The man and woman who recently moved to northwest Arkansas were apparently killed after hiking in a state park with her school daughter, authorities said Sunday.
The victims were identified by Arkansas State Police as Clinton David Brink, 43, and Kristan Amanda Brink, 41. The agency said in a statement that the couple had recently moved from out of state to Prairie Grove, Arkansas.
A Facebook page, validated by NBC News, says it lives within California and eastern Montana. Public records place them in Miles City, Montana.
State police said the agency was notified of the double homicide at Devilsden State Park before 3pm on Saturday. The park is about 12 miles east of Prairie League Rove and 25 miles south of Fayetteville.
“We are heartbroken by today’s horrifying news from Devilsden State Park and are in close contact with the state police and the Parks Bureau and the parks, heritage and tourism departments that work to arrest suspects,” Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Saturday evening.
She said “law enforcement will not be on hiatus” until the murderer is found and charged.
The daughters of the victims, ages 7 and 9, were unharmed and under the care of their families, authorities said Sunday. It is not clear whether they witnessed the murder.
A manhunt is underway led by the Arkansas State Police. FBI representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
State police said the murderer was a man with a medium build wearing a dark, long-sleeved shirt, rolled up sleeves, dark pants, a dark baseball cap and fingerless gloves.
He may have seen him drive towards the park exit in a black sedan, perhaps a Mazda, with tape obscuring license plate numbers, state police said. Investigators believe the man may have driven nearby on the state highway 170 or the state highway 220.
There was no information about the type of weapon used or the motivation.
The Arkansas Crime Institute will check the method and cause of death, state police said.
Detectives hope that cell phones and security videos will help them break cases. They called on anyone to move forward in the park on Saturday using mobile phones and GoPro-style images.
As the investigation continues, the area of the park where the murder occurred was closed to the public on Sunday, state police said. The couple’s bodies were found on a walking trail, the agency said.
The area described it as “remote and rural,” an area with “sturdy terrain, thick vegetation and no mobile phone service.”
A state park spokesperson said all trails in the Demon’s den are off limits until notification.
Last month, dedication was performed at the park’s newly renovated campsite. Arkansas State Park describes Devilsden as “a favorite destination for hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians.”
It is not clear how double homicide was first reported.
Nollaig O’Connor contributed.
The Florida couple found a 3.36 carat diamond in a crater in Diamond State Park, Arkansas.
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