, according to the Fayetteville police department (FPD). 100 Wayland Smith Drive , Uniontown, PA 15401 +1(724)437-7300 Currently Open. IE 11 is not supported. Her body was fully clothed. We were together all the time, Kristy said. COST OF LIVING Compared to the rest of the country, Fort Smith's cost of living is 25.0% lower than the U.S. average. Blades was last seen at a Nixa store buying cookieson a cold Monday, Dec. 15, 1969. 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. She suffered a gunshot wound to her head. By James Pletcher Jr. Jul 25, 2013 . Vine's disturbing and vicious rape and killing spree is further explored in theOxygenspecial "Snapped Notorious: The River Valley Killer." Serial killer Mark Alan Smith was sentenced to 500 years for raping and killing threeIllinois women. But she never made it inside. They denied ever suggesting Lamb was involvedbut stood firm in their belief Lamb was incompetent as a criminal investigator. Resources. Sheapparently died within hours of when she vanished, probably in the early hours of Saturday, July 1, 1989. OPEN/ UNSOLVED CASES . It just destroyed us.. ARKANSAS (KNWA/KFTA) There are at least four unsolved missing person cases in North Central Arkansas since 1991, and all are women. SHARES. Example video title will go here for this video. Most accurate 2021 crime rates for Fort Smith, AR. But one suspect is alive and living in an Illinois prison. The body was discovered by a Conco employee. MISSING PERSON ENTRY CATEGORIES DNA evidence then connected him to the other crimes. Two people witness Melissa's abduction. About. For more on Vine's crimes, watch "Snapped Notorious: The River Valley Killer.". The BridgeWay mental-health hospital, admitting it had wronged a 14-year-old patient who . The keys were still in the ignition. The rate of crime in Fort Smith is 55.87 per 1,000 residents during a standard year. We use data, analytics, and a sense of humor to determine the dirt on places across the country. Arkansas area. Two boys and two girls went missing from their Oakland County communities, northwest of Detroit, Michigan, and all were found dead within 19 days. The hunt for answers continues to this day, as the case remains open,THV11 KTHV reported. There were no signs of struggle. Sort All Cases By: Company Area | Male | Female | County | Year | Last Name Results: 13 Record (s) Found. No arrests have been made in connection with her death. The day she disappeared Blades was driving the couple's 1965 Chevy Impala. Both bodies were found in 1989 in different months in different parts of the hugeMark Twain National Forest, an area the size of Delaware. And even the victim and the victims loved ones dont know who the other party iswe normally draw these dead ends, Pevehouse said. Went to the store, and people said that she had been there and bought what she needed and left, Georgia said. I can't stop thinking about this case because it's from my home town. Little Rock Blades had filled it with gas that day and investigators estimated 8 gallons were used. He was caught in 2000 when he attempted to rape and kill a 16-year-old girl in her house. The legend is that a railroad workers head was severed by an oncoming train. Some of the biggest unsolved murders in Arkansas include the 1994 murder of Melissa "Missy" Witt, the 1995 murder of Marlo Taylor, and the 1987 double murder of Don Henry and Kevin Ives, among countless others which receive much less media attention. You just cant accept that your child is gone. Danas father passed away 10 years after his daughter was killed. A family is still looking for answers after a Sebastian County womans murder case remains unsolved 42-years later. The man told Davis "vigilantes" who suspected him of killing Workman had shot up his mobile home. But he was never charged in connection withAnstutz's murder. All rights reserved. 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 . We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Dana's brother died in 2015. Thinking their daughter may have had car trouble, Lawrence and Georgia got in their car and drove around to find Dana. Chester Simons and Deborah Popp were found fatally shot in bed and police determined that Popp was shot by Simons, who then died by suicide, according to Fort Myers Police Department. Case of Missing Person: Nona Jean Young (Coleman) W/F, 02-26-51 . On September 16, 1989, almost two months after Dana was last seen, a hunter in Benton County, Arkansas came upon a shallow grave in a heavily wooded area. Her body was placed near a headstone-like rock. He was elected sheriff in 1968; lost in 1972 (some say because of the unsolved Blades murder); and re-elected in 1976 and 1980. William Miller is a member of that group. Melissa's mother assumed that her daughter was with friends that evening. It was only her second. The police looked at the good samaritan very closely before dismissing him as a suspect. Specifically, we analyzed the FBI's Uniform Crime Report which summarizes the number of murders that may happen in each city per year.We only looked every single city in Arkansas for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. Cornerstone Mountain Retreat, near Jasper, visitors can walk for miles in pristine forests. Did The River Valley Killer Kidnap A Teenage Girl From A Bowling Alley Parking Lot And Murder Her? 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. No suspect was ever identified. Kristy said her family was struck with fear for what happened to Dana after that. 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. "Obviously, we have not come up with probablecause to charge anybody at this point. That humming sound one hears is that of healthy baby bears, nursing to their little heart's content. Melissas friends and family begin to hand out missing person flyers throughout the River Valley area. Chasing Chains, LLC. But Melissa never came home, and Mary Anne grew worried. Melissa's mother, Mary Anne passes away. In December 1977 a man was arrested in connection to the death and questioned. A patron had discovered her car keys and turned them in the night Witt disappeared. Kristy told Dateline she and Dana were especially close since they were only a year apart. Witt disappeared after arriving at Bowling World in Fort Smith on December 1, 1994. 1. Shes waited 42 years for answers. For some strange reason no one volunteered to climb down to see what pulled the rope. According to private investigators, it was her second night on the job and her first time working solo. Police showed her a photo of a convicted burglar who was known in the area and, according to news stories, she identified the man as the intruder who killed her husband. Arkansas law requires all missing persons to be entered immediately. He weighed anestimated150 to 160 pounds. 1. 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 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,. When you click through real estate links on our site, we earn an affiliate commission. Jenkins. No one noticed the blood splatter on her keys at the time. She always called. Homemade Telescope Focuser, Articles U