Authorities identify homicide victim as missing MH man

Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery says the identity of the murder victim found last week on Old Arkana Road has been confirmed. Sheriff Montgomery says the Arkansas State Medical Examiner’s Office has confirmed the victim is 35-year-old Cody Benjamin Stradford of rural Mountain Home.

Stradford’s family posted a missing person notification earlier this month containing a physical description of him and information on the type vehicle he was driving.

According to the posting he had not been seen since Dec. 4.The information that appeared on Missing Persons of Arkansas indicated Stradford was last seen at his parents’ house in Mountain Home, and that he was apparently in the Fayetteville area later in the day.

One of the people arrested in Stradford’s murder, Ashley Hendricks, listed an address in Siloam Springs in Northwest Arkansas. Her charges include murder, kidnapping and second-degree battery, but there is no information currently available as to what, if any, connection existed between Stradford and Hendricks.

The missing person alert said Stradford drove a gray Dodge Charger with damage along the passenger side of the vehicle.

A reward was being offered.

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