LISTEN: Radio captures moment bodies found at Devil's Den
WEST FORK, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — 'I've got two bodies down here.' — Police scanners caught the moment an officer reported the discovery deep along a trail at Devil's Den State Park on July 26.
Moments later, authorities would confirm that a man and woman had been killed while hiking with their two young daughters, who were found physically unharmed.
The victims were later identified as Clinton and Cristen Brink of Prairie Grove. Investigators are treating the case as a double homicide.
Radio transcript
The following segments were taken from broadcasts between 2 p.m and 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 26.
Trooper 1: 'Do we need to cover the lower trails or just stay on the main trail?'
Trooper 2: 'Cover the main trail first.'
Trooper 1: 'Oh, help.'
Trooper 2: 'Sweep the main trail first right now.'
Trooper 1: 'Main trail… I saw hiking down… I'm asking for help…'
Trooper 2: 'Say that again, repeat.
Trooper 1: 'I hear yells calling for help, we're walking down…'
Trooper 2: 'Try to relay to the office that we found the victims down here. There are on the lower Devil's Den Trail… I think I see you right there. I've got two bodies down here.'
Devil's Den double homicide victims identified; manhunt continues
Suspect remains at large
Law enforcement is continuing the search for a suspect described as a white male of medium build.
He was last seen wearing dark pants, a long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a dark ballcap, sunglasses, fingerless gloves and carrying a black backpack.
The suspect was reportedly driving a black four-door sedan, possibly a Mazda, with the license plate obscured by electrical or duct tape.
The vehicle was seen heading toward a park exit and may have traveled on State Highways 170 or 220.
Authorities are asking park visitors to review any cellphone, GoPro or camera footage from Saturday for possible images of the suspect. Residents near the park are also urged to check home security or game camera footage.
Anyone with information should contact Arkansas State Police Troop L at (479) 751-6663.
Authorities, locals react
Devil's Den State Park remains partially closed as of July 27, with the area where the attack happened still secured by law enforcement. Authorities said the park's rugged terrain, thick vegetation and lack of cell service have complicated the search efforts.
The park's rugged terrain, thick vegetation and lack of cell service have complicated the search efforts, authorities said.
Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism Secretary Shea Lewis said the agency is working closely with ASP and has increased law enforcement presence in state parks.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders called the Devil's Den homicides 'horrific' in a July 26 statement.
Nestled in the Ozarks, Devil's Den State Park is home to a few of the most popular trails in the state.
'It's kind of crazy, they are saying it's a random act,' Tyler Yeakley, a local who frequents the park told KNWA/FOX24. 'It definitely makes you think, you never know, the craziest thing can happen out of nowhere. Especially in Arkansas.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Solve the daily Crossword
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mother killed in Arkansas stabbings went back to help husband after getting her children to safety, police say
Cristen Brink witnessed the unthinkable. Then she did the unimaginable. While on a family hike at Devil's Den State Park on Saturday, Cristen's husband Clinton was ambushed and stabbed by an attacker, according to Arkansas State Police. First, investigators say, she ran away with their young daughters to get them out of danger. Then Cristen Brink went back to try to save Clinton. 'The mother did not return all the way to the car with the kids,' said state police Maj. Stacie Rhoads in a news conference Thursday. 'We believe that the mother took them to safety and then returned to help her husband.' Investigators say the suspected attacker – identified as 28-year-old Andrew McGann – killed the parents as their girls, ages 9 and 7, told other adults at the park what happened. McGann faces two counts of capital murder. 'They absolutely protected those girls to their fullest extent, to the point that it cost them their lives,' Washington County Prosecuting Attorney Brandon Carter said. 'We're in awe of this mom and dad. We're also in awe of these girls.' A hiker on the trail saw the Brink children and took them to safety, then found the bodies of their parents, according to a probable cause document filed by prosecutors. More time passed before the hiker was able to call 911 and report the deaths because that part of the park has no cell service. Four days after the murders, an intense manhunt ended 30 miles from where it started, with McGann quietly taken into custody at a hair salon. State police say he admitted to the crimes during police questioning. McGann and victims didn't know each other McGann, who has no known adult criminal history, made his first court appearance Friday morning in Fayetteville. He wore a striped jail uniform and did not speak except to acknowledge his name. A judge granted McGann a public defender and ordered him to remain jailed without bond pending his arraignment on August 25. While investigators are releasing more details about the circumstances of the grisly crime, they are still trying to determine why the killings happened. 'We have no reason to believe that there was any known association between our suspect and our victims,' said Carter. 'There's nothing to indicate that at all. It appears to be a completely random event.' At first, the only description of the suspect police had was provided by the children who had just seen their parents attacked. 'All the information that we're working off of started with two little girls that witnessed the most horrific thing that you could ever imagine,' Carter said. But another witness, who saw a man leaving the trail with blood on his face, was able to identify the suspected killer's car, a Kia Stinger, despite tape on the vehicle that investigators believe was designed to obscure the model. Searching Arkansas registration records ultimately led them to make McGann their chief suspect, according to Rhoads. 