Arkansas State Police identifies remains found in Lee County 48 years ago

MARIANNA, Ark. – Investigators with the Arkansas State Police said they have identified remains found in Lee County nearly 50 years ago.

ASP officials identified the remains as Charles Howard Wallace.

Special agents said Wallace’s remains were found on January 13, 1977, in a farm field near Highway 79 west of Marianna. Authorities said the remains were submitted to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory, but they could not be identified, and a cause and manner of death could not be determined at that time.

In March 2024, ASP officials said the remains were submitted to Texas-based laboratory Othram Labs.

In June 2025, officials said the lab tentatively identified the remains as Wallace and traced two possible relatives living in Tennessee. Special agents said the lab confirmed a positive identification after collecting DNA from one of the relatives.

“This identification provides long-overdue answers for the family and highlights the commitment of Arkansas State Police to ensuring no case is forgotten,” Colonel Mike Hagar said. “We are grateful for the collaboration of the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory and Othram Labs in moving this decades-old case forward.”

State troopers said Wallace would have been around 21 years old when the remains were found.

ASP officials said the last contact Wallace’s family had with him was in the fall of 1974 in Memphis, Tennessee. Authorities said he was in his late teens and had been seeking treatment at a halfway house in downtown Memphis.