Arkansas

Missing Arkansas siblings spark police search

Published

2 years ago

August 12, 2024

Missing Arkansas siblings spark police search

Arkansas State Police (ASP) are searching for two missing siblings, last seen on Saturday.

A missing/endangered children advisory was shared by ASP late Sunday on social media for Marcus Epps Jr. and Armonii Epps. Marcus is described as an 11-year-old Black male with brown eyes and black hair. Armoni is a seven-year-old Black female, with black hair and brown eyes also.

The pair were reportedly last seen at their grandfather’s residence in Camden, Ouachita County at around midnight on Saturday, when their mother, Keibreana Mitchell, removed them from the home.

Police said Mitchell does not have custodial rights to the siblings, and her whereabouts are unknown.

Marcus Epps Jr. and Armonii Epps. The siblings were last seen on Saturday and a warrant has been issued for their mother’s arrest.

Arkansas State Police

A warrant was issued for the mother’s arrest on two counts of kidnapping.

ASP has urged anyone who sees the children or has knowledge of their whereabouts to contact the Camden Polic Department at (870) 836-5755.

Newsweek has contacted Arkansas State Police for comment and additional information via email.

Last month, an AMBER Alert in Arkansas was cancelled after a missing teen was safely located following reports she had travelled to Texas with a 30-year-old man whom police said she met online.

16-year-old Autumn Nicole Lyon was believed to have been travelling with Adrian Garces, 30. He was taken into custody in Texas and charged with Interference with Custody.

A separate AMBER Alert in Arkansas for a missing three-year-old boy was also cancelled last month. Believed to have wandered off alone, the infant was safely located.

Approximately 664,776 people went missing on average in the U.S. between 2007 and 2020, according to the federally funded National Missing and Unidentified Persons (NamUS) database. That translates to around 6.5 missing persons for every 100,000.

According to NamUS, there are currently 25,127 missing cases open across America. NamUS say this in not reflective of the true number – only those that have been voluntarily reported.

Each day, around 2,300 Americans are reported missing.

“In general, there is no federal requirement for reporting missing persons cases to NamUS. So, without mandatory reporting by law enforcement, the number of actual missing persons in each state is actually much higher than reported,” Jesse Goliath, a Mississippi professor who launched a missing persons repository separate from NamUS previously told Newsweek.

Newsweek has previously mapped missing persons cases by state.

NamUS data at the time showed that Oklahoma had the largest percentage of missing persons cases, with 16 missing per 100,000. Arizona was next, with 14.2. Arkansas had 11.6.

The state with the lowest percentage was Massachusetts, with just 2.7 per 100,000.

Do you have a story we should be covering? Do you have any questions about this case? Do you have any questions about missing persons statistics? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com

Source link

Related Topics:Featured missing missing children missing persons

Click to comment

Arkansas

#24 Arkansas Explodes for Eight Runs in Eighth to Race past Missouri State in Midweek Rematch

Published

5 hours ago

April 22, 2026

Press Room

#24 Arkansas Explodes for Eight Runs in Eighth to Race past Missouri State in Midweek Rematch

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 24 Arkansas (27-15) used an eight-run eighth inning, punctuated by home runs from Ryder Helfrick and TJ Pompey, to race past Missouri State (26-12) in a 12-4 win Tuesday night at Baum-Walker Stadium.

With their win in the rematch against the Bears, the Razorbacks improved to 9-2 in midweek games, including a 7-1 mark in midweek matchups at home, this season. Arkansas will conclude its midweek slate next week with a double midweek series against Northwestern State from April 28-29 inside the friendly confines of Baum-Walker Stadium.

Entering the bottom of the eighth tied at four, the Hogs exploded for eight runs on seven hits, including four extra-base hits, to blow the game open. Carter Rutenbar’s go-ahead two-run single through the right side put Arkansas up 6-4 and set the table for Camden Kozeal’s RBI double, Helfrick’s three-run blast and Pompey’s two-run shot later in the frame.

When the bottom of the eighth was all said and done, the Razorbacks had opened a commanding 12-4 lead after they were shut out through the game’s first five innings. Kozeal finished the night 3-for-5 with a double, home run and two RBI to lead Arkansas offensively and raise his season slash line to .305/.394/.604 with 11 homers and a team-high 48 RBI.

Helfrick, meanwhile, swatted his team-leading 14th home run in Tuesday night’s win against the Bears. The Razorbacks’ superstar catcher is now slashing .293/.430/.626 with 14 homers and 40 RBI through his 41 games played this season.

