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

[Inthedetails]

Of course, if they were finishing their hike instead of starting it, that changes things. And given the time of day (mid afternoon) maybe ending a hike is more likely?

snipped

Good point. When hiking with kids in July, it's entirely possible that by 2:40 they were ENDING their walk or cutting it short because of the perp.

Now I'm wondering if he had been bothering along the trail prior the attack? And when they got close enough to the visitor's center, the mom and kids ran for it. Perhaps all four started to run after the perp went berserk, and the mom returned to the trail when her husband wasn't behind them at the visitors' center. (What a nightmare.)


jmopinion

 

[AngTxGal]

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

Yes, that is my thought, stabbing has been mentioned in reports.
So if you wear dark clothing, bring a knife, wear gloves- and attack two parents inside a park hiking with young daughters- Why?
It sounds planned- maybe child abduction?

Where did he exit the park? That should be on camera but they aren’t sharing that info.
Where was the car parked?

The 911 call says the girls had arrived at the Visitor’s Center saying their parents have been assaulted. The Visitor’s Center is nearest to the East exit to Ark Hwy 74 to Winslow, and HWY 49.

Dispatch says- “small black sports are with taped over plates. The direction of travel- went across the bridge and leaving Devil’s Den and stayed on the highway.”
Newscast 5

Report says an alert went out 6 hours later- due to rural nature of park and time to get there. Google maps says this park is 45 min from Fort Smith.

Exit may be on camera- that park has an exit to the West, South, and East.

This happened Sat afternoon/ evening- he could be still in Arkansas taken rural routes, or taken HWY and caught on camera but in five-6 hours could be in Memphis, Dallas, Oklahoma City, or Kansas City.


Devil’s Den State Park with map

Edited and Updated
IMO- hoping this guy is caught soon

 

[Inthedetails]

More pictures of the victims at the link. They look like wholesome, regular people. The husband is wearing a US Foods hat in one of the photos, and I'm wondering if that is his employer. Looks like US Foods has operations in North Little Rock. Perhaps they moved to Arkansas for a job there? IDK, just speculating.

They do not seem like wealthy people who would be specifically targeted. I do think this was random. But why??

Arkansas police searching for murderer who killed couple at Devil’s Den, cops didn’t alert public of double homicide for 6 hours

Police are searching for a killer after a husband and wife were murdered while hiking with their young daughters at a remote state park in Arkansas.

nypost.com

jmo

 

[Cryptic]

I also wonder, if it was planned but not targeted, if he chose them because he thought they were from out of state.

Several weeks ago, I spoke with some Rangers in Beavers Bend State Park, Oklahoma. The park shares state line with Arkansas. The once remote and isolated area is being developed as a vacation cabin / "cabin" (some cabins are the size of mini mansions) paradise for wealthy DFW'ers.

Anyways, one of the Rangers told me that his usual calls were 1.) Lost hikers 2.) Loud music at campsites 3.) Double booked camp site.

But.... he also told me that they have had an uptick in "fishing localism" arguments centered around: My favorite and once "secret" fishing hole now always has 3 DFW'ers around it trying to fly fish! In fact, so does my second secret spot. And... my third!

He then added that while he has never seen hostility directed at somebody just for being out of state, some locals can turn a little frosty upon seeing Texas plates.

Given this, I could see a "Fishing localism mixed with Beer goes bad" type confrontation. Or... a beer fueled: "DFW dude just looked at my daisy dukes wearing GF- again!" at a bar. (Well, at least in Beavers Bend area).

 

[AngTxGal]

I can't say for sure but I very much doubt there are many cameras there, if any.

Interesting, to my knowledge most high traffic state parks here in Texas have a camera at the visitor’s center and at a booth to pay and get a day pass/ camping pass.

This park had a lot of amenities- but seems to not have had cell service?
store, restaurant, cabins for rent, 135 camp sites, swimming pool, small lake and fishing, mountain biking, rock climbing, horseback riding trails leading into the Ozark National Forest.

I’m guessing a booth to buy passes had a camera at least at one entrance.

But- no footage has been mentioned, it seems the car description is from witnesses.

Do we know for certain this perp was driving a black sedan? Described as Mazda with electrical or duct tape on plates? Did the car have two plates?

Some articles say- ‘plates’- plural, some say ‘plate’- singular
Arkansas is a state that does not require front and back license plates on cars. Only on the back.
Other states require one plate near Arkansas- Oklahoma, Tennessee, Louisiana. Not as helpful as I thought.

