Speaker 1: Hey there, folks. That's July twenty eighth, and a manhunt
Speaker 1: is underway for a double murderer who killed a couple
Speaker 1: while they were on a hike with their two young children.
Speaker 1: Welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ Rohlds. This
Speaker 1: is a shocking story about a double murder. The detail
Speaker 1: about the kids now makes this just horrific in an
Speaker 1: all new way. And to think that person right now
Speaker 1: is on the run.
Speaker 2: He is on the run. There is a massive manhunt
Speaker 2: underway in northwest Arkansas. This happened at a state park,
Speaker 2: Devil's Den State Park in northwest Arkansas. It's about what
Speaker 2: thirty minutes from Fayetteville, if.
Speaker 1: Anybody knows northwest Arkansas, the Ozarks, all that mountainous region
Speaker 1: up there. But yeah, there's a lot of this terrain,
Speaker 1: but it's beautiful and people go hiking and.
Speaker 2: Yeah, gorgeous hiking. I mean, for anyone who's listening, who
Speaker 2: has I mean, I love hiking, grew up hiking, took
Speaker 2: my kids hiking. It's a safe place. You feel peace,
Speaker 2: you feel calm, you're surrounded by nature. So this is
Speaker 2: just a horror movie, truly isolated, a horror.
Speaker 1: Movie, right isn't that horror of it? You kind of
Speaker 1: get away from people.
Speaker 2: Correct, and you know, this is an area and it's
Speaker 2: we'll talk about it. But part of the details, part
Speaker 2: of the problem with getting the word out about what
Speaker 2: had happened, was there is no cell phone service in
Speaker 2: these rugged areas and so but that is part of
Speaker 2: the draw and the beauty. You're not hooked on your device,
Speaker 2: you're not getting those emails or those annoying texture with
Speaker 2: your family, or you're with your dog or with your
Speaker 2: you know, by yourself, just experiencing nature and being removed
Speaker 2: from all the chaos. And this was a Saturday afternoon,
Speaker 2: a beautiful day to hike with your family. I would
Speaker 2: feel so safe.
Speaker 1: And I think it's again your family. This was two
Speaker 1: about two thirty in the afternoon. All that's going on,
Speaker 1: and the kids are seven and nine, Like imagine the horror.
Speaker 1: Now seven and nine year olds. We're with them, and
Speaker 1: still no explanation. Again, we don't have a lot of
Speaker 1: details from the police, no explanation, And I can't make
Speaker 1: sense of that. Maybe we never will. We're always trying
Speaker 1: to make sense. But why why attack these folks and
Speaker 1: the kids are there? And then the kids end up.
Speaker 2: Unharmed, yes, and we haven't gotten a lot of details,
Speaker 2: but there was a report from one of the local
Speaker 2: affiliates there who said the kids ended up somehow, some
Speaker 2: way at the visitor center, which is pretty remarkable. I
Speaker 2: don't know if someone guided them there, if they found
Speaker 2: their way back there. But when the nine to one
Speaker 2: to one call was made from the visitor center two police,
Speaker 2: they said, I've got two kids here and they say
Speaker 2: their parents have been attacked and they're missing, and so
Speaker 2: we do and we did get that little bit of detail,
Speaker 2: but the kids were completely unharmed, scared as you can
Speaker 2: only imagine.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you can only imagine. Again, I don't know how far.
Speaker 1: I'm curious. It would be curious to know at some
Speaker 1: point how much ground they had to cover, like how
Speaker 1: far they had to go and how far they had
Speaker 1: to run, And if they made it back to the
Speaker 1: visitor center, then all likelihood they didn't see anybody because
Speaker 1: they would have stopped it, of course they would have seen.
Speaker 1: So how far did they have to go to make
Speaker 1: their way back?
Speaker 2: I mean, it's just they have talked about this particular
Speaker 2: area where they were as rugged and steep and thick
Speaker 2: so and again no cell phone service. But the victims,
Speaker 2: we should say who they were, because I mean, this
Speaker 2: is just gutting and if you go online you'll see
Speaker 2: their pictures everywhere. But forty three year old Clinton David
Speaker 2: Brink and forty one year old Kristen Amanda Brink, and
Speaker 2: their family is speaking out. They're asking for privacy, but
Speaker 2: they're also calling those two parents' heroes. They said they
Speaker 2: died protecting their children. We don't know the details. We
Speaker 2: don't know if their family was given any of those details,
Speaker 2: but certainly that statement would suggest, and they knew them well,
Speaker 2: that they of course would have done anything for their children.
