A suspect has been arrested in the disappearance and slaying of Rebekah Gould, 22, who was found dead on an embankment off Arkansas 9 south of Melbourne more than 16 years ago, Arkansas State Police announced Monday.
William A. Miller, 44, was arrested in Lane County, Ore., on Saturday night, Arkansas State Police said in a news release.
A special agent of the Arkansas State Police's Criminal Investigation Division, who was assigned to the case, learned that Miller had returned from an "extended stay" in the Philippines to his residence in Cottage Grove, Ore., state police said.
That agent arrested Miller on Saturday, according to state police spokesman Bill Sadler.
Miller's extradition to Arkansas on a charge of first-degree murder is pending, according to the agency's news release. He remained in the Lane County jail in Eugene, Ore., as of Monday evening, according to an online inmate roster.
Miller was visiting Izard County from Texas in 2004 when Gould disappeared, according to state police.
Her body was discovered on Sept. 27, 2004, in a search that spanned much of Izard County after her family reported her missing, state police said.
In a statement included in the news release, Arkansas State Police Director Col. Bill Bryant praised investigators for their tenacious search for a suspect in Gould's death.
"The special agents assigned to this case never abandoned any hope of finding the necessary evidence and facts to lead them to a suspect and an arrest," Bryant said. "This case is a testament to the Criminal Investigation Division and the devotion the special agents assigned to the division possess in helping police and sheriff's departments across Arkansas with their toughest cases."
It was not immediately clear what led investigators to Miller's location in Oregon after his return to the U.S.
Additionally, Arkansas State Police did not explain what evidence led police to identify Miller as a suspect, nor at what point Miller became a suspect over the intervening 16 years.
In an email, Sadler said information related to Miller's movements between Texas, the Philippines and Oregon "is part of an active investigative file and prohibited from release at the present time."
Sadler said no other Arkansas law enforcement officer traveled to Oregon with the special agent who arrested Miller. He directed a question regarding the presence of law enforcement from other jurisdictions to the prosecuting attorney for Izard County.
In the news release, Arkansas State Police noted that the death of Gould was never classified as a "cold case."
Before her death, Gould was a student at Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville and had recently transferred there from Melbourne's Ozarka College, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported in 2004.
According to accounts tracing her final days, at the time of her disappearance in September 2004, Gould and her sister Danielle had driven to Melbourne from Northwest Arkansas.
Gould was to spend the weekend with her boyfriend and stay at his residence in Guion, a town approximately 17 miles south of Melbourne.
Gould disappeared after she dropped him off at work on Monday, Sept. 20, that year. Her vehicle was found at his house with her purse and keys inside.
The last reported sighting of Gould was when she visited a local convenience store. She was reported missing the next day, and her body was found at the bottom of an embankment six days later, the Democrat-Gazette reported at the time.
The case has attracted interest recently amid a true-crime boom in light of the mysteriousness of the circumstances.
In 2018, the first season of the podcast "Hell and Gone," from writer Catherine Townsend, investigated Gould's death.
Additionally, a five-episode audio series exploring Gould's death was released last summer by "In Public Safety," a website published by American Military University.
Gould's father, Larry Gould, did not return a message left with his Mountain Home dental clinic Monday.
In 2018, Gould's sisters Gabrielle, Tiffany and Danielle posted several statements on a blog titled, "Four Against the World: Sisters Seeking Justice for Rebekah Gould."
In the years since their sister's death, they watched the public absorb misinformation and lies promulgated by family members, they wrote, while journalists and writers pursued "their own agendas." The sisters said they were "saddened to see the police and detectives criticized despite their earnest efforts" in the case.
In an initial post on the blog, the sisters wrote, "We don't feel like our story has been told, but more importantly, we don't feel Rebekah's real story has been told. Our silent screams are deafening – simply begging for someone to hear our cries. We hope someone will give the missing piece of the puzzle to police."