Man's body found in county

A body recovered Saturday night and arrests in Montana the following morning may be linked to the suspicious findings of law enforcement last month at a residence north of Conway.

The body of a white male -- "badly decomposed," according to Faulkner County Sheriff Marty Montgomery -- was located at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday on private property off Saltillo Road. A landowner made contact with the sheriff's office to inform them a body had been found.

Then, at 4:30 a.m. Sunday, Darrell Cravens, 33, and Christie Harmon, 29, were arrested by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents at a motel in Kalispell, Mont. Cravens and Harmon were living together at 3130 Jeannie Lane north of Conway when they were reported missing after a welfare check at the residence in April.

Montgomery said the identification of the body and the cause of death are being withheld until autopsy results have been returned. He would not confirm that the arrests and the discovery of the body were related, but added that "it appears the cause of death is very suspicious."

As of this morning, no murder charges had been filed against Cravens or Harmon, according to Montgomery. Cravens was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and Harmon with theft of property.

The welfare check at the home more than two weeks ago led authorities to believe that a violent offense had been committed. Blood and evidence of a possible struggle were found inside the home.

Montgomery noted that unspecified "evidence" near the body was recovered Saturday as well. He said the investigation is continuing, and more charges will likely be filed. Montgomery said he is waiting for information from Montana about the possible extradition of Cravens and Harmon.

"This investigation was one of those that was really, really difficult because we had no body early on, and no suspects to interview," he commented, extending thanks to the Arkansas State Police and FBI for their assistance.

(Staff writer Beau Wilcox can be reached by phone at 505-1240 or by e-mail at bwilcox@thecabin.net)