Community searches for hope 35 years after local 18-year-old's murder

Dana disappeared on July 25, 1989. At the time, she lived with her brother, Larry, and her cousin, Kristy Smith. 

Dana had gone home to visit her parents, Lawrence and Georgia, in Hiwasse earlier that day. She left their home at around 2:45 p.m. to go to the Phillips grocery store in Bella Vista, just a quick four-mile drive away.

Dana left the store at 3:17 p.m. It was the last time she was seen alive. 

According to a report from the Benton County Sheriff's Office (BCSO), Sgt. Danny Varner, a family friend, received a phone call from Larry at around 9:15 p.m. reporting his sister missing.

Varner got a description of Dana and her vehicle and requested a "be on the lookout," or BOLO, from the sheriff's office around 9:43 p.m. that night.

The next morning, on July 26, Karen Meyers of the Bella Vista sheriff's station located Dana's vehicle on the side of Highway 71 near Wellington Road in Bella Vista.

The car, a gray 1984 Dodge Omni, was found in the southbound lane and the left rear tire was flat. The keys were still in the ignition and the car was unlocked, according to the report from the sheriff's office. A receipt from the Phillips grocery store was found in her car, confirming a purchase at 3:17 p.m. the previous day. 

Det. Sgt. Mike Sydoriak joined Varner in surveying the area.

Soon after her disappearance, Sydoriak and Varner interviewed Danny Mitchell, a former boyfriend of Dana's who lived in Bentonville. Mitchell called in sick to work on July 25 and slept until 12:30 p.m., later driving to his girlfriend's house in Siloam Springs. He told detectives he was still with his girlfriend when Dana left the store.

In the days and weeks that followed, law enforcement, community members, family, and friends of Dana's participated in searches of the area, hoping to locate the missing woman or any of her belongings, some of which were later found strewn across the countryside.

With little information at hand, law enforcement was quickly troubled by the case.

"Unless we get some help from the public on this one, it’s gonna be pretty hard to solve, and that’s why we’re hoping somebody might’ve seen the vehicle, or seen Dana by the car, or seen somebody possibly pick her up or give her a ride or something like that. Any kind of help, we could use it," Sydoriak said in an on-camera interview with 5NEWS in 1989. 

Detectives said they were baffled as to why Dana's car was parked heading south when both she and her parents lived in the opposite direction. 

Shortly after Dana's disappearance, her father, Lawrence, spoke to 5NEWS. 

Lawrence Stidham said they got nervous when Dana took a while to get back from the store — she was the kind of person who would call if she was going to be just five minutes late for anything.

In a taped interview from 1989, Lawrence's shock in the wake of his daughter's disappearance was palpable. "I just don't know. Something's happened to my kid and we just want her home."

Two months later, a body was found in a shallow grave in Bella Vista. 

On Sept. 17, Varner was contacted by dispatch and informed that Benton County Sheriff Andy Lee wanted all criminal investigation personnel sent to Bella Vista, the sheriff's office report said.

Varner and Sydoriak were informed on the scene that a hunter had found a skeleton in the woods a day earlier. 

"The citizen stated to Sydoriak and the responding officer that he had found the skeleton on Saturday 09-16-89 but did not report it until Sunday 09-17-89 because he did not want to mess up his hunting and that he knew the skeleton wasn’t going anywhere," the report said.

The hunter, Wayne Grantham, of Rogers, who at the time was 21 years old, admitted he was wrong to not report the body as soon as he found it.

"At the time I had no idea [the body] was so recent," Grantham said. "I knew there were a lot of Civil War relics and Indian relics in the area, and I thought it might be something like that."

After the body was reported, Sheriff Lee told Varner to go to the Stidham residence and advise them of the situation.

Varner spoke to Lawrence, telling him about the remains found in the woods in Bella Vista. In the report, Varner said they weren't sure if it was Dana, but that they wanted to keep the family in the loop in case the media began reaching out.

Lawrence said, "It's not her," to which Varner replied, "I hope you're right," according to the report. 