IMO

 

[swanniee11]

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).

The only thing I could think of as to why the fingerless glove is to maybe cover tattoo's yet maybe give a better grip of a knife? IMO.

 

[Cryptic]

Interesting, to my knowledge most high traffic state parks here in Texas have a camera at the visitor’s center and at a booth to pay and get a day pass/ camping pass.

Texan (well, almost) here and I have seen the same thing in Texas parks.

But.... Arkansas and Oklahoma don't have Texas level discretionary spending and Texas sized crowds. So, manned entry booths and associated cameras can dwindle to avoid duplication of a booth and visitors center.

Rather one pays at the visitors center and receives a day pass that needs to be placed in the window. As you mentioned, Texas parks would likely have multiple cameras at the visitors center as well. My guess, however, is that similar camera systems at Arkansas State Parks can be "hit or miss".

 

[swanniee11]

Did they find the parents phones? I wonder if there are pictures on them that show someone lurking or something? Sorry if this was mentioned already.

 

[Cryptic]

and who goes to a fitness store to buy those for this purpose. Wouldn't it have been easier to buy generic gardening gloves. Does this mean the attacker is a avid weight lifter ? if so is this psychotic roid rage ?.

Possibly, but they might not have been weight lifters gloves per se.

The goal of the glove design is to protect the hand and knuckles, while leaving the fingers nimble and able to quickly grasp things etc.

So.... the same glove design can be marketed as a weight lifters glove, a trail glove, rock climbing glove, diesel mechanics glove etc. They are also worn by Special Forces soldiers and SWAT police.

As the glove design is associated with manly men and macho activities, they can also be worn by wanna'be types seeking to create a certain "tacti-cool" look ala Special Forces. Or, are seeking say, the "Ohh so dedicated gym guy" or "Rugged out door expert" look

 

[sunflowermomma]

Does the State Park or the highways leading to it have toll roads? Is it possible the license plate was covered to block tolls or block cameras outside the park (not just individuals' eyes) from seeing or tracking the plate?

In other states (NY, NJ) it's really common to cover your license plate to hide from tolls and speed cameras, not just live police officers.

 

[KaylynnCouture]

I’m torn between this being random, and this being targeted.

If it was a targeted crime, why a state park on a Saturday afternoon? There would obviously be other families there, it’s not an easy shot back over to his getaway vehicle, the chances of being seen were high, and how did this perp know not only where they’d be hiking that day but exactly where on the trail they were? Unless they were followed.

I looked on All Trails, a popular hiking trail app, and Devils Den has more than 15 hiking trails within the park, most of which are moderate in difficulty, and are more than a few miles long. So he would’ve not only needed to know what state park they were at, but also which trail they took. Seems unlikely.

If it was a random attack why that family? Thankfully the two little girls were unharmed but surely there could’ve been another couple hiking that he could’ve found that didn’t have two witnesses with them that were able to accurately describe him, or go get help.

The location, the people around, and the fact no description I’ve seen says he was wearing a mask or really any covering other than the tape on his license plate makes me think this guy didn’t care at all about being identified. And that’s terrifying.

 

[AngTxGal]

Several weeks ago, I spoke with some Rangers in Beavers Bend State Park, Oklahoma. The park shares state line with Arkansas. The once remote and isolated area is being developed as a vacation cabin / "cabin" (some cabins are the size of mini mansions) paradise for wealthy DFW'ers.

Anyways, one of the Rangers told me that his usual calls were 1.) Lost hikers 2.) Loud music at campsites 3.) Double booked camp site.

But.... he also told me that they have had an uptick in "fishing localism" arguments centered around: My favorite and once "secret" fishing hole now always has 3 DFW'ers around it trying to fly fish! In fact, so does my second secret spot. And... my third!

He then added that while he has never seen hostility directed at somebody just for being out of state, some locals can turn a little frosty upon seeing Texas plates.

Given this, I could see a "Fishing localism mixed with Beer goes bad" type confrontation. Or... a beer fueled: "DFW dude just looked at my daisy dukes wearing GF- again!" at a bar. (Well, at least in Beavers Bend area).

