Body of Kansas mom likely found in Arkansas shipping container after multi-state search
WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (NewsNation) — Arkansas deputies believe they have found the body of a Kansas mother of three and church pastor’s wife, who disappeared while driving from Kansas to Alabama over two weeks ago.
After a multi-state search, deputies said they believe they found Marilane Carter dead in her car which was inside a shipping container in a West Memphis field. Crittenden County Sheriff’s Office said a credit card with her name on it was found in the car and was registered to Carter and her husband.
Deputies said they don’t suspect foul play.
Carter’s family said she’d been en route to Alabama to seek treatment for a mental health condition She was last seen in the West Memphis, Arkansas area.
Deputies said they tracked parts of Carter’s drive to Rolla, Missouri where she stopped at a McDonald’s then she continued on to a hotel in West Plains, Missouri. She was at the hotel for over two hours before checking out, according to deputies.
Authorities said she then stopped at a convenience store in Hazen, Arkansas then traveled east to West Memphis where she was seen on gas station surveillance footage.
The mother of three talked several times with her husband and mother during her drive south. At one point, she appeared to be confused and disoriented on a drive her family said she’s taken many times.
“At one point Marilane mentioned to the family that she was traveling on dirt roads, going on a trek,” Carter’s brother-in-law, Brady McLaughlin, previously told NewsNation affiliate WDAF. “It should be interstate highways between two metropolitan areas, so that’s concerning and confusing.”
Carter’s family went to Arkansas last weekend to search for her but everyone returned home but her uncle, police said. Her uncle was driving and walking around the area where Carter’s phone last pinged when he came across three big shipping containers in a field, deputies said. One of the doors of a container was open and he found a car matching the description of Carter’s car in the container.
Agencies in Kansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee were involved, including the FBI. Positive identification of the body is still pending.
NewsNation affiliate WDAF contributed to this report.