AR AR - Melissa 'Missy' Witt, 19, murdered, Fort Smith, 1 Dec 1994

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Can you please email me? I am the one working on the documentary -- and definitely need to look into this more. whokilledmissywitt (at) gmail (dot) com Thanks!
 
sloane7777 said:
ok bear with me :) I have always thought missy look a bit like Suzanne Sevakis (Sharon marshall) and I know Floyd was on the run When Missy was abducted so I started to see if I could place him in the area and bingo He Abducted Michael Hughes Sept 1st , so that's only a few months , Missy was taken from a bowling Alley, and I think Carla walker fits the mold as well, she was taken from a bowling alley in Ft worth TX in 1974 and we can place Floyd in DFW in 1974, FT smith is pratically on the Oklahoma line ( remember he was actually caught raping a child at a bowling alley in 69) I have always thought the FBI really needs to question him extensively ( yes I know I would like to blame everything on him)
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Can you please email me? I am the one working on the documentary -- and definitely need to look into this more. whokilledmissywitt (at) gmail (dot) com Thanks!
 
Kell1 said:
So I have this clear , her body is found almost an hour north of where she was reportedly abducted?

Is that Correct?
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Turner Bend would be about an hour southeast of Ft Smith, not north... it is outside of the town of Ozark
 
TruthJustice said:
Whoever killed Missy... was definitely someone who knew her.
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what makes you think that? The location of the abduction, when put in context with the location her body was found tends to make me think it could have been random...some young country buck up in the big city of Ft Smith...something went wrong and she ended up in a place and area where whomever did this was comfortable with.
 
Ibiz said:
Hard to say. It doesn't seem that there is anyone around to provide any help or info about this case, and I wonder if her parents are still alive.

This is indeed a very sad case, and I hope someone familiar with the area jumps in and helps. Maybe with maps and photos of the bowling alley area.

I don't think there would have been cameras in the lot where she was abducted.
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I do not now, nor did I live there when this happened, but I am familiar with the area's: both of the abduction in Ft Smith, and the Turner Bend area outside of Ozark in Franklin County. I lived there during the 70's. Turner Bend is fairly remote and still would have been during this time frame in the 90's. It has gained popularity with rafters (along the Mullberry River) and 4wheelers... it is an area where a lot of hunting has always gone on as well as logging. As teens it was an area where a lot of drinking and making out would go on. Ft Smith is a fairly good sized town along the AR OK border...it is the closest "big town" to the little town of Ozark, about an equal distance from Ozark as Russelville would be. It was and probably still is common for residents of the Ozark area, including the outlying rural areas such as Turner Bend to go into Ft Smith for shopping, dining, etc. s
There is a facebook group, Who killed Missy Witt https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=who killed missy witt that includes some maps of both areas as well as links to local news articles about the case. If memory serves correctly, one of the articles states that there were not any cameras at Bowling World at that time in 1994.
 
currcat said:
Turner Bend would be about an hour southeast of Ft Smith, not north... it is outside of the town of Ozark
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Ozark is east of Fort Smith, and very slightly north. Turner Bend is north of Ozark.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
 
currcat said:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.true-crime/ZYw5Q4nnh1w

some background on CV ... a Ft Smith local who is in prison for murder and rape. He would have known both the area of the abduction and the local of the discovery of the body, reports say he was a hunter and hunters know those hills and gulches around Turner Bend
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CV has been looked at -- investigators do not believe he is responsible for this crime. With that said, anything is possible, but based on eye witness accounts of the argument Missy had in the parking lot that night -- she argued with someone she knew.
 
currcat said:
what makes you think that? The location of the abduction, when put in context with the location her body was found tends to make me think it could have been random...some young country buck up in the big city of Ft Smith...something went wrong and she ended up in a place and area where whomever did this was comfortable with.
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I don't think someone random would have argued with her. The argument was clearly with someone she knew (based on witnesses that night)... I mean, we can't rule out some random ultimately, but I do feel it is unlikely.
 
Cold Case Investigations needs YOUR HELP! We have joined forces with the Documentary Team working on the Melissa Witt case, and they have asked that we assist them in gather the following information. Please note that the information is SPECIFIC. Please do not deviate from the specific criteria given when submitting information.

1) Information on any MISSING Female, age 15 and up, that was last seen near a bowling alley in the United States BETWEEN the years 1989 and 1998.

2) Information on any UNIDENTIFIED remains of a Female, age 15 and up, that was found murdered, (specifically strangled) and left in a wooded area BETWEEN the years 1989 and 1998 OR

3) Information on any UNIDENTIFIED remains of a Female, age 15 and up, that was found behind or near a bowling alley BETWEEN the years 1989 and 1998.