'Everyone speculates that there was a lot of thought that went into this to conceal his identity,' she said. 'I will say that, on the other side of that, he was also very sloppy.' The same car described in public advisories as the suspect's vehicle was parked in front of Lupita's Beauty Salon & Barber Shop, where a lanky man with stringy blonde hair walked in and asked for a fade. 'Something felt off about him. He looked pretty scary,' stylist Adriana Ruiz told CNN affiliate KFSM Thursday. 'He didn't look like he was okay. He was very timid. His eyes just looked sunken. Kind of like, soulless.' When officers arrived, McGann acknowledged the car was his, according to police. 'Investigators noticed in speaking with McGann that there were several cuts on his hands,' a court document states. Surveillance video shared with CNN by the salon showed McGann did not put up a fight as he was handcuffed. 'He was completely cooperative,' Rhoads said. McGann's car was searched, and blood was found inside, according to the probable cause statement. 'After being provided his Miranda warnings, he made statements indicating that he had committed the two homicides,' the document states. Learning more about the suspect's background The motive in the killings of Clinton Brink, 43, and Cristen Brink, 41, remains a mystery, investigators say. McGann had moved to Arkansas earlier this year and was set to become an elementary teacher in the Springdale Public Schools, the district told CNN. Statements from school districts in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas indicate McGann had been hired to be a teacher in at least five different districts in those states since 2022: Sand Springs Public Schools, Broken Arrow Public Schools, Lewisville Independent School District, Springdale Public Schools and Plano Independent School District. He did not log any classroom time with students in the Springdale and Plano school districts. At Donald Elementary in Flower Mound, Texas, McGann 'was placed on administrative leave in the spring of 2023 following concerns related to classroom management, professional judgment, and student favoritism,' the Lewisville Independent School District said in a statement to CNN. 'An internal investigation found no evidence of inappropriate behavior with students,' the district said. 'The teacher resigned from the district in May 2023.' Later, McGann worked at Plano Independent School District for four days in August 2024. He resigned before the first day of school, the district told CNN. 'All district employees must undergo strict hiring processes and procedures as prescribed by law, including background checks and fingerprinting, to which there were no findings upon the time of his hire,' the district said. Despite understandable concern being raised by McGann's proximity to young students, the prosecutor said they had no evidence of any intention to physically harm the Brinks' daughters. 'From what we know right now, we have no indications that suggest the girls were his target,' Carter said. McGann faces possibility of death penalty In addition to McGann's admission of killing the Brinks, state police say his DNA matches blood evidence they collected. 'The defendant in this case is innocent until he's proven guilty, but I am confident that we have the right defendant in this case and that the public need not worry going forward,' said Carter. 'We have absolutely no reason to believe there was anyone else involved,' added Col. Mike Hagar, director of the Arkansas State Police. The lead prosecutor says he will not shy away from pursuing the death penalty if McGann is convicted. 'This case certainly has the aggravators that exist where a jury should get to decide what the punishment for this defendant is. It is my intention to pose that to a jury,' Carter said. 'The state will not be waiving the death penalty in this case.' As the wheels of justice begin their slow turn in the case, officials say their immediate thoughts are to make sure the daughters who witnessed the attack – along with a third daughter who was not at the park on Saturday – get what they need as they move forward without their mom and dad. 'They have very, very strong family support in place,' Hagar said. 'I have no doubt that those three girls are going to be well taken care of.' CNN's Dianne Gallagher, Caroll Alvarado and Stephen Watts contributed to this report. Solve the daily Crossword
CNN
a day ago
- CNN
Mother killed in Arkansas stabbings went back to help husband after getting her children to safety, police say
Cristen Brink witnessed the unthinkable. Then she did the unimaginable. While on a family hike at Devil's Den State Park on Saturday, Cristen's husband Clinton was ambushed and stabbed by an attacker, according to Arkansas State Police. First, investigators say, she ran away with their young daughters to get them out of danger. Then Cristen Brink went back to try to save Clinton. 'The mother did not return all the way to the car with the kids,' said state police Maj. Stacie Rhoads in a news conference Thursday. 'We believe that the mother took them to safety and then returned to help her husband.' Investigators say the suspected attacker – identified as 28-year-old Andrew McGann – killed the parents as their girls, ages 9 and 7, told other adults at the park what happened. McGann faces two counts of capital murder. 'They absolutely protected those girls to their fullest extent, to the point that it cost them their lives,' Washington County Prosecuting Attorney Brandon Carter said. 