A fire destroyed the Compton post office early Sunday morning.
Newton County Sheriff Keith Slape said an Arkansas State Police "scent dog" was on the scene Thursday afternoon to sniff around the building for a "point of origin" to help investigators determine whether the fire was arson.
Samples will be sent to the state Crime Laboratory in Little Rock for analysis, said Glenn Wheeler, an investigator for the sheriff's office.
Slape said the fire began in the lobby, which was always open.
He said the modular building was constructed in the 1990s.
"It is burnt to the ground," the sheriff said.
Compton Fire Chief Garland Matlock said he didn't believe the fire was arson.
"I found things that led to other conclusions," he said.
Matlock said there had been no tampering with the door that separated the lobby from the office part of the building.
"The office seemed to be intact at the time of the fire," he said.
Matlock said the post office had between 50 and 75 customers. He based that estimate on the number of post office boxes that weren't marked vacant.
Matlock said the office part of the post office was open about four hours a day before the fire. He said many people lost mail in the fire.
"It was my paycheck in there that was creating all the friction," he said.
Matlock said they have about one structure fire per year in the unincorporated community of Compton, which is just north of the Buffalo National River.
Compton is 8 miles from Ponca in a mountainous area where many people still rely on what has become known as "snail mail."
"The cell service is kind of scattered," said Terry Clark, a Newton County justice of the peace who lives in Ponca. "Internet is also hard to get and keep. You can get it, but it comes and goes."
Last year, the Parthenon post office was destroyed by a tornado and hasn't been rebuilt, Wheeler said. Parthenon is 10 miles south of Compton as the crow flies. Wheeler said some people who live in Parthenon now have to go to Jasper to pick up their mail.
"It's a big deal here, especially for older folks," Wheeler said. "They still depend on the mail heavily."
Customers who had a Compton post office box can pick up their mail at the Harrison post office, 18 miles to the northeast, according to a Facebook post by Newton County Emergency Management. Postal customers must bring an identification card to get their mail.
Metro on 06/01/2018