Investigators think the killings of two women in Garland County months apart may be related, as police cautioned residents against hitchhiking or accepting rides from strangers.
Officers described the two women as living on the margins, one often hitchhiking across the county, the other working as a prostitute. Five people riding four-wheelers through a wooded area of the county in April found the body of Melinda Jenkins, 29. Joggers running along a greenway trail in Hot Springs found the body of Janice Olisa Bills, 41, in June.
Police declined to describe how the two women died, although an initial report from sheriff's deputies lists the weapon used in Jenkins' slaying as a blunt object.
Investigators found both women's bodies near creek beds. Police said both crime scenes shared similarities, but they declined to describe them.
"There's just certain things with both cases that there's not much doubt in our mind, without going into it, that the same individual committed both of these killings," Garland County Sheriff Larry Sanders said. "That's the reason we're not wanting anybody to panic, but we want people to use good judgment."
Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said troopers were assigned to help investigate Jenkins' slaying.
Sanders said Jenkins often traveled through the county by hitching rides from passing cars because she didn't own one herself. The sheriff said Jenkins did not know Bills, nor did they share any similarities or physical attributes.
Hot Springs police Det. Sgt. Tim Smith said Bills worked as a prostitute in the resort city. Bills didn't own a car herself and would "get into the car with anyone who stopped," Smith said.
Smith said investigators put out bulletins to other police agencies in Arkansas to see whether they had similar killings, but received no response. Hot Springs has seen seven killings this year, with Bills' death the only one remaining open and likely caused by a stranger.
Both law enforcement agencies will offer up to a $2,000 award for information leading to an arrest in the case.
"Hot Springs is such a unique place ... because we have so many visitors, we have people who come here sporadically that may have vacation homes here," Smith said. "At this point, we don't really know. It could be somebody that's from here, but travels elsewhere for work or that nature, but we don't really know."
Hot Springs is a resort town situated in a national park.