Matthew DeWayne Hale, 35, was found fatally shot in the front yard of a residence on Highway 49 just east of Rector, Arkansas, after deputies responded to a report of an unresponsive man on the evening of March 8, 2022. Hale was a United States Air Force veteran of six years who had recently joined the Tennessee Air National Guard; family remembered him for time with loved ones and as a Green Bay Packers fan.

Investigators from the Arkansas State Police identified an out-of-state suspect, 30-year-old Heath A. Hunsaker of Dexter, Missouri. Authorities located and interviewed Hunsaker, who confessed to killing Hale. Hunsaker was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and held in the Greene County, Arkansas, jail; he later pleaded guilty and received a combined 43-year sentence, including a 40-year term for murder plus a three-year enhancement for firearm use.

If anyone knew Matthew, witnessed anything on or near Highway 49 on March 8, 2022, or has relevant information, please share what is known.