Warrant issued for suspect in Realtor kidnapping

Man is on parole through 2017, records show

Arron Lewis, 33.
Arron Lewis, 33.

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a suspect in the kidnapping of a Realtor who disappeared after she left to show a home in Scott.

The Pulaski County sheriff's office says it is looking for Aaron M. Lewis, 33, who was last known to live on Randall Drive in Jacksonville. He faces a charge of kidnapping in the disappearance of Beverly Carter, who has been missing since Thursday night.

Sheriff's office Lt. Carl Minden said investigators had pegged Lewis as a "person of interest" when he was involved in a vehicle crash in Pulaski County and taken to Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock for treatment Sunday morning. At some point while authorities believed he was getting a CT scan, he left the facility and hasn't been located, Minden said. Lewis will have facial injuries from the wreck.

Minden said he could not release how authorities linked Lewis to the crime.

Online records show Lewis is on parole through 2017 in the Little Rock district.

Minden said authorities don't know if Lewis is armed, but it's "logical to assume" he could be.

"We do consider him dangerous based on the nature of the charge and based on the fact we haven't located Mrs. Carter," he added.

Minden said no new leads in Carter's disappearance have surfaced since Lewis was determined to be a suspect.

"We need him," Minden said of Lewis. "The best person that can help us find her right now is Mr. Lewis."

The wreck involving Lewis happened about 10 a.m. in the 8700 block of Jacksonville Cato Road outside Sherwood, according to a sheriff's office report. Witnesses told authorities Lewis' vehicle was traveling fast when it went out of control in a curve and ended up in a ditch.

He was taken to the hospital and cited for careless driving and failure to wear a seat belt. It wasn't until after 4:30 p.m. that "a warrant for kidnapping was able to be obtained for Mr. Lewis," Minden said in an email, and by that time Lewis was gone from the facility.

A photo of Lewis bloodied from the wreck was taken by authorities after the single-vehicle accident.

Police say Lewis has an extensive criminal history including a felony theft of property convictions in Washington and Benton counties.

Carter, 50, an agent for Crye Leike Realtors in North Little Rock, told her husband by phone Thursday that she was going to show someone a home at 14202 Old River Drive. When she didn't return home later that night, Carter's husband went to the house and found her sport utility vehicle parked outside with her purse in it and the door to the home open. But there was no sign of Carter.

Police and dozens of volunteers spent the weekend searching the area around the home for clues in the disappearance.

Lewis is described as a white man who stands 5-foot-11, weighs 156 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone who spots Lewis is asked to call authorities.

See Monday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more on this story.

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An arrest warrant has been issued for Arron Lewis, 33, of Jacksonville in the kidnapping of missing Realtor Beverly Carter. Pulaski County sheriff's office spokesman Lt. Carl Minden said Lewis has facial injuries due to a Sunday vehicle accident.

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Terri Ezell holds up a sign with Beverly Carter's photo so passing motorists can see it while volunteers search along U.S. 165 in Scott. Carter disappeared after showing a home in the area Thursday night.

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Pulaski County Sheriff's Office

Special to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette - 09/26/2014 - Beverly Carter

IN TODAY'S ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE: Hundreds search for missing Realtor

Reward account

Authorities say a bank account has been set up at Centennial Bank to collect reward money to offer for information in helping locate missing Realtor Beverly Carter. A reward is also being offered through Central Arkansas CRIMESTOPPERS.

To donate, use account number 501207866 or online access number rt#082902757.

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