Clipping found in Times Record published in Fort Smith, Arkansas on 8/23/1970. Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP5459
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Clipping found in Times Record published in Fort Smith, Arkansas on 3/22/1973. Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP5459
www.newspapers.com
Quoted from the second article:
" A mystery is something secret, unexplained, beyond comprehension. Residents of the area concur with the definition when recalling the "mystery of Mt. Magazine." April 15 is the third anniversary of what investigators say is the most bizarre murder encountered here....and still unsolved.
Mr. and Mrs. F. J. Swilling of Paris were hunting poke salat three miles down the south side of the mountain April 15, 1970. It was 3 p.m.
They discovered the "stump" of a white man - the body severed just above the navel. Authorities later said flesh had been cut with a knife, bones with a saw. The Swillings were temporarily stunned, but regained composure and notified the Forest Service. Sheriff Raymond Henson, Dr. Rodney Carlton of the 1970 University Hospital criminal investigation division at Little Rock, State Police Capt.
Damon Wilson of Fort Smith, Troopers Jim King and Ed Wolfe of Paris and the Logan County Civil Defense unit launched an investigation. Three hundred volunteers began a foot and auto search for the remainder of the body: The search covered a four and one-half mile radius on all sides of the mountain. First, a plastic bag was found containing human hair and blood. Four more plastic bags were discovered. They had been torn open by varmints.
Henson theorized that "the rest of the body has to be here somewhere," so, the search murder mystery still unsolved continued several days. More plastic bags with human flesh were found but no fingers from which to lift a print for identification. Authorities questioned: "Why did the killer leave so many bags?"
A heart was found near a sawmill at Booneville. It was not human. There was a report of a dog seen 12 miles east of Paris with an arm in its mouth.
Henson and Wolfe checked two hours with no success. A man was detained at Danville for questioning. Authorities decided he was not connected with the crime. A call came from Paramount, Calif. to report a torso discovered in that area.
During the next few days two more bags were discovered. There were no inquiries about the dead man from relatives, and the unknown victim was buried April 21 in a pauper's grave at Oakwood Cemetery here. 1 And the question is still, "who was he?" And another question - "Who killed him?" A headstone said: "Body unknown. Found on Mt. Magazine."
In mid-July of 1970 authorities 'learned the remains might be that of a missing Little Rock man. Judge Carl Creekmore of Van Buren ordered the body exhumed and sent to Little Rock for autopsy. The blood type did not match that of the missing Little Rock man, was the report. The body of the mystery man remained at Little Rock and the grave here where he rested 90 days was filled.
Henson's tenure as sheriff ended at the end of 1972, but he still remembers the mystery vividly. "It was the most hideous murder I ever encountered. I still believe the rest of the body was somewhere on the mountain, and I believe the plastic bags were left to let us know it. We searched for clues for three months, and followed up more than 100 leads," Henson said.
The mystery of Mt. Magazine…....perhaps never to be solved. "
