Clinton David Brink, 43, Cristen Amanda Brink, 41 found on trail- Devil's Den State Park, AR- 26 July, 2025 *Arrest*

[TexLil]

- a few more images of the trails
- confirmation that description of perp (including clothing) came from witness statements vs cameras or photos

 

[TexLil]

Or maybe the gloves were for rock climbing?

I don't think the perp was a rock climber, but tossing the idea out there.

jmopinion

Great thought. There is also rock climbing in that park.

 

[Cryptic]

The gloves are a little odd, but if I were planning to commit a crime, I think I’d go for the ones with fingers…

The gloves have a practical side, but also have a "tacti-cool" side to their equation as the style is also worn by military special forces and SWAT teams.

The perpertrator's use of these gloves could suggest a military or police wanna'be or say, a fantasy "Merc" ala the old Soldier of Fortune err.... Fiction magazine.

Given the horrific nature of the attack, the children cannot be expected to offer a detailed description of the individual and his weapon.

Even still, I wonder if the weapon used had tacti- cool modifications? Or, if he had other tacti-cool gear such as a "Rambo" knife, military style first aid pack, "for show" rock climbing locking D rings etc.?

 

[vls12345]

Mystery deepens after bodies found on Devil's Den State Park trail | What to know about the park

Arkansas State Police investigate a double homicide after two bodies were found along a trail at Devil’s Den State Park.

www.5newsonline.com

 

[Snoopster]

I'm leaning towards targeted.
Do we know if both girls were the biological daughters of the victims?

I can't imagine what those two girls are going through. They were out for a simple hike with their parents and violence erupted!

 

[vls12345]

Couple slain while hiking with daughters in Arkansas state park, police say

The victims had recently moved to Prairie Grove, about 12 miles from the park. A manhunt was underway for a man described as wearing dark clothing and fingerless gloves.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[angelainwi]

I'm leaning towards targeted.
Do we know if both girls were the biological daughters of the victims?

I can't imagine what those two girls are going through. They were out for a simple hike with their parents and violence erupted!

They appear to have been together long enough that I am pretty confident the girls are theirs together

 

[Possum_AR]

They appear to have been together long enough that I am pretty confident the girls are theirs together

That's my take too. I saw some pictures of them together from 2017. My first thought when I started hearing about this murder was a jealous ex / baby daddy.

 

[Knox]

Logan Clegg sentenced to up to life in prison for murder of Concord, NH couple on hiking trail

Logan Clegg was convicted in the shooting deaths of Stephen and Djeswende "Wendy" Reid in New Hampshire.

www.cbsnews.com

some people just do messed up things unfortunately

BK comes to mind ... it feels like a targeted attack - but I'm 50/50 at this point.

We know Cristen is a nurse, I wonder what Clinton does? Seems like from his facebook he was a truck driver in the past? They have been together since 2013 (pic on FB), so it's not like this could be an ex targeting one or the other.

 

[Cryptic]

If I had to pick one, I might go with the confrontation gone wrong scenario.

I also think that is a possibility.

But.... Jeez, its a State Park as opposed to BLM land or National Forest areas which can feature far more confrontation scenarios ("Mad Max" style off roaders, careless target shooters blasting this and that, hunters who may, or may not be, following game laws, transient populations etc etc) than the usually more sedate parks.

The perpetrator does not appear to of been on a bike, so no apparent mountain bikers verse hikers trail sharing issues. Ditto for horse back. The couple do not appear to be rock climbing nor fishing. So.... no apparent ultimate fishing / climbing faux pas nor a status jeopardizing fishing or climbing "diss".

In the end, there does not seem to be alot of confrontation fuel.

 

[Oiseaux]

The fingerless gloves still seem odd to me. If all of the other factors tend to point towards this being planned, why wear gloves that would do pretty much nothing to minimize the evidence/fingerprints he might leave? You would think that he would have either worn normal gloves, or brought some along that he could change into (if the gloves were indeed ones he was using for biking, rock climbing, etc).

 

[Inthedetails]

I also think that is a possibility.

