The manhunt for a murder suspect in northern Arkansas has expanded beyond Boone County to include Carroll, Newton and Madison counties.
Harrison Police Chief Paul Woodruff said investigators are chasing leads in their search for Matthew J. Bolen, 36, whose estranged wife was shot Sunday in front of her residence on Prospect Street in Harrison.
Heaven Lee Bolen, 26, died Monday at a hospital in Springfield, Mo.
Police consider Matthew Bolen to be armed and dangerous.
Deputies with the Boone County sheriff's office spent a second full day Tuesday searching a wooded area about 10 miles northwest of downtown Harrison, where they found Heaven Bolen's abandoned sport utility vehicle. The Chevrolet Equinox was near the intersection of Arkansas 392 and U.S. 412.
Boone County Sheriff Mike Moore said Monday that he didn't know whether Matthew Bolen had left the Equinox on foot or had caught a ride with someone else.
After receiving a call about the shooting at 1:19 p.m. Sunday, police found Heaven Bolen across Prospect Street from her residence, lying face down with what appeared to be a single gunshot wound in her head, Woodruff said.
Matthew Bolen borrowed a 9mm pistol from a friend Saturday and told people a day later that he had shot his wife, the police chief said.
Matthew Bolen's 2003 Chevrolet Silverado pickup was found at Hotel Seville, two blocks from Heaven Bolen's residence.
Woodruff said Matthew Bolen parked the truck at the hotel, walked to his wife's house, shot her and left in her Equinox.
Woodruff said both vehicles have been searched, but he wouldn't comment about the evidence that was found.
The police chief said Matthew and Heaven Bolen had two children, an 8-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy.
"From the information we're getting, Mr. Bolen had visitation with them and had taken them to his sister's house and dropped them off prior to the shooting," Woodruff said.
The couple were separated and Matthew Bolen had been living with his father outside the city limits of Harrison, Woodruff said.
Matthew Bolen was employed at Wabash Wood Products in Harrison, which manufactures laminated oak floors for semitrailers.
Heaven Bolen ran a day-care business. According to her Facebook page, Heaven Bolen was originally from Clyde, Ohio.
Metro on 01/25/2017