Body of missing Arkansas girl, 2, located; search for brother continues, sheriff says

Sheriff: Brother, 10, still missing

Acelynn Wester, 2, (left) and her brother Reilly Scarbrough, 9, went missing earlier this month from Mena, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Acelynn Wester, 2, (left) and her brother Reilly Scarbrough, 9, went missing earlier this month from Mena, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Searchers in Polk County on Friday afternoon found the body of a 2-year-old girl in the area where her dead mother was found earlier this week, Sheriff Scott Sawyer said.

ADVERTISEMENT

More headlines

During a news conference Friday afternoon, Sawyer said the body of Acelynn Wester was found about 2 p.m. Friday in a heavily wooded area southeast of Cove, which is about 10 miles south of Mena.

Acelynn's brother, 10-year-old Reilly Scarbrough, is still missing.

The body of Acelynn's mother, Bethany Jo Wester, 43, of Mena was found Tuesday afternoon in a creek southeast of Cove, prompting the search for the two children. Deputies were called to the area when someone reported a suspicious object in the creek.

The search is scheduled to resume today for Reilly, who was last seen Sunday, the sheriff's office said.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released a statement Thursday that said Acelynn and Reilly were missing and believed to be in immediate danger. The statement described Reilly as 3 feet 6 inches tall and weighing 60 pounds.

"We have been working around the clock," Sawyer said in a news release Friday morning.

Sawyer has not released the cause of Bethany Jo Wester's death but said it was being investigated as a homicide. Her body was sent to the state Crime Laboratory in Little Rock for identification and to establish the cause of death.

The sheriff's office announced Thursday that the body of Steven J. Payne, 66, Wester's uncle, was discovered at his home in Hatfield, about 3 miles north of Cove. His death also is being investigated as a homicide, Sawyer said, and his body has been sent to the Crime Lab for autopsy.

Participating in the search were the Polk County sheriff's office, Mena Police Department, FBI, Arkansas State Police, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Arkansas State Parks, U.S. Forest Service, Montgomery County sheriff's office and Grannis Police Department, the news release said.

State Desk on 04/29/2017

Upcoming Events