In addition to Kozeal, Nolan Souza (3-for-5), Reese Robinett (2-for-5, 2B) and Kuhio Aloy (2-for-4, RB) logged multi-hit games. Along with Helfrick and Kozeal, Rutenbar (1-for-4, 2 RBI) and Pompey (1-for-1, HR, RBI) tallied multiple RBI.

On the mound, Tate McGuire made his third start of the season for Arkansas and worked 3.2 innings of two-run ball with four strikeouts. In relief, Colin Fisher (3.1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 SO), Steele Eaves (0.1 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 SO), Parker Coil (0.2 IP) and Cooper Dossett (1.0 IP, 2 SO) combined for 5.1 innings of two-run ball (one earned) with eight strikeouts to seal the win.

Up next, the Hogs will hit the road for an SEC weekend series from April 23-25 in Columbia, Mo. First pitch in the series opener between Arkansas and Missouri (20-21) is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, April 23, on SEC Network.

For complete coverage of Arkansas baseball, follow the Hogs on Twitter (@RazorbackBSB), Instagram (@RazorbackBSB) and Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Baseball).

Source link

Arkansas

Effort to cut former Arkansas corrections secretary’s position as adviser to governor fails – Arkansas Times

Published

17 hours ago

April 21, 2026

Press Room

Effort to cut former Arkansas corrections secretary’s position as adviser to governor fails – Arkansas Times

A legislative panel rejected a proposal Tuesday that would have eliminated former Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri’s job as an adviser to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

A top lawmaker also suggested that Profiri may return to his job overseeing the state prison system, two years after he was fired by the state Board of Corrections as part of a dispute with Sanders.

The proposal rejected by the Joint Budget Committee’s personnel subcommittee would have written into the appropriation for Sanders’ office language eliminating Profiri’s position from the Republican governor’s staff. Subcommittee members voted 9-6 against the amendment, with Rep. Lane Jean not casting a vote.

Republican Sen. Terry Rice introduced the proposal last week, a little over six months after Profiri didn’t appear at a hearing on the now-stalled Franklin County prison project before a committee that Rice co-chairs.

Rice called this a “major trust-breaker.”

“The Board of Corrections members asked Mr. Profiri to share his intended plans as secretary, and they would work with him. He ignored multiple attempts,” Rice said. “I was told during that meeting, he was in the Capitol, had been seen in the hall at the same time. He didn’t even reply and chose to snub legislators’ questions.”

Profiri was fired by the Arkansas Board of Corrections as the leader of the state’s prison agency in 2024, following months of increasing tensions between the constitutionally-independent board and Sanders over opening new beds when the Department of Corrections already struggled to find sufficient staffing. Those tensions eventually resulted in lawsuits, which are still unresolved, and Profiri’s firing.

After he was fired, the Republican governor hired Profiri as a senior advisor, making him the highest paid staffer in her office. Profiri is paid $183,699.98 a year, according to the Arkansas transparency portal.

Jean, a Republican from Magnolia who co-chairs the Joint Budget Committee, asked Department of Finance and Administration Secretary Jim Hudson and Board of Corrections member Lee Watson “what the timeline was” for Sanders to rehire Profiri as corrections secretary, pointing to the new makeup of the board.

“I don’t think there’s any objection to the board, or certainly a majority of the board, to hire him (again). What are we waiting on?” Jean asked.

“What I can say is Secretary (Lindsay) Wallace, she is the secretary, and she will continue as secretary until the governor decides she’s not secretary,” Hudson said. “In the interim, (Profiri) continues to do his job as an adviser to the governor.”

The ongoing lawsuit between the Board of Corrections and Sanders centers on who has the authority to fire the corrections secretary. A Pulaski County Circuit Court judge ruled last year that the board does. Sanders appealed the ruling.

The board’s new Sanders-appointed majority voted to accept a settlement agreement accepting her position that she is the one with firing authority earlier this month, though the lower court order remains in force until the Arkansas Supreme Court rules on the matter.

Sam Dubke, Sanders’ spokesperson, referred the Advocate to Hudson’s remarks when asked for comment on whether Profiri would be rehired as corrections secretary.

Source link

Arkansas

TST Images: Tulsa Drillers defeat the Arkansas Travelers, 11-3, in Tulsa

Published

1 day ago

April 21, 2026

Press Room

TST Images: Tulsa Drillers defeat the Arkansas Travelers, 11-3, in Tulsa

TULSA, Okla –The Tulsa Drillers defeat the Arkansas Travelers, 11-3, on April 19, 2026 at ONEOK Field and The Sporting Tribune’s Robert Sloter was there to capture the following TST Images.

Luke Fox #15 of the Tulsa Drillers throws a pitch during a game against the Arkansas Travelers at ONEOK Field on April 19, 2026 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.