Bentonville man calls 911, claims wife drove off bridge

 Christopher Wann
Christopher Wann

BENTONVILLE -- A Bentonville man was arrested Thursday in connection with claiming his wife drove off the Arkansas 12 bridge.

Christopher Wann, 48, was arrested in connection with communicating a false alarm. He is free on a $2,500 bond.

Wann called Benton County Central Communications and said his wife had driven off the bridge and he was on his way there, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The call was disconnected and a dispatcher couldn't get Wann to answer the phone, according to the affidavit.

Benton County Sheriff's Office deputies, firefighters with the Rogers and Beaver Shores fire departments and Arkansas State Police went to the bridge. First-responders walked the shoreline and deputies searched other areas for the vehicle, according to the affidavit.

Deputies pinged Wann's cellphone showing he was near Fifth and Poplar streets in Rogers, but deputies couldn't find Wann's Ford F-150 in the area, according to the affidavit.

He was found at 1807 S.E. Clark St. in Bentonville.

Wann told deputies a tracking application showed his wife's vehicle was in the water and he panicked and called 911, according to the affidavit. Wann said he couldn't answer his phone because it dropped between the seats in the truck and he couldn't reach it.

Wann said he stopped, retrieved his phone, and the app showed his wife's vehicle moving away from the lake.

His arraignment is scheduled for March 12 in Circuit Judge Brad Karren's court.

NW News on 02/03/2018

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