Arkansas teacher's body found in Florida fire; police believe woman, 2 others killed before blaze

Messages at high school pay tribute to Bella Vista resident

Heritage High School student decorate a wall and walkway between the school and arena Tuesday in Rogers after reports of teacher Linda Woods Allen was killed in Florida.
Heritage High School student decorate a wall and walkway between the school and arena Tuesday in Rogers after reports of teacher Linda Woods Allen was killed in Florida.

ROGERS -- Dozens of messages and pictures drawn in chalk on the sidewalk outside Heritage High School on Tuesday paid tribute to a teacher believed to have been among three people found dead in a Florida house fire.

Deputies with the Brevard County, Fla., sheriff's office said they believe Linda Woods Allen, 38, of Bella Vista was among the victims found Sunday at the residence in Malabar, Fla.

"Mrs. Allen was self-less in her love for her students," one message near the school's front door stated. "Always going above and beyond, with a shoulder to lean on and a classroom that felt like home."

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Police said Allen was in Malabar visiting her sister, Chrissy Hughes, 39. The bodies of the women and Hughes' 9-year-old son, Sebastian Meachum, were discovered Sunday night after firefighters responded to a fire call at Hughes' home.

An examination of the women's bodies revealed trauma indicating they had been killed before the fire started.

Hughes' husband, Tony Hughes, 39, is missing and is a suspect in the deaths, according to sheriff's office spokesman Tod Goodyear. Authorities found a boat belonging to the couple Sunday afternoon about 7 miles offshore. No one was on board.

The U.S. Coast Guard called off their search efforts Tuesday. The sheriff's office was doing some searches along the beach and processing evidence, Goodyear said.

Identification of the victims hasn't been confirmed and dental records or DNA will be needed to make that determination, Goodyear said. Fire Department officials are investigating how the fire started.

Malabar is on Florida's east coast, about 70 miles southeast of Orlando.

The Rogers School District acknowledged media reports of Allen's death with a news release Tuesday.

"The Rogers Public Schools family is heartbroken at media reports of the death of one of its teachers, Linda Woods Allen," the release stated.

Allen had worked in the Rogers School District since 2005, first as a special education teacher and most recently as a social studies teacher at Rogers Heritage High School. She taught world history and in the past had been an adviser for the Quiz Bowl team, according to the release.

"Linda has been a strong teacher at our school since it opened in 2008," Karen Steen, Heritage High School principal, said in the release. "She was loved by students and staff and will be greatly missed by her Heritage family."

A walkway in front of the school was decorated Tuesday with numerous messages remembering Allen, most of them apparently from former students. There were drawings of flowers, a sun and Allen's car. A bouquet of flowers laid on the ground.

Luis Reyes, 18, graduated from Heritage last month. Allen was his Advanced Placement world history teacher during his sophomore year.

"She was super outgoing as a person and as a teacher," Reyes said. "She was a different type of teacher than anyone else at Heritage, honestly."

Allen used to kick off her Friday classes with some type of humorous video to lighten the mood. Often it was a skit produced by popular YouTube director and comedian Julian Smith, Reyes said.

Brig Caldwell, student relations and community liaison at Heritage, has known Allen since they started at the school together in 2008.

"Linda was always a very sweet teacher, very approachable," Caldwell said. "She was a very open, caring, concerned person."

State Desk on 06/14/2017

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NWA Democrat-Gazette

Students at Heritage High School decorate a wall and walkway between the school and arena Tuesday in Rogers after reports of teacher Linda Woods Allen was killed in Florida.

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Linda Allen

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