A suspect has been arrested in the killings of a couple who were attacked on an Arkansas hiking trail Saturday, state police said Wednesday.
James Andrew McGann, 28, of Springdale, was arrested at 4:57 p.m. Wednesday at a business in Springdale and is charged with two counts of capital murder, Arkansas State Police said in a statement.
He is accused of killing Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, who were attacked Saturday afternoon in front of their daughters while they were hiking at Devil’s Den State Park, police have said.
He was arrested at a barber shop after a dayslong manhunt, police said.
Col. Mike Hagar, the state police director, thanked state police for working long hours in the search for a suspect, as well as federal agencies for their assistance.
“Because of their hard work and investigative skill, we were able to take a monster off the streets and bring relief to those two precious girls and the rest of our citizens,” Hagar said.
Authorities did not mention a suspected motive Wednesday or how the killings occurred.
“We’re still exploring and determining exactly what that motive was,” Arkansas State Police Maj. Stacie Rhoads told reporters Wednesday night.
McGann had recently moved to Arkansas from Oklahoma and had gotten a job to work at a local school, she said.
The victims’ daughters are 7 and 9 years old. They were not injured and are safe with family members, officials said.
Katrina Hutchins, Clinton Brink’s sister, said they moved to the state about three weeks ago.
State police were notified about the killings at Devil’s Den shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday. Officials released a sketch of a suspect and asked the public for help. They said witnesses saw a black, four-door sedan with tape partly covering its license plate.
“Clinton and Cristen died heroes, protecting their little girls and they deserve justice. They will forever live on in all of our hearts,” the family said in an earlier statement.
Rhoads said police were declining to release much information about what led to McGann’s arrest Wednesday.
“We still have a lot of work to do in terms of securing a conviction, because that’s our next big focus right now,” she said.
It was not immediately clear whether McGann had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. A phone number for any relatives could not be found in online public records Wednesday night.
Devil’s Den State Park is around 26 miles south of Springdale, a city of around 84,000 in the northwestern part of the state.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said northwest Arkansas has been “a community that has been absolutely heartbroken.”
“Our entire state is grieving for the tragic loss and senseless and horrific crime that’s taken place,” she said. She asked Arkansans to pray for the victims’ family.