A teenager was found safe early Monday morning after being lost in the national forest for about seven hours. At least 100 people were involved in the search for 17-year-old Aspen Lane of Mountain View. Stone County Sheriff Lance Bonds said Aspen and her mother, Amber Despain, and a friend were hiking in the forest, having entered from Hwy. 5 North around 4:30 Sunday afternoon. Aspen had walked ahead and wa ...

Victoria A. Dycus, 29, and James Hagen Glenn, 31, were both arraigned Jan. 12 on charges of murder in the first degree over the Nov. 19 death of 4-year-old Skylar Shellstrom. Dycus pleaded not guilty at her arraignment and Glenn, who waived arraignment, also pleaded not guilty. Each had a pretrial hearing set for July 6 and jury trial set for Sept. 27. The two are being held at the Stone County Jail, each o ...

Two men were transported by ambulance after this accident Jan. 6 on snow-covered Highway 5 North. See details in the Jan. 11, 2017 issue. ...

City officials had mixed reactions to a request to allow firearms in city parks, and the council voted to table the issue for further research. Jack Abrahamson and Ken Borgenheimer addressed the council during its Dec. 27 meeting, requesting that the signs prohibiting weapons in the parks be removed. They believe concealed carry should be allowed in the parks, as long as no other laws are being violated. Th ...

Two people have been arrested and charged with first degree murder in connection with the Nov. 19 death of 4-year-old Skylar Shellstrom. The child’s mother, 29-year-old Victoria Dycus, and James Hagen Glenn, 31, were charged by 16th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Don McSpadden. Bond was set at $1 million each. Under Arkansas law, “A person commits murder in the first degree if the person knowingly c ...

UPDATE from Dec. 7 issue: The Nov. 19 death of 4-year-old Skylar Shellstrom has been ruled a homicide following an autopsy report listing the cause of death as blunt force trauma, according to Stone County Sheriff Lance Bonds. The report also listed multiple bruises and contusions in various stages of healing. Bonds said his department continues to assist the Arkansas State Police with the investigation, an ...

Personnel from Atlas Asphalt work Nov. 21 to pave the final lane to connect the new bridge across Raccoon Creek with Highway 5 South. The bridge opened to its first traffic Nov. 19, with flow limited to one direction at a time while each side of the approach was connected. Work continues on the mountain segment of the road project. From the Nov. 23, 2016 issue ...

Unofficial tallies show Stacey Avey winning re-election as Stone County Judge and Lance Bonds being re-elected as sheriff without a run-off in the 2016 General Election. Other local winners: Ronald Clark, Justice of the Peace in District 5. J.K. Williams, Mountain View City Council Ward 1 Pos. 1. Ricky Shuttleworth, Mountain View City Council Ward 2 Pos. 1. See the Nov. 16, 2016 issue for complete election ...

Both drivers were airlifted from the scene of a two-vehicle accident on Hwy 14 West Nov. 4. Sharon Price, 78, of Allison was driving the vehicle pictured westbound when it was struck by a pickup driven by Larry D. Simpson, 65, of Big Flat. Officials said Simpson's vehicle crossed the centerline. See more in the Nov. 9, 2016 issue. ...

Election worker Krissy Cross performs testing on Stone County voting machines prior to early voting starting Monday. See the Oct. 26, 2016 issue of the Leader for information about races and issues on the ballot. ...