4) Information on any attempted abduction of a Female, age 15 and up, from a bowling alley BETWEEN the years 1989 and 1998

5) Information on any SOLVED murder case of a Female, age 15 and up, where the female was founded deceased in a wooded area, near a bowling alley, and where the female was strangled. Please include the name(s) of the convicted person(s) with your information.

With each entry, please include the location, year, and the names if applicable.

This information can only be submitted via email to: whokilledmissywitt@gmail.com. Submission cannot be provided as a comment on this post or via Facebook private message.
Thank you!
 
Did you ever talk to one of the trappers who found her body? He was a family friend, but passed away last year. He told us where he and the other trapper found her and on the map it is a VERY remote location. (I live in the area) I have been all over the mountains in the woods around here and there's no way I could get there and back on my own. It had to be someone extremely familiar with the area, from my understanding. Of course, the trapper had been trapping and hunting in the woods around here forever. The best I can remember, the location is off "main" dirt roads and then you go on logging roads, then little pig trail roads and keep turning and twisting onto those until you are very deep into the mountains. It's not an easy place to find or get to.

Also, he gave us some other information that I think LE might be holding back from the general public, so I don't share that information with people. It pertains to how and where he exactly found her. I've never heard it mentioned in any news or police accounts, so I don't talk about it, because I don't want to give out any information that LE are keeping to themselves.

I don't remember who our friend said he was trapping with that day, when they found her body, but if you haven't talked to them, you might find out since one of the men has passed away. He, meaning the other trapper, might remember something that could help LE or you.

Edit: to clarify
 
This is what has always been so odd about the case to me. I was around Missy's age when it happened and lived in Ft. Smith. My friends and I were very afraid at the time. There was so little information. There are somethings I do clearly remember being reported at the time though. Of course, this was umpteen years ago, and I could be misremembering them now and just think I am remembering them clearly. I followed the case closely though, because this was a girl my age and it was just so sudden and scary.

1. At the time, I remember it be reported that she had plans to meet her mom at the bowling alley for dinner. (It's reported now, as if she was going to surprise her mom.) I just seem to remember thinking at the time WHY did it take a couple of days to find her car at the bowling alley when they knew that was where she was supposed to go. I believer her mom at the time said that the plans weren't firm plans and Missy said something like she'd probably stop by there and bring her mom dinner or she'd come by there and they'd eat dinner together if she could after work. (I think there's a snack bar, or was that serves small things like burgers, nachos things like that) So when Missy didn't show up, her mom just thought she couldn't make it, and only go worried when she got home and Missy wasn't there and there was no note.

2. Why did it take days to find her car? I remember thinking, when they found her car, why didn't they look there first, when she was supposed to meet her mom there? Also, how do bloody keys, and "pools of blood" go unnoticed for like 3 days? Especially, when everyone is looking for a missing girl? Ft. Smith is not a huge town. A missing person, even today is still a big deal. To me the logical places to look would be, mom calls from home, my daughter is missing. So you search the home and neighborhood, then her work, then school, then the bowling alley on the off chance that even if she didn't have plans to meet her mom, she supposedly went there a lot just to hang out with her mom or to bring her dinner. Hell, cop cars could have been sent to all those places at once to see if her car was at least there. Then you expand out, friends houses, boyfriends, ex-boyfriends, relatives, the mall, places she hung out. This was HUGE news the entire time she was missing.

3. I don't ever remember hearing about this call to "local police" from a mentally disabled boy and maybe his grandma. I could have just forgotten about it. But one thing that strikes me as odd. If it was left as a voicemail. Do you guys remember waay back to 1994? EVERYBODY had caller ID then. My MIL worked for a jail at the time and they damn sure had caller ID on their phones. But this local police station didn't? Was it like some place where the calls were forwarded to their homes? Surely though, if it were calls for the police department they'd have caller ID. My phone had caller ID build in, and even if it went to the answering machine, it still picked up the caller ID number. Caller ID wasn't even expensive, it was like 2 bucks a month extra a month.

Also, I don't think a trucker could have taken her. I guess he could have taken her in his rig, and then killed her, and drove her to where she was dumped in his personal vehicle, but there is no way to get a big rig within range to carry her to where her body was found. And if I remember correctly, LE thinks she was killed not too long after she was taken.
 
SpinningKnitter said:
Did you ever talk to one of the trappers who found her body? He was a family friend, but passed away last year. He told us where he and the other trapper found her and on the map it is a VERY remote location. (I live in the area) I have been all over the mountains in the woods around here and there's no way I could get there and back on my own. It had to be someone extremely familiar with the area, from my understanding. Of course, the trapper had been trapping and hunting in the woods around here forever. The best I can remember, the location is off "main" dirt roads and then you go on logging roads, then little pig trail roads and keep turning and twisting onto those until you are very deep into the mountains. It's not an easy place to find or get to.