Speaker 2: The actual specific statement is this, the family is asking
Speaker 2: for privacy during this very difficult time as they grieve
Speaker 2: and learn how to navigate this new reality. I mean,
Speaker 2: how shocking, how scary They continue that they ask if
Speaker 2: anyone has information at all that will help in the investigation,
Speaker 2: to please contact the proper authorities immediately. Clinton and Kristen
Speaker 2: died heroes protecting their little girls, and they deserve justice.
Speaker 2: They will live, they will forever live in all of
Speaker 2: our hearts.
Speaker 1: You can only imagine that's exactly had to be when
Speaker 1: they realized they were being assaulted, attacked, or whatever it was,
Speaker 1: their first thought was to make sure the kids are okay.
Speaker 2: Probably tell your kids to run. Probably run, run, That's
Speaker 2: what you would do.
Speaker 1: It's just instinct. In that case. Who knows that we
Speaker 1: We'll probably never get the details. I don't know whose
Speaker 1: responsibility it is to talk to these kids, to have
Speaker 1: to talk them through this incident so you can get
Speaker 1: information and then maybe go catch this person who is
Speaker 1: on the run. It's just horrific.
Speaker 2: I have chills from head to toe thinking about. I mean,
Speaker 2: how much I love of being in the woods, and
Speaker 2: I've run alone in the woods. We love the rail
Speaker 2: trail in Arkansas. I don't know how if it's probably
Speaker 2: pretty close to this area. We like a flat trail.
Speaker 2: We're not into the rugged terrain so to seek. But
Speaker 2: you and I both love that peacefulness of running, walking,
Speaker 2: hiking in the woods and feeling like you're one with nature.
Speaker 2: This is just horrific to think someone was lying in wait.
Speaker 2: But we do have a description of the suspect for
Speaker 2: anyone who's listening, and police have asked, and you just
Speaker 2: heard the family make that plea as well, that if
Speaker 2: you took pictures in the area. If you had videos,
Speaker 2: a lot of folks pulling up their cell phone, go
Speaker 2: back and look, see if you see anything suspicious, but
Speaker 2: anyone matching this description. A white man with medium build,
Speaker 2: dark pants, dark ball cap and sunglasses, a white long
Speaker 2: sleeve shirt with sleeves rolled up, a black backpack, and
Speaker 2: they specifically pointed out that the man had fingerless gloves.
Speaker 2: We can only assume this description came from the little girls.
Speaker 2: They were the two who we know saw this assailant,
Speaker 2: and apparently they believe he was driving a black four
Speaker 2: door sedan, perhaps a Mazda. And they said that they
Speaker 2: believe the license plate had duct tape or electrical tape
Speaker 2: over it, disguising the license plate. But it suggests planning, right,
Speaker 2: So a lot of folks are trying to figure out
Speaker 2: was this a random act of violence? Was this a
Speaker 2: targeted killing? But you know, it's tough to know obviously
Speaker 2: right now, but we're starting to get some details about
Speaker 2: who this couple was, and they had just moved to
Speaker 2: the area from Montana. They believe that she was a nurse.
Speaker 2: She had graduated with an associate degree in nursing. According
Speaker 2: to the college's website. So, you know, everyone seemed like
Speaker 2: this was a sweet family of four who had just
Speaker 2: moved and she was a nurse. And that's that's all
Speaker 2: the details we really have at this point.
Speaker 3: Well, obviously it seems like so much detail about the suspect,
Speaker 3: down to the sleeves being rolled up, that's what they
Speaker 3: believe he looked like at the time.
Speaker 1: Who knows what he looks like now? Who knows where
Speaker 1: he is?
Speaker 3: Right now?
Speaker 1: The devil's den is closed, All trails are closed right now.
Speaker 1: It's scary to think there's always killers among us. You
Speaker 1: could argue, right, it's always somebody you don't know.
Speaker 3: But to know.
Speaker 1: That the person who did this is out there somewhere,
Speaker 1: it's terrifying for people in that region. And he's in
Speaker 1: the woods somewhere possibly, And who is this guy? What
Speaker 1: was the purpose was this target? Is this random? And
Speaker 1: he's going to be doing more random stuff like this?
Speaker 1: Is terrifying for a community.
