The police in Arkansas were searching for a killer on Monday after a married couple were slain while on a hike in a remote part of Devil’s Den State Park over the weekend.
The authorities identified the victims, Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, who had recently moved to Prairie Grove, Ark. The couple were hiking on Saturday with their two daughters at the park in northwest Arkansas when they were “attacked,” according to the Arkansas State Police. The police did not give further details on how the couple died.
The Brinks’ daughters, who are 7 and 9, were not injured and were “safe with family members,” the police said in a statement on Sunday.
Around 2:40 p.m. Central on Saturday, the state police received reports of “a double homicide at the park,” the statement said. Officers found the couple’s bodies on a walking trail.
On Sunday, the police issued a statement asking local residents and park visitors for help in their search for the killer, requesting any cellphone videos, photos, security footage or other materials from the day of the killings.
The police described the killer as a white man of medium build, wearing dark pants, a dark baseball cap and sunglasses, as well as a black backpack and fingerless gloves. The man was seen driving toward a park exit in a black vehicle, which might be a Mazda with a license plate covered by electrical or duct tape, the police added.
Mr. and Mrs. Brink were killed in a part of the park “where the terrain is rugged, vegetation is thick and there is no cellphone service,” the police said.
Before moving to Arkansas, the couple used to live in Miles City, Mont., according to Facebook accounts that appear to belong to them. They were married in 2014. In 2022, Mrs. Brink graduated from Miles Community College with an associate degree in nursing, according to the college’s website.
After the killing, Shea Lewis, secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, said in a statement that there would be more park rangers surveilling the park.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas said she was in close contact with the authorities while they were trying to catch the killer.
“We are praying for the family and friends of the victims, and know that law enforcement will not rest until the perpetrator is brought to justice,” she wrote in a statement on social media.
Claire Moses is a Times reporter in London, focused on coverage of breaking and trending news.
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