The father of a toddler who vanished from his father's Searcy home more than a year ago was ordered held without bail on a capital-murder charge Wednesday, just hours before police disclosed they had found what they believe to be the boy's remains in rural Jackson County.
Searcy police said they arrested Jeffery Clifton, 43, just before midnight Tuesday, accusing him of killing 2-year-old Malik Drummond. He was also charged with a felony count alleging abuse of a corpse. Both are felonies, with capital murder punishable in Arkansas by death or life in prison without parole.
"I anticipate that there will be more arrests" within the next 30 days, Prosecuting Attorney Rebecca Reed said.
Reed said she did not know whether there would be one or two additional arrests.
Police officers and hundreds of volunteers searched for Malik on the evening of Nov. 23, 2014, after a report that the child had wandered away from his father's home at 710 W. Park Ave.
Family members told police that Malik was last seen playing in the living room with his twin sister, Aryanna.
Malik lived with his mother, Tanya Drummond, but for the previous two weeks had been staying with his father, who shared his home with girlfriend Lesley Marcotte, authorities have said.
On Wednesday morning, officers from the Jackson County sheriff's office joined the Searcy Police Department and the FBI to search for body remains in Auvergne, along Arkansas 17 south of Newport, Jackson County Sheriff David Lucas said.
Lucas said he could not comment on whether the remains were the child's, but Searcy police issued a news release saying they believed them to be Malik's.
Officers searching the area "have been on it all day. It's a slow process," Searcy police Sgt. Steve Hernandez said.
Lucas said the remains were lying on the ground in a vacant lot in the small town and were not buried.
Neither Reed nor Hernandez would comment on the cause of death. Neither knew whether Clifton had hired an attorney.
Reed said Clifton was arrested at the Searcy police station.
Wednesday's developments came less than one month after the FBI announced a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to a conviction in the case.
Hernandez said that, to his knowledge, "the reward has nothing to do" with Clifton's arrest.
The Arkansas State Police had issued a Morgan Nick Amber Alert for Malik the day after he was reported missing.
Over the past year, pictures of the smiling, curly haired child have appeared on television, on video screens at some service stations and in newspapers.
State police spokesman Bill Sadler said the alert would remain in effect until the Searcy Police Department advises that it should be canceled.
Reed said she expects the formal alert will be withdrawn "based on the fact that we know the child is deceased, and we have someone charged with disposing of that body."
In White County District Court on Wednesday morning, Judge Mark Pate ordered Clifton held without bail in the county jail. Pate set a Jan. 6 date for Clifton's arraignment in White County Circuit Court before Judge Robert Edwards.
Reed said she does not expect Clifton to enter a plea then but to be asked whether he has an attorney or needs a public defender.
Details surrounding what led to Clifton's arrest and the remains have not been disclosed. Reed confirmed Edwards had sealed the felony information charging Clifton, affidavits and the arrest warrant so that police could make sure they had Clifton in custody first.
There are no working phone numbers listed in Searcy directory assistance for Tanya Drummond or Marcotte.
Drummond did not reply to a message sent to her on Facebook. She updated her page Wednesday with an image containing pictures of Malik and the words, "Justice for Malik."
Clifton played college basketball at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, where he was inducted into the Letterman's Hall of Honor in 2004.
A forward, he lettered during the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons and led ASU in scoring both seasons, averaging 12.6 points a game in the 1992-93 season and 21.3 points a game in 1993-94. He was named the Sun Belt Conference's Co-Player of the Year for the 1993-94 season.
He ranks fifth on the school's career scoring average list with 19.6 points a game.
Information for this report was provided by Troy Schulte of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
State Desk on 12/03/2015