Speed is of the essence when investigating murders, suspicious deaths, kidnappings and disappearances. If significant leads are not developed within the first 72 hours of a case, chances are, the trail will grow cold, and friends and family will be left to wonder what happened to their loved one. A group of concerned citizens, who have suffered such a tragedy, are banding together in a grass roots effort to change the way cold cases are handled in Arkansas. Jimmy and Joe Anne Hendrix lost their 24-year-old daughter, Joy, in August 2002. She died under mysterious circumstances, and her parents are still looking for answers. “She went out on a three-wheeler around 6 p.m. on a Thursday,” Joe Anne Hendrix said, “And she didn’t come back.” A night-long search was unsuccessful. Joe Anne’s fear was that Joy had been in an accident and gotten trapped under the ATV. The Hendrixes happened to think of a place in the woods where Joy sometimes went, and they found her there at daybreak. She had sustained a broken neck, broken ribs, and internal injuries including a lacerated liver. Though her death was not listed as a homicide, there remains the possibility that someone was present when she died and did not call for help. “Her body had been moved,” Hendrix said. “We know this for certain.” Six years later, however, the details and complete truth about Joy’s last hours are still unknown to her parents. Dale Arnold, investigator with the Arkansas State Police (ASP), has devoted a great deal of time to the Hendrix case, and Hendrix expressed her trust and confidence in Arnold, while realizing the challenges he faces with working the investigation. “Mr. Arnold covers several counties,” she said, “And he’s just one man.” Their grief and frustration eventually led the Hendrixes to the support group, Parents of Murdered Children (POMC). (Please see the August 2008 issue to read the article in its entirety)