Speaker 2: It absolutely feels like you're watching a real live horror movie.
Speaker 2: And so we mentioned the first call, the nine one
Speaker 2: one call with the little girls and the visitor center
Speaker 2: was around two thirty, So a lot of folks have
Speaker 2: been pointing to the timeline how much time lapsed between
Speaker 2: that first call and police alerting the public. But reporters
Speaker 2: in the area started to get tips that there was
Speaker 2: a big police presence in that State Park area about
Speaker 2: two hours later, around four thirty, But it wasn't until
Speaker 2: eight forty that night that the Arkansas State Police were
Speaker 2: able for they actually released the first warning that a
Speaker 2: massive man hunt was under way, that a double murderer
Speaker 2: was on the loose. That was about six hours after
Speaker 2: that first call. And some folks have been upset about
Speaker 2: that as well.
Speaker 1: They should. We are talking about to do police actually
Speaker 1: have a heads up and knew that there was a
Speaker 1: threat to the community running around and you'd let that
Speaker 1: thing go for six hours?
Speaker 2: Six hours e if.
Speaker 1: We're talking let's go down to five, let's go four,
Speaker 1: go three, go two, one is too much. As soon
Speaker 1: as you know this threat is out there, you've got
Speaker 1: to let the community know. But however, folks, would you
Speaker 1: believe the police there in Arkansas say they have a
Speaker 1: very good, valid reason as to why it took so
Speaker 1: long to get the word out.
Speaker 2: And welcome back everyone to this episode of Amy and
Speaker 2: TJ where we are talking about this frightening manhunt that
Speaker 2: is going on right now in northwest Arkansas after a
Speaker 2: man killed a couple, a married couple forty one and
Speaker 2: forty three years old, and attacked them right in front
Speaker 2: of their two daughters, who were ages seven and nine.
Speaker 2: The family was on a hike on a beautiful Saturday
Speaker 2: in the Ozark Mountains on a popular hiking trail, and
Speaker 2: the little girls ended up at the visitor center. Nine
Speaker 2: one one was called immediately, but it took six hours
Speaker 2: before an alert a bulletin went out to the rest
Speaker 2: of the area to the residents who lived nearby that
Speaker 2: there was a double murderer on the loose, and folks
Speaker 2: are not too happy about that massive delay, but the
Speaker 2: police say there was a reason.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's just rug it up here, I mean, they
Speaker 1: really say, as far as it took them a while
Speaker 1: to find the spot in this rugged terrain, like we
Speaker 1: mentioned earlier, the communications and not so great cell phone
Speaker 1: signals and all that stuff, But to figure out where
Speaker 1: they needed to be and then interview enough people around
Speaker 1: to even piece together what exactly had happened that took
Speaker 1: them a while, and then to relay that information back out.
Speaker 1: That's six hours that's tough.
Speaker 2: It's a long time. I actually have the exact quote
Speaker 2: from Arkansas State Police. They said the location is in remote,
Speaker 2: rural Arkansas. It took time for our special agents to
Speaker 2: arrive on the scene, locate witnesses, conduct interviews, and collaborate
Speaker 2: information so we could release the appropriate information.
Speaker 1: Six hours. I mean you, I don't know. I'm it's
Speaker 1: hard to criticize. I don't know exactly what they were
Speaker 1: going through. It's just for no, I don't care. Six
Speaker 1: hours is a long time. If you're actually telling me
Speaker 1: we didn't know we had a murderer on the loose
Speaker 1: until right before we put that statement out, that means
Speaker 1: you all are terrible investigators if it took you six
Speaker 1: hours to piece it together.
Speaker 2: And they're saying they wanted to have all the information
Speaker 2: correct before disseminating it. But the reality is that obviously
Speaker 2: is a crucial time to the point where they've actually
Speaker 2: asked I mean, I don't know this area specifically, but
Speaker 2: there must be enough residents or enough homes near and
Speaker 2: around the state park that they have absolutely asked anyone
Speaker 2: who has a home near this state park to look
Speaker 2: at their surveillance footage their door cam videos, whatever people
Speaker 2: might have around their homes for surveillance, to see if
Speaker 2: they could go back in this time and see if
Speaker 2: they see anything suspicious, anyone matching the suspects description. But
Speaker 2: the point being is if there were enough people that
Speaker 2: they're asking for that help, it's just concerning that those
Speaker 2: people weren't given enough opportunity to be warned that a
Speaker 2: farmed and dangerous man is on the loose.
