Don Henry

Don Henry was a popular 16-year-old from Alexander, Arkansas, who loved to work on cars and go hunting. Remembered as a natural comedian, he was rarely seen without his best friend, 17-year-old Kevin Ives, who was considered his greatest audience. The two were seniors at Bryant High School and were known to be typical teenagers who often double-dated with their girlfriends on weekends.

In the late hours of Saturday, August 22, 1987, Don and Kevin set out for a night of "spotlighting," a form of illegal hunting. Don went into his house around 12:15 a.m. to tell his father, Curtis Henry, where they were going. He grabbed his.22 caliber rifle and one of his father's spotlights, and the two friends headed for their usual hunting spot along the railroad tracks that ran behind Don's home. It was the last time they were seen alive. Around 4:30 a.m. on August 23, the crew of a 6,000-ton Union Pacific freight train spotted something on the tracks as they approached the small town of Bryant. As the train, traveling at 52 miles per hour, drew closer, engineer Stephen Shroyer made a horrifying discovery: the two boys were lying motionless and parallel to each other across the rails. Shroyer reported that their bodies were partially covered by a light green tarp. Despite engaging the emergency brakes and sounding the horn, the mile-long train could not stop in time and ran over them.

The initial investigation into the boys' deaths was fraught with controversy. The state medical examiner, Dr. Fahmy Malak, ruled the deaths accidental, claiming the boys had smoked as many as 20 marijuana cigarettes, fallen into a deep sleep on the tracks, and never heard the approaching train. The parents of both teenagers refused to accept this conclusion. Kevin's father, Larry Ives, and Don's parents knew their sons were not heavy drug users. Their disbelief launched a crusade for the truth that would span decades. The families hired their own investigators and pushed for the case to be re-examined.

Five months after the deaths, the parents held a press conference that successfully forced authorities to reopen the case. The boys' bodies were exhumed for a second autopsy, conducted by a Georgia medical examiner, Dr. Joseph Burton. He found that the boys had likely smoked only one or two marijuana cigarettes. More significantly, his examination suggested that Don Henry had been stabbed in the back and that Kevin Ives's skull had been crushed before the train ever hit them. Following this new evidence, a Saline County grand jury overturned the original ruling in May 1988, classifying the deaths as "probable homicides."

The investigation that followed was complex and frustrating. The theory that gained the most traction, publicly supported by an attorney for the families on an episode of *Unsolved Mysteries* in 1988, was that the boys had stumbled upon a nighttime drug drop and were killed for what they saw. The green tarp, which was never found by police at the scene despite being reported by the entire train crew, fueled speculation of a cover-up. The case grew darker as several individuals connected to the grand jury investigation died under violent or mysterious circumstances between 1988 and 1990. Sheriff James H. Steed Jr., who initially handled the case, was criticized for his resistance to investigate and for reportedly lying about sending the boys' clothing to the FBI for analysis; he was not reelected.

Over the years, the families, led by Kevin's mother, Linda Ives, never stopped fighting for answers. Their relentless efforts were chronicled in the 1999 book *The Boys on the Tracks* by journalist Mara Leveritt. The case saw a potential break in 2018 when a former professional wrestler named Billy Jack Haynes came forward. In a videotaped confession, Haynes claimed he was present on the tracks that night providing security for a drug deal and witnessed the murders. He named several men as being involved, including local officials. Linda Ives expressed hope but also caution, having seen many leads go cold over three decades.

As of September 2026, the murders of Don Henry and Kevin Ives remain officially unsolved. The case is a haunting fixture in Arkansas history, a story of two teenage boys whose night of fun ended in a brutal crime, and of families left to navigate a labyrinth of unanswered questions and suspected corruption. Linda Ives, who dedicated her life to finding justice for her son and his best friend, passed away in June 2021 without seeing the case closed. The investigation remains an open cold case.