Missing Wichitans found dead in shallow grave in Arkansas Ozark forest, police say

The bodies of two people were found in an Arkansas forest, and Kansas police say both victims were from Wichita.

Law enforcement in both states are investigating the disappearance of two people from the Barton County, Kansas, fairgrounds near Great Bend, Barton County Attorney Amy Mellor said in a press release. The Barton County Fair was last Wednesday to Sunday.

A man and woman were slain then buried in a shallow grave in Crawford County, Ark., Sheriff Ron Brown told the Times Record. Police were told that Sonny and Pauline Carpenter had been killed in another state and buried where investigators found them.

Wichita police filed an attempt to locate on both victims Tuesday night, Officer Charley Davidson told The Eagle.

Investigators think the woman was murdered inside a camper and the man outside it on Saturday before the bodies were buried on Monday, KFSM reported. Four people had told Van Buren police of a possible homicide, leading to the investigation that found the bodies. The sheriff said a mattress was found lying on top of the grave.

Three people have been arrested on suspicion of abuse of a corpse, theft and tampering with physical evidence, KHBS reported. The grave was near a creek in the Ozark National Forest.

The suspects — Micheal Fowler, Rusty Frazier and Kimberly Younger — are carnival workers, Van Buren police told KHBS.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

This story was originally published July 18, 2018 at 4:37 PM.