Couple mudered while hiking with daughters in Arkansas state park

Facebook pages for each, verified by NBC News, say that they have lived in inland California and eastern Montana. Public records place them in Miles City, Montana.

"We are heartbroken by today’s horrific news from Devil’s Den State Park and are in close contact with State Police and the Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism as they work to apprehend the suspect," Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Saturday evening on X.

She said "law enforcement will not rest" until the killer is found and prosecuted.

The victims' daughters, ages 7 and 9, were not harmed and were in the custody of family members, the agency said Sunday. It's not clear whether they witnessed the homicides.

A manhunt led by state police is underway. An FBI representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

State police said the killer is a man with a medium build who was wearing a dark, long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up, dark pants, a dark baseball cap and fingerless gloves.

He may have been seen driving toward a park exit in a black sedan, possibly a Mazda, with tape obscuring its license plate number, state police said. Investigators believe the man may have driven on State Highway 170 or State Highway 220 nearby.

No information about the type of weapon used or a motive was available.

The Arkansas State Crime Lab will confirm the manner and cause of death, state police said.

Detectives hope cellphone and security video can help them crack the case. They called for anyone at the park Saturday with cellphone or GoPro-style imagery to step forward.

The area of the park where the homicides took place was off-limits Sunday as the investigation continues, state police said. The couple's bodies were found on a walking trail, the agency said.

It described the area as "remote and rural," a region "where the terrain is rugged, vegetation is thick and there is no cellphone service."

A state parks spokesperson said all trails at Devil's Den were off-limits until further notice.

Last month, a dedication was staged for a newly renovated campground at the park. Arkansas State Parks describes Devil's Den as "a favorite destination for hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians."

It is not clear how the double homicide was initially reported.

The 7 and 9 year old girls weren't harmed - not even a scratch?

I think we found my first suspects!

It sounds pretty bizarre with so little info this early. Was some manic hiding and waiting to kill someone for sport? His license plate was obscured so it sounds planned.

Those poor kids. They’re alive thankfully.

R2 I wouldn't be surprised. Young girls can be pure evil!

Sounds like a scene from "Deliverance," or "Wrong Turn," or "The Hills Have Eyes."

Hiking in backwoods, remote Arkansas?

NO THANK YOU!

They found Gypsy Rose’s long-lost sisters.

Devil's Den? Creepy

[quote]The agency said in a statement that the couple had recently moved to Prairie Grove from out of state.

Since the kids were unharmed and the suspect's license plate was covered, I'd assume the motive might be found in the reason for the move.

I've said it here before, and I'll keep saying it: HIKING KILLS.

Do not hike.

Why are so many people murdered in state parks?

[quote]Why are so many people murdered in state parks?

It makes the crime more scenic, r10.

[quote] Why are so many people murdered in state parks?

Because the US is filled with paranoid, psychotic MAGA Doomsday Prepper, Survivalist, Connspiracy Theory motherfucking LUNATICS.

People think of forest preserves and state parks as this safe place of unspoiled beauty for everyone to enjoy.

My first thought is illicit sex, murder, insect bites, cuts, sprained or broken ankles and encounters with dangerous animals. And no one around to help.

We decided to live together in villages, towns and cities for a reason. I'm staying there.

Conspiracy nutters say Bigfoot, Wendigos, skinwalkers and all sorts of “other worldly” creatures hunt people in out National Parks.

Or just anywhere remote.

“Tonight we have a story out of Arkansas that’s going to shock you!”

R13,. then you may want to watch Untamed It's 6 episodes and takes place entirely in a state park. It's supposed to be Yosemite, but it was shot in British Columbia, and the scenery is gorgeous. But it is also quite sinister. Eric Bana plays a Forest ranger who has suffered a tragedy, but is absorbed in his work as an investigator. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it's on Netflix. Or maybe Apple TV. I forget.

They sound like they were MAGA...so two less voters!

What is this obsession with dragging your kids to remote areas? Every year dozens of victims die from heat, cold, animal attacks, falls, drowning...

When I was a kid Motel 6 would have "roughing it" for my parents.

R17. Murder sucks and glad the kids are ok. Expat living in Europe. Recently sat next to an American couple from Florida at a restaurant in my small city. Not common to have Americans at this restaurant. After the first drink, they were loud as fuck talking about their right to own guns to protect them from the "government" and how things are finally getting "cleaned up" now in America. MAGGOTS for sure. Found out that the wife was originally from Mexico and the husband from Georgia. At the end of the dinner, they told me and my husband (gays) how much they loved us and invited us to their estate in flo-ri-da next to their dock to watch the baby dolphins. AS IF

Inland California, eastern Montana, rural Arkansas. They sure liked living in remote, uninhabited places.

