Batesville woman found dead 150 miles away, near Malvern

BATESVILLE -- The body of a Batesville woman last seen alive Monday night has been found about 150 miles away in a rural wooded area near Malvern in south-central Arkansas, authorities said Thursday.

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The body of Linda Stingley, 65, was found Wednesday after an investigation involving police in Batesville, Bryant and Malvern, Sgt. Todd Crowson of the Bryant Police Department said in a news release.

Earlier Wednesday, personal items that belonged to Stingley were discovered in Bryant, Crowson said.

Crowson said police were treating Stingley's death as a homicide but did not release additional details. Her body was discovered in the wooded area just outside Malvern, he said.

Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said the agency's criminal investigative division had been asked "to assist in some portion of the investigation" in both the Malvern and Bryant areas.

Sadler declined to give further details because he said the Independence County sheriff's office is the lead investigative agency. An investigator at that office did not return a phone message seeking comment before the office closed for the day.

In Batesville, Ted Hall, executive director of the White River Area Agency on Aging, said Stingley had been a part-time nurse at Eagle Mountain Assisted Living in Batesville since 2012. The nonprofit facility is under the area agency's umbrella, he said.

Hall said he thought Stingley left work about 7 p.m. Monday, but other reports have said she left about 9 p.m.

He described Stingley as "a really, really nice lady" and said, "We have some sad folks around here."

State Desk on 06/06/2014

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