Body found along creek ID’d as Harrison woman

A body found Saturday along Crooked Creek in Boone County has been identified as Amy Villines of Harrison, who has been missing since she and her husband, John Villines, disappeared during a flash flood Nov. 30.

Boone County Sheriff Mike Moore made the announcement Tuesday afternoon at a news conference. He said the body had been sent to the state Crime Laboratory in Little Rock.

“The Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the identity through dental records which were provided by the family,” Moore said in a news release. “This case is still being investigated as an accidental flood disaster. Completion of the investigation is pending the full autopsy reports from the Medical Examiner.”

Moore said Amy Villines’ body was found in a debris pile along Crooked Creek near Lost Spur Ranch.

John and Amy Villines disappeared after a flash flood swept their SUV off Highland Avenue. The vehicle was found lodged against a bridge over a drainage ditch near Ridge Avenue, about a halfmile from Lake Harrison. One window was broken out.

Authorities believe the couple escaped from the vehicle but rushing water carried them downstream, through a tunnel under downtown Harrison and into Lake Harrison.

For much of December, the city drained the lake, but the bodies weren’t found. That meant they could have been washed over the weir, or low dam, and farther down Crooked Creek.

On Feb. 4, John Villines’ body was found 20.7 miles downstream from Lake Harrison, Moore said. Amy Villines’ body was found about 17 miles downstream from the lake.