The four-day law enforcement search for Christopher Lee Hood, 39, ended Monday in Missouri when deputies found him in his vehicle with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Hood was treated at the scene and flown by helicopter to an area hospital, said Keshia Guyll, spokeswoman for the Benton County Sheriff's Office.
Officers had pursued Hood since Friday, when deputies attempted to serve him a warrant in connection with a parole violation and failure to pay child support. He fled from The Links at Rainbow Curve apartment complex on Southwest Regional Airport Boulevard about 8 p.m. Friday, leading deputies on a chase across the golf course in a PT Cruiser, Guyll said.
After wrecking the car, Hood ran and fired a shot at deputies, Guyll said.
There were numerous tips and sightings regarding Hood over the weekend. Police checked locations in Fayetteville, Centerton and Bella Vista on Saturday and again in Bella Vista on Sunday, Guyll said.
Hood was spotted in a vehicle in McDonald County midmorning Monday, and McDonald County deputies attempted to pull him over, Guyll said. Hood led McDonald County deputies on a short chase in rural Missouri between Jane and Pineville.
"Shots were fired from Mr. Hood's vehicle toward the deputies," Guyll said.
Benton County deputies were dispatched from just across the state line.
A McDonald County deputy "tapped" Hood's vehicle with his own to force Hood's vehicle off the road, Guyll said. After Hood stopped and officers surrounded the vehicle, deputies saw he had a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, she said.
No one from the Benton County Sheriff's Office fired a weapon during the pursuit, Guyll said.
Among the sightings of Hood over the weekend was when deputies saw him about dusk Saturday night near Cooper Elementary School in Bella Vista. Hood ran, prompting a late-night search that shut down Mercy Way and slowed northbound traffic along Bella Vista Way.
A National Guard helicopter arrived early Sunday and helped search for Hood until 6:30 a.m. Sunday, Guyll said.
Hood has family around the Bella Vista search area and in Missouri, Guyll said.
Deputies received a tip Sunday afternoon from a woman confident she saw Hood on the Razorback Greenway trail near Lake Bella Vista. Bentonville and Benton County officers patrolled the lake area on all-terrain vehicles until about 10 p.m., Guyll said.
U.S. marshals also were part of the continued search, Guyll said.
"We had constant teams switching out from Friday when this happened until now," she said Monday.
Hood likely will face charges of aggravated assault, fleeing and possession of a firearm by a felon, Guyll said.
Hood also was a suspect in a couple of burglaries in Benton County in the last month, Guyll said.
NW News on 07/14/2015