Moment parolee was arrested for kidnap of realtor Beverly who vanished showing home to mystery cash buyer

  • Arron Lewis, 33, was apprehended Monday morning in Little Rock, Arkansas
  • Lewis was spotted by police in a car crash on Sunday
  • They took him to hospital but he fled while they waited outside ward
  • There is now an arrest warrant for Lewis, facing kidnapping charges 
  • Beverly Carter, 49, was showing a home in Scott, Arkansas, on Thursday
  • Husband Carl went looking for her after she didn't come home
  • Found door to the house wide open and her car and purse left behind
  • Later received unusual texts from her phone number
  • Lewis is an active parolee with a lengthy criminal recording spanning multiple states states  

Police in Arkansas announced this morning the arrest of a man named a person of interest in the disappearance of a real estate agent who vanished showing a property to an unknown would-be buyer.

Arron Lewis, 33, was apprehended in Little Rock by the local police at around 10am Monday in connection to the case of Beverly Carter, 49, who went missing from an empty home in Scott, Arkansas, Thursday - moments after neighbors spotted a stranger pull into the driveway in a pick-up truck.

The Little Rock blog Forbidden Hillcrest tweeted that Lewis was captured in Pleasant Pointe apartments on Green Mountain Drive after allegedly pulling a knife on a bystander.

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Warrant: Police have issued a warrant for Aaron Lewis (left) in connection with the disappearance of realtor Beverly Carter (right). He was spotted in a vehicle crash this afternoon where he sustained facial injuries
Warrant: Police have issued a warrant for Aaron Lewis (left) in connection with the disappearance of realtor Beverly Carter (right). He was spotted in a vehicle crash this afternoon where he sustained facial injuries

Caught: Police have arrested Arron Lewis (left) in connection with the disappearance of realtor Beverly Carter (right). He was spotted in a vehicle crash this afternoon where he sustained facial injuries

First look: Eyewitness Adam Nash photographed Arron Lewis' arrest outside an apartment complex in Little Rock after he had allegedly pulled a knife on him

First look: Eyewitness Adam Nash photographed Arron Lewis' arrest outside an apartment complex in Little Rock after he had allegedly pulled a knife on him

Cornered: Lewis jumped from a window and tried to flee, but was surrounded by officers (pictured) 

Pulaski County Sheriff Doc Holladay held a press conference this afternoon telling reporters that the search for the missing real estate agent continues.

'I'm hopeful she's still alive,' the sheriff said. 'We told her family Friday night that we will do our best to get her back home safely, and that's what we're trying to do.'

Holladay added that investigators are currently questioning Lewis in hopes of finding out Beverly Carter's whereabouts.

Sheriff Holladay said the 33-year-old suspect is currently facing kidnapping charges, but he could face additional counts depending on Mrs Carter's condition.

The sheriff also shed some light on the circumstances of Arron Lewis' capture this morning, telling reporters that officers in Little Rocks - some 15 miles away from Scott where he was last seen - got a call about a possible sighting of the wanted man at local a bus stop.

A passerby recognized Lewis from the news coverage and approached him, sending the man fleeing towards the Pleasant Pointe  apartments. 

Nowhere to run: Lewis is pictured with his hands cuffed behind his back outside a Little Rock housing complex 

Nowhere to run: Lewis is pictured with his hands cuffed behind his back outside a Little Rock housing complex 

As responding officers arrived outside the building, Lewis allegedly burst into the manager's office and jumped out the window in an attempt to flee, but was immediately caught.

Lewis was named as a 'person of interest' after being involved in a car accident and taken to a hospital by police - before fleeing while officers thought he was having a CT scan done.

Authorities have released images of Lewis, of Jacksonville, Arkansas, with blood on his face following the crash in a bid to track him down.

According to the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office, deputies received a call at around 10am Sunday about a single-vehicle crash in the 8700 block of Cato Road in Jacksonville, in which Arron Lewis' vehicle smashed into a concrete culvert.

A bloodied Mr Lewis reportedly told the responding officers that someone had run him off the road.

A witness told investigators that Lewis was driving at a high speed when he lost control of his vehicle in a curve, KARK reported..

Pulaski County Sheriff Doc Holladay told reporters Monday afternoon that Arron Lewis was being interviewed

Pulaski County Sheriff Doc Holladay told reporters Monday afternoon that Arron Lewis is being interviewed in the hopes of shedding light on the missing woman's whereabouts 

Notorious: Lewis has criminal records in several states, including Arkansas, Missouri and Utah 

Boyfriend: The 33-year-old  is seen here with a woman believed to be his girlfriend

Boyfriend: The 33-year-old 'person of interest' is seen here with a woman believed to be his girlfriend 

The sheriff's office also has revealed that the 33-year-old is an active parolee with a long criminal history, including charges of felony theft; accomplice to theft; unlawful removal of theft device; obstruction of government operations, and other counts.

Lewis also has rap sheets in Kansas City, Missouri, and in Utah. He was released on parole in Arkansas in August 2013.