There has to be more to this story.

Yes, it's the Post, but it seems to have the greatest amount of detail. It's not that isolated. The assault was called in immediately and apparently there's audio.

They're ugly, therefore I don't care.

I hope they didn't still have their California plates. They could've been targeted for that alone. (half-kidding)

[quote] Inland California, eastern Montana, rural Arkansas. They sure liked living in remote, uninhabited places.

MAGA fuckholes.

They probably died at the hands of another Trump voter.

According to their FB accounts, he's from Bakersfield and she attended Cal State San Bernardino.

Typical red state criminal hellhole. Why is that every place run by republicans is overrun with violent crime? There are no-go zones all over the Ozarks and Appalachia. I had to move away to a large city in a blue state to escape the rampant violent criminality.

[quote]My first thought is illicit sex, murder, insect bites, cuts, sprained or broken ankles and encounters with dangerous animals. And no one around to help.

I grew up in a woody area with a couple of parks close to me. When my adult friends asked me to go camping once, I quickly snapped at them, "We have no business in the woods!" They looked at me like I was insane. A lot of horrible stuff happens in those places: rapes, murders, occult rituals and worship. Your chances of running into one of those lessen if you just stay in a city/town/regularly populated area.

I need to know how they voted before determining a level of sympathy.

R25. Probably so. Shooting endangered animals in Africa. And now f*cking children despite what that stupid cunt A Banks recently wrote. There really is NO bottom for AMERICA. Oops I meant them. Oops I meant US.

I have feeling that more rapes and murders happen in the city than in the woods.

Post commenter blaming dad for not being man enough to carry a gun and protect his family. It's one of the top comments.

I wonder if her skin tone set the killer off. She's not quite Anglo or northern European.

[quote] A man and a woman who had recently moved to northwest Arkansas were apparently killed

How are you "apparently killed?"

Either you're killed, or you're not.

If you name places with Devil in the title expect weirdness. Especially in the trashy South.

I think so R32. She looks South Asian. It reminds me a bit of this case.

Why would anyone hike? Every single week there’s a story about someone dying from hiking. Stay home!

Mob hit? Inland Empire to Montana to Arkansas? Bad witness relocation?

R19, you remind me of when I was in Panama, and the locals kept asking me if I wanted to move to Boquete, an expat enclave of mostly Americans.

I always told them, "If I wanted to live surrounded by Americans, I could stay home!"

They always laughed.

[quote]I have feeling that more rapes and murders happen in the city than in the woods.

Not really. Mississippi has a higher murder rate than New York City.

Yeah, I just saw Sinners. Mississippi is fucked up!

“You shouldn’t listen to the liberal media!”

This is like an episode of Ozark.

There's always a tweet.

Devil's Den State Park is one of the gems of NW Arkansas. It's got nice hiking, creeks, caves, and 1930s CCC-constructed stone cabins and park features. And it's not at all that remote. I went to grad school in Arkansas (yes, make your jokes) in Fayetteville at U of A and spent several outings there.

It was nice 30 years ago, but it could have turned into an unfunded shithole-especially since Sarah Huckleberries in now the governor.

[quote]When my adult friends asked me to go camping once, I quickly snapped at them, "We have no business in the woods!"

This made me laugh out loud.

Seriously?

Does shit like this happened often in Arkansas?

Yes, r46. Stuff like this happens in ARK. A few years ago the state was rocked by a cannibalism scandal. Plump, healthy girls would picked up, most had nowhere to go, kept tranquilized out in the woods.

The enterprising hillbillies had internet auctions for body parts. Finally it was “time to slaughter the hog.” The required meat sent packaged in ways that would have made Omaha Steaks proud.

Things always go awry once you go into the woods. Sondheim taught me that.

I heed his warning.

They should have chosen the bear.

If I was a serial killer I would just work the parks. Sitting ducks.

R47 you are GROTESQUE.

Not funny at all.

R51 must new around here.

[quote]Seriously?

[quote]I have feeling that more rapes and murders happen in the city than in the woods.

People love saying “more murders happen in the city than in the woods,” but do we really know that? Cities have systems like police, cameras, and hospitals. so those things can be tracked The woods don’t. If something happens out there, no one sees it, no one hears it, and sometimes, no one ever finds out.

