Update: Remains Found near Stuttgart Identified as Missing Man

LITTLE ROCK, AR – The Arkansas State Police (ASP) says it’s been notified by the State Medical Examiner that remains recovered on Wednesday near Stuttgart have been identified as those of Bill Gibbs. 

Gibbs had been missing since Nov. 27. 

The ASP adds that the manner and cause of death of the 63-year-old has not yet been determined.

STUTTGART, AR – Human remains found in a ditch east of Stuttgart on Wednesday are believed to be those of a missing 63-year-old man who disappeared last November.

Neither state or local law enforcement have confirmed the identity of the body but say it’s in the same area where the man’s truck was found.

Sources have told us that jewelry found with the remains link it to Bill Gibbs and his family says their loved one’s body has been found.

Gibbs was last seen on Nov. 27. 

Since the search for him began, his family struggled with having had no sign of where he was, other than his truck, which was found stuck in a ditch on Hartz Seed Road east of town.

On Wednesday, the Arkansas State Police reported that remains were found in a ditch on the very same road.

The Stuttgart Police Department is waiting on official word from the State Crime Lab on the identity and cause of death.

However, the Gibbs family, according to a post on a Facebook page for the search, believes it’s him. The post states “our dad’s body has been found and he is no longer with us on earth.”

“Pretty much said that was probably him,” says Thomas Boston, who lives near the search site.

Those that live in the area have watched the case closely.

“Brought the dogs out. Searched the reservoir,” Boston adds.

Boston lives down the road and remarked how hard it may have been to find anyone in that location.

“Of course it’s kind of a deep ditch right there, kind of hard to see down in it,” he says.

Now, exactly 17 weeks since his disapearance, it’s not the ending the family had hoped for but one they’re relieved may bring closure.

Reporter Josh Berry spoke with the Gibbs family on Thursday. They are devastated but thankful to God that the search is over.

The Gibbs case is still an open missing person’s case until the remains are officially identified.

There’s only one other missing persons case in Stuttgart. That’s for missing 16-year-old Cassie Compton.