Your post almost makes me inclined to change my tagline. Beavers Bend is beautiful, and our trout stocked rivers are recovering from flooding. OK and ARK would be great choices.
Aren’t the ‘red-necks’ the loudest, on the news after a tornado, no shirt, missing teeth and foreign English. Summer is hot here so we go north…but…we welcome y’all snowbirds in the winter!

I’m sure this is off topic- sorry
IMO

 

[Snoopster]

This is wild. And also incredibly sad for their two children.

Where’s the nearest parking lot to where the parents were found?

According to the video at the link below (which was also posted earlier), the parents were found towards the end of the lower Devil's Den Trail.

Further up thread I read (or heard on a video) that the suspect left the parking lot, crossed the bridge and immediately got on the highway. That leads me to believe that he was parked here (red circle), which is immediately beside the entrance to the upper trail and a very, very short walk to the entrance to the lower trail:

google maps - Devil's Den SP

Here a streetview of the parking lot, looking across the bridge:

This is the view from the entrance to the upper trail. The small parking area is to the immediate left of this spot.

Devil's Den State Park · Google Maps

11333 AR-74, West Fork, AR 72774

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[Inthedetails]

dbm - I didn't read a previous post well enough. oops

 

[NervousNellie]

@Snoopster - your timeline link doesn't go where you think it does. Or maybe it does.

 

[Inthedetails]

@Snoopster - your timeline link doesn't go where you think it does. Or maybe it does.

 

[Inthedetails]

They must have been near the parking lot. From what I read he was attacked. She then fled with the children, put kids in car, then ran back. Why didn't she go for help? Maybe she was so traumatized, she didn't think straight.

There does appear to be something we don't know, i.e. covering the license plate, killer wearing fingerless gloves, which make it sound pre-planned. BUT, Vegas mass murderer pre-planned, and he did not know any victims nor has a motive been found. Idaho BK murderer the same. Strange.

Also, she was a nurse so perhaps that played into her decision to go back to her husband?

Perhaps she assumed the perp would've fled by the time she went back?

So sad. They seem like a nice family and I can't get past the randomness of killing nice people in a beautiful location.

jmo

 

[Snoopster]

@Snoopster - your timeline link doesn't go where you think it does. Or maybe it does.

Major OOOPS!
Link corrected.

 

[AngTxGal]

Better Description
Arkansas Local YouTuber phone interview w/ young man in grp of 4 that believes passed him
Solid description given, says he stared at them, didn’t like his energy
Trail was busy, pairs, families, stood out- was alone, didn’t say Hello, they left at 1:30
Same trail and timeframe
Interacted with families on trail with GoPros1
Very hot day- recorded over 100 degrees F

Devils Den Trail- I think?
Cavern Section began on east side finished west side, past him

• Age mid to late Twenties
• Caucasian
• Dirty blonde hair/ light brown- few inches long
• Blue eyes/ light green
• Stubble on face
• Medium to stocky build- 5’10”- 6’
• Dark clothing, dark pants and long sleeve shirt
• Dark baseball cap, leather patch on front, sunglasses on cap
• Fingerless gloves
• Overly large black bag, half mesh half vinyl plastic, looked like it had weight in it
• Walking alone
• Holding on strap of backpack while walking
• Head down, walking fast, gave a death stare, out of place

As of Sun eve Had not been able to get through to Arkansas State Police- have called several times beginning Sunday morning when they saw the report
Are Artists- are putting together a drawing using descriptions of what all four saw of him

IMO- updated

 

[Inthedetails]

Better Description

YouTuber phone interview w/ young man in group of four with dog that passed him
Solid description given, says he stared at them, didn’t like his energy
Trail was busy, pairs, families, stood out- was alone, didn’t say Hello, they left at 1:30
Same trail and timeframe
Interacted with families on trail with GoPros1

Age mid to late Twenties
Dirty blonde hair/ light brown
Blue eyes
Stubble on face
Medium to stocky build- 5’10”- 6’
Dark clothing, dark pants and long sleeve shirt
Dark baseball cap, leather patch on front, sunglasses on cap
Fingerless gloves
Overly large black bag, half mesh half vinyl plastic, looked like weight in it
Walking alone
Holding on strap of backpack while walking
Walking fast, gave a death stare, out of place

As of Sun eve Had not been able to get through to Arkansas State Police- have called several times beginning Sunday morning when they saw the report

IMO- updated

Finally some more info!

But concerning he was not able to get through to ASP. They have specifically asked the public to give info to them, not to post online.

jmo