On the morning of Thursday, May 11, 2017, Yell County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Kevin Mainhart, 46, was shot and killed during a traffic stop on State Highway 27 while responding to a domestic disturbance call in the Dardanelle area. Mainhart had served Yell County for five years after a long career with the West Memphis Police Department.

The investigation tied the stop to a nearby residence on Gum Springs Road. Investigators found two more victims outside that home: Rita Miller, 61, and her 17-year-old granddaughter, Ciera Miller. Authorities identified 42-year-old James Arthur Bowden of Dardanelle as the suspect; he had been in a relationship with Haley McHam, Rita’s daughter and Ciera’s mother, and the disturbance call was related to that relationship.

Bowden barricaded himself in the Gum Springs Road residence, held Haley McHam hostage, and after a roughly five-hour standoff with negotiators released her and surrendered at about 2:40 PM. He was charged with three counts of capital murder. Did anyone in the community have contact with the victims or the residence around May 11, 2017?