The deaths of two deceased family members found earlier this week at their home in the Elizabeth community of Fulton County have been ruled from natural causes, according to Sheriff Al Roork.
Sheriff Roork says his office was contacted around 8 Monday morning by a neighbor who had performed a welfare check at the home along Ruth Road and discovered the body of 76-year-old Esther Sams outside the home near a vehicle.When an officer from the sheriff’s office responded to the call, he found Sams’ son, 52-year-old Rick Raines, deceased inside the home.Roork said while his investigator and three from the Arkansas State Police found no evidence of foul play, the state medical examiner has confirmed the deaths were from natural causes.
Roork said the two appeared to have been dead as much as a couple of days.
He said in almost 42 years of law enforcement experience, he has not been involved in a case involving two individuals at the same residence dying under these circumstances.
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