A young woman is abducted while running an errand and months later her body is found In the summer of 1989, just weeks after her high school graduation, 18-year-old Dana Stidham was embarking on a new chapter of her life. She had moved into an apartment in Centerton, Arkansas, with her brother and was looking forward to the future. On the afternoon of July 25, 1989, Dana, a White female, made a familiar trip back to her parents' home in Hiwasse to do laundry and visit with her father, who was feeling unwell.
A kind daughter, she agreed to run a quick errand for him to a local grocery store, Phillips Foods in Bella Vista, a place she knew well from having worked there. She purchased a few items for her father and was last seen alive in the store's parking lot.
When Dana failed to return home, her family grew increasingly worried and reported her missing that evening. The following morning, her 1984 gray Dodge Omni was discovered abandoned on the shoulder of U.S. Highway 71. The keys were still in the ignition, and the driver's-side window was partially down. Disturbingly, the driver's seat had been adjusted to accommodate someone much taller than Dana, and her purse was missing. For two agonizing months, her family and the community searched, holding out hope. The grim discovery came on September 16, 1989, when a hunter stumbled upon skeletal remains in a remote, wooded creek bed in the far northeast corner of Bella Vista, near the Missouri border. The remains were later identified as those of Dana Stidham. Her death was ruled a homicide, though the exact cause of death could not be determined from the skeletal remains. Near her body, investigators found her clothing with duct tape adhered to it and several feet of baling twine with distinctive knots.
The investigation into Dana's abduction and murder has spanned decades and has been marked by enduring questions and a lack of definitive answers. Early in the investigation, suspicion fell upon Michael McMillan, a former high school classmate of Dana's. Friends reported that McMillan had been infatuated with Dana, but his feelings were not reciprocated. Witnesses reported seeing a man matching his description near where Dana's car was found. Shortly after her disappearance, McMillan enlisted in the U.S. Navy and left the state. His behavior raised further suspicion when he later admitted to stealing the temporary marker from her grave, claiming he wanted something to remember her by. He was convicted of misdemeanor theft for this act. During questioning, he reportedly made a cryptic statement to investigators, saying, 'sometimes I think I did kill Dana, but I know I didn't.' Despite the suspicion, there was not enough physical evidence to link him directly to the crime.
Over the years, the case grew cold, though investigators continued to pursue leads. In 2013, another potential suspect emerged: Orvil Mitchell Goodwin. Goodwin was arrested in an unrelated case for the attempted murder of a woman, whom he had shot and left in a creek bed not far from where Dana's body was discovered. The similarities in the location and nature of the crime led investigators to consider him a person of interest in Dana's murder as well. However, despite these persons of interest and decades of investigation by the Benton County Sheriff's Office and the Arkansas State Police, no arrests have ever been made in the death of Dana Stidham. The case remains an unsolved and painful mystery for her family and the community, a story of a young life cut short and a quest for justice that continues to this day.
