A Baxter County inmate died on Saturday after being taken to a local hospital, authorities said.
The county's sheriff's office and the Arkansas State Police are investigating the death of 51-year-old Larry Babin Jr. of Cotter, a news release from the sheriff's office said Monday afternoon.
Around 6:30 a.m. Saturday, jailers performing routine hourly cell checks noticed that Babin "had not moved or changed positions in some time and went into the cell to check on him," the release said. He was found alive and breathing but unresponsive.
He was taken to Baxter Health emergency room where he died later that morning, authorities said.
The sheriff's office asked the state police to assist the investigation. Babin's body was sent to the Arkansas State Medical Examiner's office in Little Rock to determine the cause and manner of death, authorities said.
Babin had been booked into the jail on December 30 after being arrested by state police on traffic charges, including a DWI, and on a misdemeanor contempt warrant from the Baxter County District Court, the release said.