You don’t hear about the body in the woods until a hiker stumbles on it. Meanwhile, the city has crime stats because it has systems.

Would you feel safer walking through a city at 2 AM, or alone in the woods at 2 AM?

The woods decrease your situational awareness. People get lost in national parks every single year and some are never found. If your phone has a bad signal there is no one to yell for and no one watching out for you.

You get lost, you twist an ankle, an animal shows up, then you’re on your own. If you're a survivalist, great. But if you're not? I don’t think we have any business being out there like it’s a casual weekend vibe.

There is a 100% chance this investigation is going to get bungled.

Moral of the story: Don't have children because they will lead you to dangerous places.

I'm taking the wife, 3 kids and dog on a canoe trip to Antarctica- wish us luck!

This story just reinforces DL shut-in logic: NEVER LEAVE THE HOUSE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!!! YOU COULD DIE!!!!

Small towns are scary asf and I’m sure all kinds of stuff goes unreported there. I spent part of my childhood in a city and part in a small town and those small town people are dark.

so are many areas of urban cities R58 Where shootings have become so routine dozens of people are shot and killed that it doesn't really make national news anymore

What is "inland" California??

Devil’s Den State Park is just outside one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country. About 600,000 people live in Northwest Arkansas, it’s not some backwards podunk village where nobody lives.

Some of you need to look outside your little bubble and see what is actually out there.

[quote] Police release photo of person of interest in Devil's Den murders

The Arkansas State Police said they believe the suspect in the murder of a couple hiking with their daughters at Devil's Den State Park was injured while attacking the pair.

Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, were hiking with their young daughters when they were attacked, the ASP said. The couple were found dead on a walking trail, police said. The family had recently moved to the area from another state, the ASP said. Their daughters, aged 7 and 9, are being cared for by family.

Police said in a news release they believe the suspect "likely sustained an injury while attacking the couple," but did not say how the suspect may have been injured or what led them to believe that was the case.

Family members said in a statement that the Brinks "died heroes, protecting their little girls," but did not elaborate.

The suspect was described as wearing a long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up, dark pants and a black baseball cap, the ASP said. He is a White male with a medium build. The man was described as wearing sunglasses and fingerless gloves, and carrying a black backpack.

The suspect was seen driving toward the park in a black four-door sedan, police said. The vehicle may be a Mazda with a covered license plate, police said.

On Tuesday, police released an image of a person of interest who they say they are seeking to identify for questioning in connection with the murders. The man was in the park Saturday, police said. The photo shows a man photographed from behind. The man is wearing a dark, long-sleeved shirt with a blue decal, a hat and carrying a black backpack.

Police also shared a composite sketch of the man.

The ASP asked that anyone who visited the park on Saturday check any photos or videos they may have taken for images of the suspect. Residents who live in the area have been asked to notify police if they have access to security or game camera footage. Police said they have received "numerous calls" with possible tips.

Devil's Den State Park is in West Fork, Arkansas. The park contains 11 hiking trails that lead into the surrounding Ozark National Forest, according to its website. The park is also home to dozens of campsites, an 8-acre lake and rock formations and caverns.

[quote] Police also shared a composite sketch of the man.

Definitely looks like he's from the movie "Deliverance."

Hideous dress sense, both of them.

R64 Yet you smoke like a local.

As Arkansas police hunt for the man who killed a married couple on a hike with their two young daughters on Saturday, the couple’s family is speaking out.

The Brink family provided a statement to local KHBS-TV, saying that the parents died while “protecting their little girls” from the attacker, whom police are still searching for as of Monday.

"The family is asking for privacy during this very difficult time as they grieve and learn how to navigate this new reality,” the statement said. “They ask that if anyone has any information at all that will help in the investigation to please contact the proper authorities immediately. Clinton and Cristen died heroes protecting their little girls and they deserve justice. They will forever live in all of our hearts."

Arkansas State Police announced Sunday that investigators believe the attacker was a White man with a medium build who was wearing a long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up, dark pants, a dark hat and sunglasses.

Authorities also announced that they believe the suspect was carrying a black backpack and was wearing fingerless gloves. Investigators added that the suspect was seen "driving toward a park exit in a black, four-door sedan," possibly a Mazda, with a license plate covered by electrical or duct tape, and that he may have traveled on State Highway 170 or State Highway 220 near the state park on Saturday.

"Investigators are asking those who visited the park on Saturday to check cellphone photos and videos or GoPro camera footage for images of the suspect," police said in their release. "They are also asking residents of the area surrounding the park to notify ASP if they have access to security and game camera footage."