He now faces kidnapping charges, according to Arkansas Online

The development comes after Mrs Carter's husband of 35 years, Carl, made a tearful plea for authorities and residents to do all they can to find her.

Mr Carter found his wife's car abandoned outside the house, which was left unlocked and open.

'I'm going to try to be strong as best I can - I just want my wife back,' he said. 

He appeared before cameras looking tired and distraught, as one neighbor revealed he saw a 'skinny white man' pull up at the house in a pick-up truck around the time of the disappearance. 

Search: Lewis, 33, of Jacksonville, is at large after fleeing the hospital he was taken to following his crash
Neighbors reported seeing a 'skinny white man' in a pick-up truck

Search is over: Lewis (left and right), 33, of Jacksonville, had been on the run since Sunday after fleeing the hospital where he was taken following a crash

Dark past: Lewis has a long criminal history and is currently an active parolee 

Dark past: Lewis has a long criminal history and is currently an active parolee 

Mr Carter, who raised the alarm after his wife didn't come back from her appointment after three and a half hours, has since received unusual text messages from her phone, but no other sign of her.

Describing the moments he went to look for her, he told KARK: 'By eight o'clock I knew something was wrong - but I waited to eight thirty. I went up in the house, went through every closet, everything.'

He could find no sign of her inside, and police and volunteers have been searching ever since.

It is unclear whether the pick-up driver was the buyer Mrs Carter was going to meet.

Beverly Carter, 49, vanished from the property in Scott, near Little Rock, Arkansas, after meeting an unknown person at the address Thursday evening.

She was reported missing by her husband, Carl, after she didn't make contact with her family after the 5.30pm appointment.

Missing: Carl Carter spoke of his distress at the disappearance of his real estate agent wife on Thursday

Missing: Carl Carter spoke of his distress at the disappearance of his real estate agent wife on Thursday

Realtor: Beverly Carter worked for Crye-Leike, a real estate company in Little Rock, Arkansas
Disappeared: Searches have been running for three days for Beverly Carter

Hunt: Mrs Carter, a realtor with Crye-Leike in Little Rock, Arkansas, has now been missing for three days

Matriarch: Beverly Carter has been married for 34 years and has four grandchildren 

Matriarch: Beverly Carter has been married for 34 years and has four grandchildren 

Property: Mrs Carter was showing this property in Scott, Arkansas, to an unknown buyer who reportedly said he would be willing to pay in cash

Property: Mrs Carter was showing this property in Scott, Arkansas, to an unknown buyer who reportedly said he would be willing to pay in cash

When Carter went to the property to look for his wife, he found her car, a brown Cadillac, containing her purse, outside of the house, which had a wide open door. There was no trace of her inside.

Police investigators say there was no evidence of a crime being committed. Mrs Carter is blonde, has green eyes, is 5' 2" tall and weighs around 145lbs, according to search effort descriptions.

Mrs Carter, who works for the Crye-Leike real estate company in Little Rock, was last seen wearing a black, sleeveless shirt and red capri pants.

According to ABC News, the home had been foreclosed, and Mrs Carter was showing it to a buyer she had never met, who said he could pay in cash.

Carter, who says it is extremely unusual for his wife of 34 years not to stay in close contact, said that he received unusual texts from her number at 1am the morning after she disappeared.

Search: Mrs Carter's husband, Carl Carter, told how he went looking for his wife and found an empty home and an abandoned car
Some 200 volunteers are searching for the woman

Search: Mrs Carter's husband, Carl Carter (left), told how he went looking for his wife (right) and found an empty home and an abandoned car

He said: 'All of a sudden I received three texts in a row. One said "Yes." Then she sent another text that said, "My phone's low. The battery's down, and I'll call you whenever I get signal."

'And, then, straight back-to-back, I received a text that said "Oh, I'm out drinking with some friends."'

'Beverly's not a drinker…We just want our mom back, and my wife of 35 years…I need her.'

He told First Coast News: 'Her car was there, and the house was wide open, and I knew that something was wrong.'

Search: Police in Arkansas continued their search for Mrs Carter today

Search: Police in Arkansas continued their search for Mrs Carter today

Left at the house: Mrs Carter's husband arrived at the home to find her new Cadillac - with custom plates - left outside, while the door of the house was open

Left at the house: Mrs Carter's husband arrived at the home to find her new Cadillac - with custom plates - left outside, while the door of the house was open

The Pulaski County Sheriff's Office started its second day of searching this morning, and is urging landowners in the area to search their property in case she is there.

Colleagues described Mrs Carter, a mother of two and grandmother of four, as 'fun-loving' and 'the sunshine in the office', adding they will strengthen protections for estate agents heading out alone in future.

'I feel like I’m in a fog, or a horrible nightmare from which I can’t awaken,' Mrs Carter’s son, also named Carl, wrote on Facebook. 'She needs us, and we must continue to pray (and) brainstorm ways to find her.' 

Anybody with information regarding the case can contact the sheriff's office on 501-340-6600.

 

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