Disclaimer: The article contains mentions of murder and rape. Reader discretion is advised.
The Hulu documentary series At Witt’s End: The Hunt for a Killer explores how an Arkansas woman, Melissa Witt, was abducted in Fort Smith in December 1994. Reports suggest that Witt went to meet her mother at the Bowling World when someone kidnapped her from the parking lot. The documentary re-examines what happened and how police suspected Charles Ray Vines’ involvement in her murder.
ABC News reported that the police investigated the disappearance and found some strong evidence. They believed that someone had kidnapped Melissa Witt. Additionally, they found blood inside Witt’s vehicle and the parking lot. For several weeks, authorities continued investigating the case. Meanwhile, police noted that Witt was the ambassador of her school and was well-liked by everyone. Citing the investigators, ABC News noted, “She was an ambassador to her college, which meant the college had her go and recruit students because they wanted students like her. You know, she worked after school. She was already a hard worker. She had big dreams for her life.”
On January 13, 1995, two hunters contacted police and told them about the dead body of a woman at the Ozark National Forest. After police arrived and investigated the scene, they announced that they discovered the body of Melissa Witt. During further investigation, authorities named Charles Ray Vines as a prime suspect because of his criminal past. Police did apprehend Charles Ray Vines, but the arrest came in the wake of rape and murder accusations in two other cases. Per ABC News, the court convicted him in both cases and gave him a death sentence.
Where is Melissa Witt’s murder suspect, Charles Ray Vines, now?
Although the court convicted Charles Ray Vines in two cases, investigators believed he also killed Melissa Witt, so they tried to strike a deal with him about the unsolved cases. According to ABC News, police told Vines to confess to the unsolved cases, and they will tell the court to change his death sentence. On the other hand, investigators received an email saying that they saw Vines wearing a “bowling league” shirt. For the uninitiated, Witt’s mother was playing the bowling league at the Bowling World when Witt got abducted.
Meanwhile, officers claimed that Charles Ray Vines drew a map of the Ozark Mountain area and even completed a work order close to the place where police discovered Melissa Witt’s body. That prompted the officials to talk to Vines, but they couldn’t because of Vines’ health issues. In 2019, Charles Ray Vines died due to natural causes inside a maximum security unit in Pine Bluff, per InsideFortSmith.com. Vines remained a suspect in Melissa Witt’s case even after his death until they named a new suspect. As of now, Melissa Witt’s murder case remains unsolved.
Hulu documentary At Witt’s End: The Hunt for a Killer is now streaming on the streaming platform.