Authorities asked anyone with footage to not share it on social media, as "this may inadvertently jeopardize the investigation."

The area of the park where the killings took place is described by ASP as "a remote and rural area, where the terrain is rugged, vegetation is thick and there is no cellphone service."

It has since been closed to the public as the investigation remains ongoing. Investigators have also not revealed a potential motive for the attack, as the search for the alleged suspect continues.

Shea Lewis, the Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, said in a statement that state parks would have an increased police presence in the coming days, PEOPLE previously reported.

Exercise kills, y’all.

Does anyone know the whereabouts of the murder twinks?

Really seems like a hit

Suddenly my shoulder aches quite intensely.

[quote]Small towns are scary asf and I’m sure all kinds of stuff goes unreported there. I spent part of my childhood in a city and part in a small town and those small town people are dark.

R58 — they also solve their “problems “ on their own. Kill someone cause he got fresh with your wife; the police are on your side. Esp if he’s from out of town or light brown or gay ( doesn’t have to make sense, just provide an acceptable excuse)

R51–it IS GROTESQUE and sadly true. It came out a few years ago. The actual killing was handled by hillbillies around the border of ARK and MO. Very isolated part of both states. The rest of the work was done by persons still unknown. It was big deal and a few impoverished persons were coming forward; until suddenly it disappeared from the news.

What do you get the man who has everything? What he can’t have cause it’s illegal.

My cousins and her kids live there. The stories I hear from them about the Meth and theft and violence that goes on there are as bad as you can imagine and worse. The UN needs to step in with a serious anti drug and corruption task force.

Suspected arrested.

A friend of mine just told me he turned down a job offer in Arkansas when he found out it's one of our country's murder capitals.

Thanks, r73. Whoa. The mugshot got creepy eyes right.

Oh, dear-ing myself for the typo, but wanted to add there are unconfirmed rumors he was caught while getting a haircut. If true, he doesn't sound very smart and the hit theory seems less likely than a random act of violence or a kidnapping gone awry.

You'll find more rumors about McGann's alleged motive (and how the mom protected her kids) in this Reddit thread. If it's true that he's been inappropriate with kids in the past, I'm curious whether phone and computer searches will reveal a fascination with Richard Allen.

Interesting that both the family and the killer had recently moved to the area.

[quote] there are unconfirmed rumors he was caught while getting a haircut. If true, he doesn't sound very smart

He's from Arkanzas.

Of course he's not smart.

More from r77's Reddit

[QUOTE]He was a 5th grade teacher last year at my own children's school in Sand Springs, Oklahoma. They students would make fun of him for never smiling... Ever. It's hard to wrap my mind around a murderer being around my own children everyday. The kids feel the same.

Police flooded with tips. He moved to Arkansas. And couldn't feed his hunger.

He seemed to hop school districts successfully. Texas and Oklahoma parents both reported aberrant/bizarre behavior.

Sierra Marcum said three years ago, her son was a student in McGann’s fourth grade classroom in Flower Mound, Texas, and described him as the “most standoff teacher she had ever met.” Her son’s yearbook includes a photo of McGann.

“Pretty cold. You could ask him a question and he would give you a one word response,” she said. “Overall just pretty disinterested in his students.”

The low rent MIA and Jason Mraz?

Rest in peace.

Wow, he looks like a very angry 28 year old.

I wonder how they recognized him?

He doesn't look anything like the police sketch.

Those are some nostrils on him, R83.

He has “very big face, very small features” syndrome. Could explain his rage.

Can someone give me the readers digest summary as to motive from Reddit? I didn’t read it because … Reddit.

Yikes! That picture at R83 is scary. He looks intimidating, and I can’t imagine how kids felt dealing with him on the daily.

R83 - Police said he was probably injured during the attack, so that may have stood out to whoever called in a tip.

School districts have some explaining to do. Is the south really hard up for qualified teachers?

[QUOTE]has a record of moving from school-to-school after allegations of inappropriate behavior.

[QUOTE]McGann previously taught at an elementary school in Texas, according to parents – who claim that he was forced to resign after alarming behavior toward young girls in class

[QUOTE]“Mr. McGann was allowed to resign without consequence and statement was put out saying there was no evidence of inappropriate behavior,” she added. “He was then allowed to continue teaching in other districts in Oklahoma and Arkansas.”

WHITE ON WHITE CRIME!

Tiny mouths mean tiny …

[quote]Tiny mouths mean tiny …

Forkfuls?

Meth addict

Yea, r87.

