Body of missing 9-year-old Arkansas boy found in woods; 3 other family members found dead in week

Man in jail likely to be charged with murder, sheriff says

Acelynn Wester, 2, (left) and her brother Reilly Scarbrough, 9, went missing earlier this month from Mena, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Acelynn Wester, 2, (left) and her brother Reilly Scarbrough, 9, went missing earlier this month from Mena, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Authorities in Arkansas have found a body they believe belongs to a 9-year-old boy who had been missing since earlier this week.

Officials found the body they believe to be Reilly Scarbrough shortly before noon Saturday in a “heavily wooded area” west of Hatfield, according to a news release from the Polk County sheriff’s office. Three other members of Reilly's family, including his mother and 2-year-old sister, have also been found dead this week.

Authorities found Reilly's body with help from Brian Bliss Travis, who is currently incarcerated in the Polk County jail on unrelated charges, the news release said.

Polk County Sheriff Scott Sawyer said in the release that he anticipates that Bliss will face capital murder charges in this case.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that Reilly’s mother, Bethany Jo Wester, 43, of Mena was found Tuesday afternoon in a creek southeast of Cove. His sister, 2-year-old Acelynn Wester, was found Friday in a heavily wooded area southeast of Cove and his great-uncle, Steven J. Payne, 66, was discovered at his home in Hatfield Thursday, about 3 miles north of Cove.

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