Deputies in western Arkansas found a body Friday near the vehicle of a man who had been missing nearly a week, authorities said.
Sebastian County sheriff's office deputies discovered the body at about 4 p.m. in a wooded area off of Mackenay Creek Road near Excelsior, not far from a car reportedly belonging to Keith D. Hamby, 55, according to sheriff’s office spokesman Capt. Philip Pevehouse.
Sebastian County sheriff’s office deputies began looking for Hamby, who is from the Hackett area, Wednesday after a family member said they had neither seen nor heard from him in five days, Pevehouse said. Hamby’s vehicle was found off Arkansas 253 near Greenwood, but the car had been abandoned.
The Arkansas State Crime Lab will perform an autopsy and aid in the identification of the body, Pevehouse said. No cause or manner of death was immediately released, and Pevehouse said the investigation is ongoing.
Much of Sebastian County — including the Arkansas 253 area — was heavily flooded after water flow on the Arkansas River reached historic levels, though whether the flooding played any part in Hamby’s disappearance was not released.