Red states have made teachers’ lives hell. They are underpaid, their classrooms are bursting with hungry kids, they have no funding (it all goes to stupid charter schools).

They buy their own school supplies and have to beg on line to get notebooks, pens and other supplies for their kids who come from poor families.

It can become an overwhelming black hole of despair very quickly. Parents accusing them of “liberal indoctrination” for teaching history or grammar. The fear of being gunned down every day by some psycho brat.

So these red states have made shitholes will take anyone. Just like they will take cops who were fired from other jobs for brutality, harassment or other nefarious behavior. Although with cops, that sort of behavior is EXACTLY the sort of thing they WANT.

Weird, every time one murder happens in NYC or LA, conservatives insist that violence in those places is out of control

Does this mean Arkansas is a violent, crime-filled hellhole?

[quote] He seemed to hop school districts successfully. Texas and Oklahoma parents both reported aberrant/bizarre behavior.

Well, at least they have the Ten Commandments in the classrooms.

This is one weird crime. Targeted, or random? He goes into the park on some regular day with a covered up license plate and murder on his mind, and he stabs a dad to death in broad daylight right in front of the dad’s family and not far from other parkgoers. Then stabs the wife to death when she goes back to try to save her husband.

Yup, r94, and Thou Shalt Not Kill had its usual effect of jackshit.

Small, foreign factions are everywhere these days.

So, based on looks is he guilty or innocent?

[QUOTE]he was forced to resign after alarming behavior toward young girls in class

Maybe it was a botched kidnapping attempt? I'd like to know what the alarming behavior was.

Would Momma's Mussy have this psycho?

This is an isolated incident. We’re a top 10 state that believes in family, faith and hard work!

I wonder when this before-the- haircut pic was taken?

In the mugshot the haircut is a crime in itself. They should have let Lupita finish the job.

Yikes R102. How the hell could someone look at this guy interviewing for a teacher position and say “You’re hired”?!

If I saw that guy coming towards me on a sidewalk, I'd cross the road. He really does look psycho and on the verge of a mass murder.

Killer face.

A few parents of McGann's former pupils mentioned him on social media last night; at least one said he had a reputation for never smiling.

[Quote] A friend of mine just told me he turned down a job offer in Arkansas when he found out it's one of our country's murder capitals.

and Washington D.C. has been number 1 in homicides per capita for several years now

R102 Wow he looks angry. Definitely not a happy gay in Eureka Springs.

Do you have a source for that r107. I'm seeing DC as number 4. Not great but Memphis seems to be number one, despite all the god-botherers and deep veneration for Trump (or maybe because of).

don't go by city; it's by state R109

Top 10 States with the Highest Murder Rates (per 100k)

District of Columbia 39

Louisiana 14.5

New Mexico 11.5

Alabama 10.3

Tennessee 9.86

Arkansas 9.42

Missouri 9.1

South Carolina 8.97

Alaska 8.45

Maryland 8.33

Per the GoFundMe for the family, there is a third daughter. I'm guessing she was too young for the outing.

Oh dear New Mexico, talk about a land of haves and many more have nots.

If one of those "states" is basically just a big city, I think that screws up the stats r110. You really need to compare like to like, city to city, real state to real state.

Chicago: 21.4 Philly: 35.7 NYC: 4.5 (!)

The statistics are per capita R114 Chicago is three times the size of DC which is a relatively small city yet there's a lot of crime in our nation's capital though there's been a decline this year

He looks psychotic.

Those poor kids. Hopefully, they have a decent living family member to raise them

I find the low crime rate in New York fascinating

Little Rock, Arkansas: 7.8

Chicago has 400-700 homicides a year, but its population is larger than many states:

^^^ are you sure R119?

Chicago Population 2024

2.72 million

btw the population of NYC is between 8 and 9 million

R119 I stand corrected 15 states have a population smaller than Chicago

That's why murders by 100.000 people is the meaningful number.

Chicago: 21.4

Philly: 35.7

NYC: 4.5

[quote]In the mugshot the haircut is a crime in itself. They should have let Lupita finish the job.

Best post on the forum! Can't stop laughing.

I bet Talking Heads was on his ipod.

R120 2.72 million is like 3 South Dakotas

[quote]Can someone give me the readers digest summary as to motive from Reddit?

They're assuming he's a nonce who was trying to snatch one or both of the kids and the father tried to fight him off.

I've read in a comment either in the DM or Reddit that LE was able to track the black 4-door sedan through traffic and other camera footage. Apparently, at least one eyewitness in the parking area provided very detailed information.