But.... Jeez, its a State Park as opposed to BLM land or National Forest areas which can feature far more confrontation scenarios ("Mad Max" style off roaders, careless target shooters blasting this and that, hunters who may, or may not be, following game laws, transient populations etc etc) than the usually more sedate parks.

The perpetrator does not appear to of been on a bike, so no apparent mountain bikers verse hikers trail sharing issues. Ditto for horse back. The couple do not appear to be rock climbing nor fishing. So.... no apparent ultimate fishing / climbing faux pas nor a status jeopardizing fishing or climbing "diss".

In the end, there does not seem to be alot of confrontation fuel.

The possible confrontation that comes to my mind is perhaps something to do with the cars. Did one of their car doors bump into his car, for example? Did one driver park weird and the other commented? I picture a dumb argument in the parking area and the dad and mom quietly taking the kids on their hike to de-escalate, but the guy followed them. speculation only.

Or, did the family encounter them on the trail and he was doing something he didn't want seen?

Or was it a robbery on the trail?

Was the perp creepy about the girls and the dad tried to get rid of him?

Now that I know the family is new to the area and, from what little we know, seem normal and nice, I don't think this is targeted and planned in advance. But I think something unexpected escalated and/or the perp is nuts and went on an unexplainable random rampage. imo

jmopinion at the moment, subject to change as we learn more

 

[Cryptic]

The fingerless gloves still seem odd to me. If all of the other factors tend to point towards this being planned, why wear gloves that would do pretty much nothing to minimize the evidence/fingerprints he might leave?

As a side note, the style of gloves is worn by SWAT police and Special Forces soldiers.

Thus, they can have a "tacti-cool" component ala: The real pros wear these. So, if I wear them, I"ll be as cool as they are....." line of thought.

 

[SouthernSummer]

So, they assault was reported at 2:30. EMS arrived to the scene and within an hour…they heard screams? I wonder if it was the scream of people discovering the victims or the attack was still taking place. Hopefully the timeline will be clarified soon and that they have quality footage of him they can use to identify him before he does it again. Those poor poor sisters. Horrifying

 

[nao]

The fingerless gloves still seem odd to me. If all of the other factors tend to point towards this being planned, why wear gloves that would do pretty much nothing to minimize the evidence/fingerprints he might leave? You would think that he would have either worn normal gloves, or brought some along that he could change into (if the gloves were indeed ones he was using for biking, rock climbing, etc).

Moo..I wear fingerless gloves, because of allergy to sun. Especially when driving my knuckles get hit with sun when on steering wheel.
Though more probably, you do get a more solid grip on steering wheel, if you like to drive fast....moo

 

[Kip]

I'm guessing it was the girls who gave the description of the perp, though there could be cameras at the visitor center.

Unless the perp came rushing at the family without saying anything and the parents told the girls to run, the girls have likely told LE what, if anything, the perp said initially.

 

[Kaley Smith]

It's obviously a lot too ask of those poor girls. But I'd wonder if they got a clear look at the attacker. I'd also wager it was not premeditated but a spur of the moment attack.

My thoughts and prayers go to those poor kids .

The suspect was wearing weight-lifter's gloves. That sounds pre-meditated to me.

 

[sunflowermomma]

I am a rock climber, the climbing at devil's den is not the kind that requires gloves.

 

[sunflowermomma]

What if the gloves were worn to keep a grip on the knife during stabbing? I've heard it mentioned on many true crime podcasts that during stabbings, the blood can make the attacker loose their grip on the knife. JMO

 

[Cryptic]

The possible confrontation that comes to my mind is perhaps something to do with the cars. Did one of their car doors bump into his car, for example? Did one driver park weird and the other commented?

Or, did the family encounter them on the trail and he was doing something he didn't want seen?

I think these are real possibilities that I had not thought of.

Adding a little more detail to your "saw what should not have been seen" possibility, maybe the perpetrator:

- Was engaged in an act of uhmm..... "solo love" and was seen by the couple's daughters?
- Exposed himself to the family or was engaging in open "solo love" to shock the attractive woman?