Pond Search Uncovers Shortcomings

Family members agonizing over the disappearance of a child, sibling, parent or other loved one live every moment with a mixture of unbearable grief and an intense hope for answers.

In investigating such cases, law enforcement officers take on the emotion-laden mission to find those answers. When the pieces don't readily fit together, the mystery haunts everyone.

What’s The Point?

Benton County government owes it to its citizens to live up to its responsibilities, something its leaders failed to do in a well-intentioned search for a missing girl.

So it is that communities embrace heroic efforts among investigators to give those family members and friends peace. Neighbors hope for the best, but at the least, pull for resolution.

That's no doubt why nobody criticized the actions of the Benton County Sheriff's Office in June 2013 when investigators drained a pond on private property off Arkansas 94 near Little Flock.

April Dawn Andrews was 15 when she left her home at Kings Lane Apartments in November 2006 on her way to the nearby Pea Ridge Church of the Nazarene. She hasn't been seen since.

Last April, detectives received a letter claiming evidence could be found in the pond, according to authorities. Dogs specially trained to alert their handlers to the presence of human remains, did just that when they visited the pond. Workers with the Benton County Road Department drained the bond and used heavy equipment to dredge. Several truckloads of mud were hauled to a nearby spot where it could be searched.

After more than two days, the search turned up nothing. Again, both relief and agony were part of the mix.

Likewise, there's no criticism of Terry Johnson and his wife, Cathy, owners of the property that includes the pond. In May, they approached the county filled with frustration over the damage done to their pond and nearby trees. Sheriff Kelley Cradduck and County Judge Bob Clinard promised the property would be restored, the couple said, but by May nothing had been done. The case ended up in court. Benton County officials eventually backed a $110,000 settlement for the damages.

The situation should have never become so contentious. While nobody criticizes the effort to uncover what happened to April Andrews, the county's handling of its necessary destruction on the Johnson property fell well short of good government.

County justices of the peace weighed whether to adopt a new policy to handle such scenarios, which is a common reaction from a committee not directly involved in the day-to-day management of county resources. Some wanted to set aside money for any future claims of similar nature, but the problem here wasn't the source of funding. It was the lack of anyone within county government taking responsibility until too much time had passed. It simply wasn't a major concern, and a couple who only wanted to help with an investigation ended up with nearly a year of frustrations.

No policy is needed to justify an expectation that Benton County live up to its responsibilities. The Johnson were entirely reasonable in their desire for timely restoration. The moment detectives decided to ask to drain and dredge that pond is the moment Benton County government should have shouldered the responsibility to treat the Johnsons with fairness in a timely way.

Leadership, not public policy, fell short in this instance. Hopefully, some lessons were learned in the process.

Commentary on 07/02/2014

Upcoming Events