Stephen G. Dukes, 47, of Bonanza Trail was reported missing by his wife. She said he had complained of chest pain, numbness in his arm, and that his fingers were curling. Mr. Dukes refused to go to the hospital. The next morning his wife woke up and could not find him. The back door of the house was wide open. Mr. Dukes had a .38 caliber weapon that was missing from a bedside table. His wife said she heard two possible shots, and believed there were only two rounds in the gun.

Mr. Dukes was found lying on the ground in the woods approximately 800 feet east of his residence with a bullet wound in his chest, and the .38 weapon about three feet from the body. Investigator Threadgill took pictures and collected evidence. Coroner Neighbors examined the body and released it to Hot Springs Funeral Home.