The remains were later identified to be Dana's after being sent to the State Medical Examiner's Office in Little Rock. Law enforcement announced in a press conference that a dental pathologist had helped identify Dana's remains. Her death was ruled a homicide.

In a report from Oct. 20, 1989, Sheriff Lee declined to reveal the cause of Dana's death. 

“Evidence obtained as a result of the autopsy will remain confidential for investigative purposes,” Lee said. “The investigation will continue.”

Lee noted that the time that had passed since Dana's death made it more difficult to investigate. 

“We’ve received information from the medical examiner’s office that's going to give us some things to work on," Lee said at the time. “But it’s not something that’s going to give us a super lead at all.”

To this day, Dana's cause of death has not been revealed.

Dana was born on March 8, 1971, and was 18 years old at the time of her death. She would've turned 53 this year. She was a recent graduate of Gravette High School and, while living with her brother and cousin in Centerton, still made sure to go visit her parents in Hiwasse.

Dana's disappearance and death shocked the community. For decades now, many have tried to maintain hope that the case will one day be solved. 

In the 35 years following Dana's murder, many of those who kept the case alive have died. Lawrence, Georgia, Larry, Sgt. Varner, and Sheriff Lee have all since passed.

However, the case lives on in those still alive who haven't given up hope of finding justice.

Smith, who lived with Dana at the time of her disappearance, said her love for her cousin has kept her hopeful that justice will be found.

"Dana and I were with each other pretty much every day from the day I was born. Our mothers are sisters. She lived with me a few months before she was murdered," Smith said. "I am tied to this case by my love for Dana. She was more like my sister than my cousin. I miss her as much today as I did 30 years ago."

Smith operates the "Justice for Dana Stidham" Facebook page to make sure that even 35 years later, Dana isn't forgotten.

"The Facebook page was started to keep her memory alive and to hopefully get people talking. Perhaps even to have someone comment that they might know what happened or know who did it," Smith said. 

Debbie Brackney, a family friend of the Stidhams, was living in Sulphur Springs at the time of Dana's disappearance and murder. 

Brackney said Georgia, who died in December 2023, never gave up hope despite living the rest of her life without justice for her daughter. 

"It’s a shame that Georgia, her mother, has passed away not knowing who killed her daughter. Georgia and Lawrence grieved so much over the loss of Dana. I wish that they could solve this murder," Brackney said. 

Jason Winchester, someone who went to high school with Dana, told 5NEWS he was in the military when she disappeared but came back home to attend her funeral. 

"I met her my senior year in high school which would have been 1987-1988," Winchester said. "She was a sweetheart. I was in basic training when she went missing. I took emergency leave to come home for the funeral."

Winchester said her death was difficult for him. 

"It was hard. I had really liked her. I still have an occasional dream about her where she’s trying to tell me who killed her. It’s very frustrating," Winchester said. "For many years I couldn’t even drive past the area where they found her car without getting a little sad. I’ve heard different rumors and speculations for many years. I honestly don’t have a clue who killed her and it’s sad that they have never been able to make an arrest."

Winchester explains that because of how tight-knit the community was, he was close to the whole Stidham family, making the incident hit harder. 

"I became friends with her brother after I came home from the Air Force and my mom worked with her mom at the Walmart Jewelry warehouse," Winchester said. "It was a shock to everyone."

Winchester said he thinks most people have probably given up hope that Dana's murder will be solved.

"I do think most probably have given up. Our population has grown so much from people who have moved here from abroad. So many have never even heard about her."

"So many sad things happened to that whole family," Winchester added. "I still can't believe it's unsolved after all these years."

Despite going 35 years unsolved, law enforcement says the case is still open. The Arkansas State Police (ASP) Cold Case Unit told us the Dana Stidham case is still active, and new leads are still being sought.

The unit adds that, while BCSO is the primary investigative organization, ASP has been involved since just 11 days after Dana's body was recovered back in 1989.

"Our Cold Case Unit is reviewing the file to find new leads related to this investigation. As it stands now it is considered open and active," ASP said.

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