Update:
POLK COUNTY, Ark. – On Saturday (04/29/2017), the Polk County Sheriff’s Office announced in a press conference that they have found a body believed to be 9-year-old Reilly Scarbrough.
The boy’s body was found in a heavily wooded area near Hatfield, AR.
This comes after his sister, 2-year-old Acelynn Wester, was found dead in a wooded area near Cove.
Update:
POLK COUNTY, Ark. – One of two children reported missing out of the Mena area has been found dead, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office announced in a press conference Friday afternoon, April 28.
Acelynn Wester, 2, was found dead in a wooded area, close to where her mother’s body was found Tuesday.
Reilly Scarbrough, 9, is still missing.
The two children had not been seen since Saturday, April 22, in Mena.
The children’s mother, Bethany Wester, 43, of Mena, was found dead Tuesday, April 25, in a creek near Cove, Arkansas.
A second body was found Thursday afternoon, April 27, in a home off Highway 71 in Hatfield, which was identified as Wester’s uncle, Steven Payne, 66.
WATCH THE FULL PRESS CONFERENCE BELOW.
Update:
POLK COUNTY, Ark. – A search continues for two missing children as authorities investigate the deaths of their mother and her uncle.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office says officers with the FBI, Arkansas Game & Fish, Arkansas State Parks, the U.S. Forest Service, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and the Grannis Police Department are all involved in the search for Reilly Scarbrough, 9, and Acelynn Wester, 2.
“We have been working around the clock. We are currently investigating two homicides and looking for two children. Every agency involved and every officer involved is committed to finding these kids,” said Polk County Sheriff Scott Sawyer in a Friday news release.
A body found at a home off Hwy. 71 in Hatfield early Thursday afternoon has been identified as Steven J. Payne, 66, who is further identified as the uncle of Bethany Wester, 43, of Mena. Her body was found Tuesday in a creek at Cove.
The missing children were last seen Saturday in Mena.
Original story:
POLK COUNTY, Ark. – A body was found in Polk County Thursday, the second body to be found in the area within a couple days.
Polk County Sheriff’s Deputies say a man was found dead inside a home off Highway 7 around 1 p.m.
Investigators say they are treating it as a homicide.
This is the second body to be found in Polk County this week. A woman’s body was found in a creek near Cove, Arkansas, Tuesday, which has since been identified as Bethany Wester. Wester’s two children, ages 2 and 10, were also reported missing this week out of the Mena/Polk Co. area.
Authorities have confirmed the man’s body found is a relative of Bethany Wester. We will release more details on this evolving case as they come available.
