BAXTER COUNTY, AR – Sheriff’s deputies are looking for two suspects after an early morning home invasion and car fire.
It happened around 2 a.m. Monday on Family Lane off County Road 53, just outside Mountain Home.
A news release issued by the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) just before noon Monday provided other details about what happened and the suspects in the case.
The BCSO says the victim in the case called 911 to report that she had found two men inside her home. She said one of them had shoved her, causing her to hit her head as the suspects ran from the home. The victim’s young daughter was also there at the time.
One of the suspects was described as 5’9″ to 6’0″ tall and weighing about 180 pounds. Both were wearing ski masks and dark clothing.
While the victim was still on the phone with 911, she looked outside and saw her vehicle burning. The BCSO says deputies arrived within four minutes of the call, and fire department personnel were also dispatched.
Tracking dogs from the Arkansas Department of Corrections – North Central Unit were called to the scene, and the Sheriff’s Office launched its helicopter at about 3:45 a.m. to assist with searching for the suspects. Deputies also set up road blocks.
The sheriff’s office says some of the property taken in the invasion was found about 50 yards from where the vehicle was burning. The items included jewelry, a purse, and a laptop computer.
Although an initial track was developed by the canine team into a heavily wooded area, the search for the suspects did not prove successful. The BCSO says they may have made it to the highway and could have been picked up. The tracking search was called off later in the morning.
The BCSO is advising people across the county to keep their doors and windows locked on their homes, as well as locking vehicles and removing keys and valuables from them. Any prowlers or suspicious persons seen on or about their property should be reported to law enforcement.
If anyone has any information about this incident or the identification or location of the suspects, they are asked to call the sheriff’s office at (870) 425-7000.