Also, he gave us some other information that I think LE might be holding back from the general public, so I don't share that information with people. It pertains to how and where he exactly found her. I've never heard it mentioned in any news or police accounts, so I don't talk about it, because I don't want to give out any information that LE are keeping to themselves.

I don't remember who our friend said he was trapping with that day, when they found her body, but if you haven't talked to them, you might find out since one of the men has passed away. He, meaning the other trapper, might remember something that could help LE or you.

Edit: to clarify
Click to expand...

Hey there - I have been out there (actually working with the documentary team and LE) and it's not that hard to find....not quite as difficult as one would think, but definitely remote. LE has released all information about how and where her body was found -- of this I am certain. I knew one trapper passed away but I will try to track the other one down. Thanks for the heads up.
 
SpinningKnitter said:
This is what has always been so odd about the case to me. I was around Missy's age when it happened and lived in Ft. Smith. My friends and I were very afraid at the time. There was so little information. There are somethings I do clearly remember being reported at the time though. Of course, this was umpteen years ago, and I could be misremembering them now and just think I am remembering them clearly. I followed the case closely though, because this was a girl my age and it was just so sudden and scary.

1. At the time, I remember it be reported that she had plans to meet her mom at the bowling alley for dinner. (It's reported now, as if she was going to surprise her mom.) I just seem to remember thinking at the time WHY did it take a couple of days to find her car at the bowling alley when they knew that was where she was supposed to go. I believer her mom at the time said that the plans weren't firm plans and Missy said something like she'd probably stop by there and bring her mom dinner or she'd come by there and they'd eat dinner together if she could after work. (I think there's a snack bar, or was that serves small things like burgers, nachos things like that) So when Missy didn't show up, her mom just thought she couldn't make it, and only go worried when she got home and Missy wasn't there and there was no note.

2. Why did it take days to find her car? I remember thinking, when they found her car, why didn't they look there first, when she was supposed to meet her mom there? Also, how do bloody keys, and "pools of blood" go unnoticed for like 3 days? Especially, when everyone is looking for a missing girl? Ft. Smith is not a huge town. A missing person, even today is still a big deal. To me the logical places to look would be, mom calls from home, my daughter is missing. So you search the home and neighborhood, then her work, then school, then the bowling alley on the off chance that even if she didn't have plans to meet her mom, she supposedly went there a lot just to hang out with her mom or to bring her dinner. Hell, cop cars could have been sent to all those places at once to see if her car was at least there. Then you expand out, friends houses, boyfriends, ex-boyfriends, relatives, the mall, places she hung out. This was HUGE news the entire time she was missing.

3. I don't ever remember hearing about this call to "local police" from a mentally disabled boy and maybe his grandma. I could have just forgotten about it. But one thing that strikes me as odd. If it was left as a voicemail. Do you guys remember waay back to 1994? EVERYBODY had caller ID then. My MIL worked for a jail at the time and they damn sure had caller ID on their phones. But this local police station didn't? Was it like some place where the calls were forwarded to their homes? Surely though, if it were calls for the police department they'd have caller ID. My phone had caller ID build in, and even if it went to the answering machine, it still picked up the caller ID number. Caller ID wasn't even expensive, it was like 2 bucks a month extra a month.

Also, I don't think a trucker could have taken her. I guess he could have taken her in his rig, and then killed her, and drove her to where she was dumped in his personal vehicle, but there is no way to get a big rig within range to carry her to where her body was found. And if I remember correctly, LE thinks she was killed not too long after she was taken.
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I don't remember anyone saying the caller was mentally disabled. Hillbilly accent, yes. Mentally disabled? I have not heard that used. Where did you see that info?

I agree that the rest is odd -- but it's been explained to me. I will send you a message.

I doubt a trucker killed her either -- it was someone local. Had to be.
 
LR1 said:
I would still like to see that spot on google maps or something. Can you give a link to that location pls.
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I can't provide a link, but I can tell you the logging road is called Stephens Road.
 
Death Row Inmate Sought For Questioning In Melissa Witt Murder
"In 1999, law enforcement became aware of Larry Swearingen because he had murdered a 19-year-old college student named Melissa Trotter. The murder is very close to that of Melissa Witt," Humphrey said.

That murder conviction has Swearingen on death row in Texas. According to Humphrey's, Swearingen has been granted stays seven times. A few weeks ago a judge set Swearingen's execution date for November 16, 2017.

The documentary team is hoping to speak with Swearingen about Witt's case before that date arrives.
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