Speaker 1: A weather man gives you a heads up about a tornado. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you alert the public to a threat when you know
Speaker 1: there is one. Now, if it took them six hours
Speaker 1: to figure it out, again that I will give them
Speaker 1: that benefit of the doubt. My apologies for calling you
Speaker 1: bad investigators, but if they're telling me, but what's a
Speaker 1: reasonable lapse robes between when we knew there was a
Speaker 1: killer on the loose and when we told the public.
Speaker 2: I mean, I think thirty minutes at the most. I mean,
Speaker 2: at the most, I think you get it out whatever
Speaker 2: you have to try and get people to be vigilant,
Speaker 2: to be able to protect themselves, to bring your kids indoors.
Speaker 2: You think you want your kids playing around in the
Speaker 2: yard on a Saturday afternoon, if you know a killer
Speaker 2: is on the loose, You absolutely do not. So you know,
Speaker 2: you would have many or all of the folks who
Speaker 2: live in that area would have operated differently and probably
Speaker 2: changed their behavior, absolutely knowing that that was possible. Also
Speaker 2: the fact that they had a description of the car. Look,
Speaker 2: once it's gotten away, it could be anywhere. And to
Speaker 2: say it's a black four door sedan, possibly a Masda
Speaker 2: with its license plate covered by tape.
Speaker 1: That's tough.
Speaker 2: That's really tough. But maybe if it had been given
Speaker 2: out immediately, perhaps it would have been a little bit easier.
Speaker 1: But you notice, and in that area of pictures that
Speaker 1: even asking people with homes to check their door cams
Speaker 1: and all these things. They at this point, I mean,
Speaker 1: are there only witnesses a seven and nine year old
Speaker 1: who else is around could have seen them or heard something,
Speaker 1: or maybe other people have a description of somebody else
Speaker 1: they saw on.
Speaker 2: The trail, correct, I mean, you'd have to think that
Speaker 2: if he were hiking, or he were around, and he
Speaker 2: was dressed in all black with hat and a sunglass
Speaker 2: like you do. I mean, I am a pretty avid hiker.
Speaker 2: You do see some folks on the trail that sometimes
Speaker 2: feel a little suspicious you remember them. I mean I
Speaker 2: have had my heart pound a little bit, thinking is
Speaker 2: that guy here to hike or is he doing what
Speaker 2: I've always been in a group. I was never alone.
Speaker 2: But you have your You definitely have your senses heightened,
Speaker 2: and you're looking around, especially when you know there aren't
Speaker 2: a lot of other folks. But I would imagine this
Speaker 2: is a They say this is a popular hiking area
Speaker 2: in the Ozark National Forest. They say it's a popular
Speaker 2: tourist destination. They've got caves and rock formations.
Speaker 1: And cabins and yeah, get in there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a big, big like Granted, of course you're
Speaker 2: in the great outdoors, so there's a lot of space
Speaker 2: in between people. But it would not be hard to
Speaker 2: believe that other people saw someone matching that description and
Speaker 2: probably helped maybe fill in the holes that the little girls.
Speaker 2: Can you imagine the trauma of that moment you're seven
Speaker 2: or nine, all of a sudden, we don't know the scenario,
Speaker 2: but somehow, some way, this man in black is attacking
Speaker 2: your parents, and then your parents are probably screaming run,
Speaker 2: run run. The adrenaline the fight or flight To remember
Speaker 2: details would be incredibly difficult in that stressful situation, especially
Speaker 2: when you're that when you're.
Speaker 1: That young, you're not supposed to have to worry about
Speaker 1: any of this, and with your family of four at
Speaker 1: two point thirty in the afternoon walking in a public trail,
Speaker 1: you shouldn't have to worry about this either. This story
Speaker 1: will continue to update you on. We are sure there
Speaker 1: will be updates from police. Whatever they are. We'll hop
Speaker 1: back on and certainly and hopefully rooms when they catch
Speaker 1: whoever this person is.
Speaker 2: Yes, but our hearts go out to the family and
Speaker 2: the friends and the people who loved Clinton and Kristen
Speaker 2: Brink and certainly we hope that there will be justice
Speaker 2: for the two of them. Thank you for listening to us.
Speaker 2: I'm Amy Robach along with TJ. Holmes. Hope you all
Speaker 2: have a wonderful evening.