Rescue Boats Search River Banks For Missing Fort Smith Man

Wednesday morning Sequoyah County rescue boats went out on the Arkansas River to check the banks and search for a missing Fort Smith man.

Tuesday, deputies found a car believed to belong to a man missing for a little more than a week, according to Sequoyah County Sheriff Ron Lockhart.

Glen Ray Cook, Jr., 46, reported missing Monday by a family member to Fort Smith Police.

“He has schizophrenia, so therefore, it’s in his nature to always worry about everything that’s going on and let people know about him, so this is very not like him at all,” said Cook’s nephew Joshua Adkins.

Cook’s vehicle was found Tuesday in an area known as the Muldrow Bottoms at the Mayo Dam on a sand bar, according to Sheriff Lockhart. The sheriff is calling this case “suspicious.”

“It’s obvious he tried to drive through it and got stuck,” said Sheriff Lockhart. “We know it’s been here since Saturday night.”

Adkins told police someone called the family from Cook’s phone and claimed it had been found, along with his vehicle at the bottoms, according to the missing person’s report.

“We were hoping to maybe find something around the car,” said Fort Smith Detective Jeff Carter. “We will be processing the car to see if there is any potential leads there that will give us some evidence or where to look next.”

Cook is described as a white male, 5’11”, 210 pounds with hazel eyes and brown hair.

The family told police Cook is a paranoid schizophrenic who stopped taking his medications, according to Wes Milam with FSPD. The family also said he may be using methamphetamines, according to the missing person’s report.

“There’s a lot of partying goes on down here,” said Sheriff Lockhart, “A lot of 4-wheeling, you know, some illegal activity goes on sometimes down here.”

“If any of that was involved, I just want to know where he is,” said Adkins.

The man’s niece told police that she was driving her uncle around on June 11 when he started yelling for her to stop the car, the police report states. She claims he jumped out of the vehicle to check the trunk of the car and underneath it because he thought he was being “followed by Asians,” according to the report. The woman took her uncle to his home on Fresno and said she hadn’t seen him since.

“We love him,” said Adkins, “We miss him. He’s got a really young daughter named Candace and she would love to have her daddy back.”

If you have any information on Cook’s whereabouts, call River Valley Crime Stoppers at (479) 78-CRIME.