Investigators see link in two events

Sheriff: Body may be missing woman

HOT SPRINGS — Investigators with the Garland County sheriff’s office have identified a “person of interest” in the disappearance of an 80-year-old woman believed to be the victim of foul play, Sheriff Mike McCormick said Tuesday. The sheriff’s office received information Aug. 22 that Betty Slaughter, 80, was missing, and officers found evidence at her home in the 100 block of Legend Circle that led them to suspect a crime had been committed. The burned body of an unidentified person was discovered Saturday evening in Lowe Cemetery in Royal, and McCormick said foul play is suspected in that case as well. He confirmed reports that the remains had been burned. McCormick said authorities aren’t ruling out the possibility that the body found in the cemetery is Slaughter. Deputies went to the cemetery around 7:30 p.m. Saturday after receiving a call about a dead person being found there, Undersheriff Jason Lawrence said. The body was sent to the state Crime Laboratory for identification, and McCormick said Tuesday that authorities were waiting for DNA results. He said Slaughter’s disappearance is being investigated as a criminal case rather than “just a missing person,” and that officers are asking for the public’s help in solving the case. McCormick asked anyone with any information on the disappearance of Slaughter to call the sheriff’s office at (501) 622-3690. Friends of Slaughter who spoke to The Sentinel-Record in Hot Springs described her as a loyal friend who loved her dogs.