The Unsolved Murder of Melissa Witt

On December 1, 1994, nineteen-year-old Melissa Witt planned to meet her mother at a Fort Smith, Arkansas bowling alley, but by all appearances, she only made it as far as the parking lot. Two days later, investigators discovered Melissa’s car abandoned in the Bowling World parking lot, a trail of blood leading away from the vehicle. Six weeks later, animal trackers located Melissa’s nude body in an isolated part of the Ozark National Forest and the hunt was on to find her killer.

In the thirty years since Melissa Witt’s murder, a number of strong suspects have popped up on investigators’ radars, including serial killer Charles Ray Vines, yet to this date no one has been charged with her death. After three decades of unanswered questions, Witt’s family are desperate to know, what happened to Melissa on the night she went missing, and will detectives ever be able to hold her killer responsible for her tragic death?

If you have information regarding the murder of Melissa Witt, please call the Fort Smith Police Department at 479-709-5116 or email them at info@fortsmithpd.org.

Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!

References

Alvey, Tina. 1995. "Fort Smith teen's body found near Turner Bend." Madison County Record, Janaury 19: 4.

Associated Press. 1995. "Man questioned about girl; police say he's not a suspect." Batesville Guard, June 14: 6.

Cavallier, Andrea. 2024. "A teenager was snatched from the parking lot of a bowling." The Independent, August 10.

Kilby, Brenda. 1996. "Long-sought man awaits questioning ." Tulsa World , May 6: 29.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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