Garland County death investigated

HOT SPRINGS — The Garland County sheriff’s office is investigating the fatal shooting of a 70-year-old man whose body was discovered Tuesday morning at his home at 152 Penn St.

At around 8:09 a.m., the Garland County Communication Center received a call in reference to a shooting at the residence, located off the 800 block of Thornton Ferry Road, sheriff’s Deputy Courtney Kizer, the department’s public information officer, said in a news release.

Patrol deputies, sheriff’s investigators and LifeNet medical personnel responded to the scene, with deputies arriving at 8:15 a.m. to find James Wilkie with an apparent gunshot wound.

LifeNet personnel and the Garland County coroner pronounced Wilkie dead.

“No suspects are in custody at this time and it is still considered an active investigation,” Kizer said.