‘No Closure’ In Town Where Five Black Residents Were Either Murdered, Died Suspiciously Or Are Missing

There is growing concern in a small Arkansas town located in the southern part of the state where the mysterious circumstances swirling around the disappearance, murder and suspicious deaths of four Black men and a Black woman have shaken many in the community. Residents wonder if the cases are connected.

A month ago, Johnny Strong went missing. According to authorities, Strong had dementia, but there had not been a formal diagnosis.

“The day he came up missing we were actually taking him to Pine Bluff for testing,” his daughter Kizzy Strong told TheVillageCelebration. “A year or two before he walked off, my mom had him tested but he didn’t have it.”

Strong was known to take a daily walk. On June 8 he went for a walk, tripped and fell. Two hours later when family and friends found him, they discovered barbed wire wrapped his ankle, and was unable to free himself. He told them he heard them calling his name and searching.

“He and I were together the day he went missing,” Kizzy Strong recalled. “He wanted to visit a neighbor and left walking. I jumped in the car and was following behind him. The cell reception wasn’t good so I backed up on the road, hoping to get reception and call the neighbor when I lost sight of him.”

That was on July 19. Authorities issued a Silver Alert the next day and started a wide search. They have used helicopters and drones to survey the wooded area near the home of the 70-year-old. But their efforts have not been successful.

‘No Closure’

For the family of Dwayne Lambert, it’s been six years since he was last seen. Years of waiting and praying for answers.

“It’s been a living nightmare,” said Lamar Lambert, the missing man’s youngest brother. “We talked every day, and if not, we definitely texted. For that to be taken away, and you don’t have any closure, it’s a living nightmare.”

Lambert no longer lives in Bearden where he and his siblings grew up. Their parents – like so many others in the town – can trace their roots back generations to its glory days as a bustling hub for one of the country’s essential industries.

The economic engine for the town can be found in the towering pine trees that lend it a rustic charm. The largest employer is a lumber company founded by Garland Anthony who was reportedly the largest independent lumber producer in the United States in the 1930s. Over the years, the population in Bearden dwindled – down to less than a thousand in 2023 – but the company remained strong, eventually acquiring other lumber companies and changing its name to Anthony Timberlands.

It’s like most small towns where many residents have close-knit relationships. There’s Friday night high school football and Sunday morning church. But amid the wholesome stereotype, some say there is a nefarious mystery.

Lamar Lambert said his aunt was the last person to see his brother who would have turned 44 this year. She lives in a rural community located on the outskirts of the town.

“She said he was standing down the road by our house,” Lambert emphasized. “She said she was going to an event, and she was trying to get him to go, and he wouldn’t and that he had something in his hand like a knife. She said Dwayne told her, ‘They’re coming to get me. They’re coming out here, and they’ll be riding four-wheelers.’”

It was the last time a family member spoke to or saw Dwayne.

“I’m not going to lie about it. It’s no secret,” Lambert stated. “My brother was using drugs. It was like a thing … he never let me see him, but you know how word gets around especially in a small town.”

Town gossip alleged that Lamar’s brother smoked weed and used crystal meth.

“Crystal meth is like really a big thing here now. I’ve heard that a lot of people dibble and dabble in it,” Lambert shared.

He added that his older brother lost his job, became depressed and was hanging around with ‘the wrong crowd.’

“I firmly believe that his disappearance was connected to the drug world,” Lambert said.

The Lambert boys – including brother Nigel – are preacher’s kids. Rev. Randall Lambert said after his son’s disappearance he experienced bouts of anxiety that required medication.

“Dwayne didn’t bother nobody. He would give you the shirt off his back,” the elder Lambert said. “Something seems strange about. You hear stuff, and I think somebody killed him.”

“Talk gets around. But for it to be so quiet and swept under the rug,” the younger Lambert added, “it seems like a coverup.”

An Unsolved Murder and Two Suspicious Deaths

For Leodis Nelson and his family, the pain of his sister’s murder is still unspeakable. Berniece Nelson was found stabbed to death in her home in 2019.

“She was laid-back, easygoing, funny,” her brother said. “She was quiet, she wasn’t a rowdy person at all.”

The murder sent shockwaves through the town. Even now there is a ripple of fear at the mention of the killing that claimed the 73-year-old.

“The captain we talked to down in Camden doesn’t know anything,” Nelson explained. “He called us a couple times to see if we knew anything. I said, ‘We call you for the same thing. We don’t know anything.’ He told us, ‘It’s still under investigation,’ but no results – none whatsoever.”

There have been two other suspicious deaths in the community.

Townspeople were troubled in April 2020 over the news that 43-year-old Shanndor Monta Thrower had been found dead in a shed behind a house in Bearden.

“I still have my moments,” his mom Jeannette Thrower said. “Shawn was my only child.”

Shanndor Monta Thrower’s death raised suspicions, but the autopsy cited natural causes.

Thrower’s voice broke as she reflected on the last time she saw her son alive. He asked to use her cell phone and said he would be back soon. Hours later family members contacted her as rumors began to spread around the town.

Thrower said she went to the hospital in Camden, Arkansas, which is the county seat. From there she went to the jail.

“They told me, ‘He’s back there.’ And I asked, ‘What did he do?’” Thrower recalled.

Because of the pandemic, her son’s body had been moved to the jail. The autopsy cited natural causes, but Thrower said her son’s father suspects foul play. To this day, she said authorities have not contacted her.

And there is still talk about the beating death of Sammy Chapman – who was known to walk the streets around Bearden. His badly beaten body was found about 10 years ago in the house where he lived.

“You have these five situations and no justice for none of them, all Blacks. In all five cases, nobody has been brought to justice,” Lamar Lambert said. “It’s just unreal to me how all these people are missing, and nothing has been done about it. I feel like it’s corruption somewhere. It’s too quiet.”

Father and son – both bowed by grief – say they talk on occasion about what’s happened. The bulk of their time has been spent learning to cope with their loss.

“It’ll all come out in the open one day,” Rev. Lambert declared. “God knows what happened.”

If you have information about the cases in the article, please contact the Ouachita County Sheriff’s Office at 870-231-5300.