Jordan Christopher ’JM’ Morgan was 22 when he was reported missing to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office on December 11, 2022, after his parents could not reach him. A vehicle believed to be his was found on a residential street in Waldo, Arkansas, and a nearby burned residence yielded a body later positively identified by the Arkansas State Crime Lab as Jordan Morgan.

The case drew a multiagency investigation and months of public appeals for information. Authorities say robbery appears to be the motive. On September 27, 2023, 19-year-old Lazariah Ellis of Magnolia was arrested; a second suspect, 24-year-old Christopher James Manning of Waldo, was later taken into custody in Dallas, Texas, where he had been held on unrelated charges. Both face first-degree murder, arson, and abuse of a corpse counts as the investigation continues.

Anyone who knew Jordan, saw him in Waldo in December 2022, or has information about the burned residence or the vehicle is asked to come forward.