Manhunt snares schoolteacher days after park double slaying

Police arrested Andrew James McGann as a suspect in a double homicide committed at Devil’s Den State Park last weekend, Arkansas State Police shared Wednesday night. The 28-year-old suspect allegedly attacked Clinton and Cristen Brink as they hiked in the park with their daughters on Saturday. The seven- and nine-year-old girls were uninjured and are now safe with family members, authorities confirmed.

The couple was found dead on a walking trail Saturday afternoon, after recently moving to the area, according to a Sunday statement. Arkansas does not tolerate senseless violence, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at a Wednesday evening press conference. Anyone targeting innocent people will be hunted down and brought to justice, she continued.

What was the motive for the crime? Criminal Investigation Division Commander Maj. Stacie Rhoads declined to discuss motive during the press conference. McGann was arrested on Wednesday at a local barbershop in the northwestern city of Springdale and charged with two counts of capital murder, she said. The suspect recently moved to the area and got a job at a local school, Rhoads added. 

Rhoads described how the public played an instrumental role in arresting a suspect in the case. Citizens in and around the park on the day of the crime shared photos and video clips, with tips pouring in from across the nation, she said. Officials planned to take their time reopening trails and other sections of Devil’s Den, according to State Parks Director Shea Lewis.