BATESVILLE, AR – A homicide investigation is under way after a woman reported missing earlier this week is found dead.
The Independence County Sheriff’s Office (ICSO) says Linda Jo Stingley, 65, had last been seen Monday night around 9 p.m. leaving work at Eagle Mountain Assisted Living Center in Batesville. She was reported missing the next day.
On Wednesday, personal items that belonged to her were found in Bryant, according to the Bryant Police Department (BPD).
The BPD says Stingley’s body was found in a rural wooded area just outside Malvern.
ICSO deputies say investigators have a person of interest in the case but so far there’s been no word about an arrest.
When the ICSO released information about her disappearance, the agency said there had been information that Stingley had also been through Bald Knob.
Her body is at the Arkansas State Crime Lab for an autopsy.