'We're in awe of this mom and dad. We're also in awe of these girls.' A hiker on the trail saw the Brink children and took them to safety, then found the bodies of their parents, according to a probable cause document filed by prosecutors. More time passed before the hiker was able to call 911 and report the deaths because that part of the park has no cell service. Four days after the murders, an intense manhunt ended 30 miles from where it started, with McGann quietly taken into custody at a hair salon. State police say he admitted to the crimes during police questioning. McGann, who has no known adult criminal history, made his first court appearance Friday morning in Fayetteville. He wore a striped jail uniform and did not speak except to acknowledge his name. A judge granted McGann a public defender and ordered him to remain jailed without bond pending his arraignment on August 25. While investigators are releasing more details about the circumstances of the grisly crime, they are still trying to determine why the killings happened. 'We have no reason to believe that there was any known association between our suspect and our victims,' said Carter. 'There's nothing to indicate that at all. It appears to be a completely random event.' At first, the only description of the suspect police had was provided by the children who had just seen their parents attacked. 'All the information that we're working off of started with two little girls that witnessed the most horrific thing that you could ever imagine,' Carter said. But another witness, who saw a man leaving the trail with blood on his face, was able to identify the suspected killer's car, a Kia Stinger, despite tape on the vehicle that investigators believe was designed to obscure the model. Searching Arkansas registration records ultimately led them to make McGann their chief suspect, according to Rhoads. 'Everyone speculates that there was a lot of thought that went into this to conceal his identity,' she said. 'I will say that, on the other side of that, he was also very sloppy.' The same car described in public advisories as the suspect's vehicle was parked in front of Lupita's Beauty Salon & Barber Shop, where a lanky man with stringy blonde hair walked in and asked for a fade. 'Something felt off about him. He looked pretty scary,' stylist Adriana Ruiz told CNN affiliate KFSM Thursday. 'He didn't look like he was okay. He was very timid. His eyes just looked sunken. Kind of like, soulless.' When officers arrived, McGann acknowledged the car was his, according to police. 'Investigators noticed in speaking with McGann that there were several cuts on his hands,' a court document states. Surveillance video shared with CNN by the salon showed McGann did not put up a fight as he was handcuffed. 'He was completely cooperative,' Rhoads said. McGann's car was searched, and blood was found inside, according to the probable cause statement. 'After being provided his Miranda warnings, he made statements indicating that he had committed the two homicides,' the document states. The motive in the killings of Clinton Brink, 43, and Cristen Brink, 41, remains a mystery, investigators say. McGann had moved to Arkansas earlier this year and was set to become an elementary teacher in the Springdale Public Schools, the district told CNN. Statements from school districts in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas indicate McGann had been hired to be a teacher in at least five different districts in those states since 2022: Sand Springs Public Schools, Broken Arrow Public Schools, Lewisville Independent School District, Springdale Public Schools and Plano Independent School District. He did not log any classroom time with students in the Springdale and Plano school districts. At Donald Elementary in Flower Mound, Texas, McGann 'was placed on administrative leave in the spring of 2023 following concerns related to classroom management, professional judgment, and student favoritism,' the Lewisville Independent School District said in a statement to CNN. 'An internal investigation found no evidence of inappropriate behavior with students,' the district said. 'The teacher resigned from the district in May 2023.' Later, McGann worked at Plano Independent School District for four days in August 2024. He resigned before the first day of school, the district told CNN. 'All district employees must undergo strict hiring processes and procedures as prescribed by law, including background checks and fingerprinting, to which there were no findings upon the time of his hire,' the district said. Despite understandable concern being raised by McGann's proximity to young students, the prosecutor said they had no evidence of any intention to physically harm the Brinks' daughters. 'From what we know right now, we have no indications that suggest the girls were his target,' Carter said. In addition to McGann's admission of killing the Brinks, state police say his DNA matches blood evidence they collected. 'The defendant in this case is innocent until he's proven guilty, but I am confident that we have the right defendant in this case and that the public need not worry going forward,' said Carter. 'We have absolutely no reason to believe there was anyone else involved,' added Col. Mike Hagar, director of the Arkansas State Police. The lead prosecutor says he will not shy away from pursuing the death penalty if McGann is convicted. 'This case certainly has the aggravators that exist where a jury should get to decide what the punishment for this defendant is. It is my intention to pose that to a jury,' Carter said. 'The state will not be waiving the death penalty in this case.' As the wheels of justice begin their slow turn in the case, officials say their immediate thoughts are to make sure the daughters who witnessed the attack – along with a third daughter who was not at the park on Saturday – get what they need as they move forward without their mom and dad. 'They have very, very strong family support in place,' Hagar said. 'I have no doubt that those three girls are going to be well taken care of.' CNN's Dianne Gallagher, Caroll Alvarado and Stephen Watts contributed to this report.
Epoch Times
2 days ago
- Epoch Times
Declassified Report Sheds New Light on ‘Clinton Plan' Emails
Former special counsel John Durham assessed that two emails describing a 2016 Clinton campaign plan to smear then-candidate Donald Trump by linking him with Russian hackers were likely fake, even though the campaign appeared to be carrying out the purported plan. The revelation is part of a newly declassified annex to the Durham report released by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on July 31.
