Are The Unsolved Murders of Amanda Tusing And Dana Stidham Connected To The Attempted Murder of Annette Rapalee?

👰Amanda Renee “Mandy” Tusing👰

👰She was born on December 6th, 1979 to Susan and Ed Tusing. Nicknamed "Sprout", she graduated from Gosnell High School, and was engaged to Matthew Ervin. 

👰On June 14th, 2000, it was raining hard when twenty-year-old Amanda Tusing left Matt's house in Jonesboro, Arkansas at around 11:30 p.m. She was going back to her parents house in Dell, Arkansas, but tragically never made it. At 1:30 the next morning, Matt called Amanda's mother and asked if she was home. When Susan went to check, Amanda's bed was empty. Ed left immediately after the phone call, heading west on Highway 18 towards Jonesboro. Matt left Jonesboro traveling towards Dell to see if they could find her broke down on the side of the road or whatever.

👰Matt found Amanda's car shortly before 2:30 a.m. Matt showed Amanda's father where the car was, and the first thing they did was try to see if the car was out of gas, if it would run. They couldn't find anything wrong with the car. Mandy's cell phone was still in the car in the passenger seat. Amanda's keys were also still in the ignition. The battery was dead and Amanda was nowhere to be found. There was a coke can in the cup holder in the car. When Amanda had left Matt's house, she did not have a soda with her, so it is theorized that she picked it up at a gas station on her way home. Some think that it might be the killer's soda instead.

Matt and Ed left to report her abandoned car on Arkansas Highway 18, five miles east of St. Frances Bridge.

👰Three days later, investigators learned Amanda's body had been found in a rain swollen ditch, approximately 14 miles west of where her car was discovered. There was no sign of sexual assault or trauma. Although police believe she was suffocated and thrown in the ditch, the medical examiner could not confirm that. He did determine that she did not have water in her lungs, suggesting that she was dead before she entered the water.

👰During in the investigation, partial prints were found, but they were not identifiable. In finding those and finding the hairs and some more things in the vehicle, authorities don't think whoever did this was ever in that car. It wasn't wiped clean.
👰Matt was interviewed three separate times after Amanda was found. Matt passed the polygraph test each time.

👰Detectives believe the killer was someone unknown to Amanda. They believe that a man impersonating a police officer pulled her over, lured her into his car and drove near the Big Bay Ditch, where he murdered her. They believe this man could be a serial killer who has done this before.

👰The Tusing family still lives in Dell. Susan and Ed said no matter how much time goes by, they still pray justice will be served.

👰"I think Mandy would have wanted us to go on and live life. I told my boys that we would go on, that whoever killed her was not going to destroy our family. He would not have the satisfaction of taking down all of us," said Susan. "I just refuse to let whoever did it destroy my family."
👰If you know anything about this crime that could help police track the killer, you're urged to call the Craighead County Sheriff's Office at 870-933-4551.

👰Amanda's case is still unsolved.

There is a previously unsolved case that might be related to Amanda's.

🎓Dana Lanell Stidham🎓

🎓She was born on March 8th, 1971 in Gravette, Benton County, Arkansas to Lawrence and Georgia Stidham. She was a life long resident of Hiwasse and an academic leader who graduated from Gravette High School, Arkansas class of 1989. 

🎓Dana was 18 and had been employed by the former Phillips Grocery Store, now Harp's Grocery Store in Bella Vista, Arkansas. On July 25, 1989, Dana left to run an errand at a nearby grocery store in Bella Vista, and she never returned home.

🎓At around 9:30 AM the next morning, Dana's brother, Larry, called the Bella Vista Police sub-station to report that his sister hadn't come home. He sensed something was wrong. Early that morning her car, a gray Dodge Omni, was found in the Northbound lane on Highway 71 N. The rear tire was low, the keys were still in the ignition, but there was no sign of Dana. The lone piece of the investigative timeline was a receipt found in her car that was time stamped 3:17 p.m.

🎓On September 17, 1989, a squirrel hunter found Dana's remains of a young women buried in a shallow grave, scraped out of a dry creek bed. The location was in a wooded section of the County, that only a few people would know. The Arkansas State Medical Examiner's Office in Little Rock, Arkansas said Dana died after being stabbed in the neck and the manner of death was Homicide. However, the cause of death could not be determined. The body was badly decomposed and efforts were made to determine if she had been sexually assaulted. Her clothes were found strewn nearby. Dana's purse was found in nearby in the area of Chaucer and Hanover Roads in Bella Vista. Personal items, including her check book, driver's license and other items were found a few miles North of where her car was found along Highway 71 N.
🎓Her gravestone marker was stolen in December 1989 by Diana's former classmate and boyfriend, Michael Earl McMillan. He was convicted of the offense and paid a fine. McMillan claimed that he stole the marker so he'd have something to remember her by.
🎓In 2013, there was a possible break in the case. 62 year old Orville Mitchell Goodwin of Pineville was sentenced to 12 years in prison with an additional 10 years suspended. He was arrested on July 16, 2013, in the shooting case of Annette Rapalee. 

🎓Goodwin was identified as an acquaintance to the Annette. Annette’s husband died in 2012, and Goodwin had been spending time with her since.
🎓Police said Goodwin drove Annette near the Bella Vista creek bed, shot her in the face and left her. Annette then crawled several hundred yards west from where she was shot, eventually coming to rest where she was later found by horseback riders the next day. One of the men saw Annette covered in blood and on her hands and knees. He tried to help her and called police. Annette was taken to a Springfield, Mo., hospital where she was treated for her injuries.
🎓One week later, authorities executed a search warrant at the home of Goodwin. Blood  was discovered on Goodwin and inside his vehicle during the search. They also found a weapon.
🎓The DNA and blood samples were sent to crime labs in both Missouri and Arkansas for investigation, after which, it was determined the blood in Goodwin’s truck was consistent with Annette’s DNA.
🎓Annette was initially hesitant to cooperate with investigators after being hospitalized. She told police that her neighbors could be responsible for the shooting.

🎓Authorities are examining evidence that might tied Goodwin to Dana's murder.

🎓There is a $20,000 Reward offered in Dana's case largely from family, friends, businesses and concerned donors. Tips and leads are needed to solve this case. Please contact:
🎓Crime Stoppers 1-877-842-8200
🎓Benton County Arkansas Sheriff's Office:
1-479-271-1008 or 1-479-271-1009