Police have vowed to keep searching for a young Arkansas mom and her newborn baby after they went missing more than a week ago.
An officer was called to a home in Dardanelle in connection with a “possible suicidal person” in the early morning hours of June 25, local police said. The officer was told that 20-year-old Ashlynn Bocksnick left the home with her six-week-old baby, Lalynn Dream Williams, just before the call.
At 4:40 a.m. local time, less than two hours after police were called to the home, the vehicle Bocksnick was believed to be driving was found parked on the boat ramp at Veteran’s Memorial Park near the Arkansas River, Dardanelle police said.
Ashlynn and Lalynn were nowhere to be found. Authorities have searched at least 85 miles of river from the Dardanelle Lock and Dam to the River Bridge in Little Rock, according to a Facebook update from Dardanelle Police Chief Joe Paterak on Friday.
“We’re not quitting. We’re gonna keep going until, hopefully, we find her. We want to find her,” Dardanelle Police patrol officer Chris Collier told KARK.
Five drone teams, five civilian boats, seven dog teams, a Survival Flight emergency medical helicopter and a personal airplane have been deployed as of last Monday.
Thirty-six agencies across Arkansas have helped search for the mother and daughter, even as conditions became hazardous.
The Army Corps of Engineers “had to open the gates on the Dardanelle Dam because of water from Oklahoma, which caused the rising water and dangerous currents became [sic] too hazardous for crews, but they still were out there and in the water,” Paterak said.
The Corps of Engineers said it will close the gates on the Dardanelle Dam this Saturday.
Last Monday, “the search was scaled back but crews are still out there searching every day,” Paterak said.
“Divers have reported one-to-two-inch visibility under water and with the current water flow it is impossible to properly search,” the police chief added.
Authorities said there is also a lot of debris in the river, hindering the search.
The full search will resume as soon as the water level goes back to normal, according to Friday’s Facebook post.
As authorities try to piece together what happened to Ashlynn and Lalynn, they have given the public some details about the moments leading up to their disappearance.
Ashlynn’s vehicle was found facing the river, about 10 feet away from the water’s edge.
A Dardanelle City Hall surveillance camera showed Ashlynn pulling up to the boat ramp, the police said.
“She got out of the car, circled around the back and opened the rear passenger side door where she leaned in for approximately one minute then picked something up,” Paterak said in Friday’s post. “Due to the distance you cannot see Lalynn but her car seat was exactly where she was leaning into.”
It was initially reported that Ashlynn was last seen walking toward the river but not entering the water, according to the chief.
“Enhanced viewing does show her enter the water, but nothing can be seen after that,” Paterak said.
The chief said there were concerns about the safety of Ashlynn and Lalynn “because of statements she had made prior to leaving the house.”
Authorities have clarified that there were no arguments at the house before Ashlynn left and that no foul play is suspected.
Police found no movement in Ashlynn’s bank accounts, and they have yet to crack her phone as of Friday.
Ashlynn’s mother had given her daughter’s phone to police after the 20-year-old left it at the home. Police obtained a search warrant to go through it, but her phone was locked and they didn’t know the password.
“The FBI is currently providing help to see if they can enter the phone to see if there is anything pertinent to the case,” Paterak said in Friday’s post.
Paterak said the department had no new updates in the case when reached for comment Monday by The Independent.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
