Human remains found off Highway 7 north near Jessieville on Dec. 16 have been positively identified as belonging to a Hot Springs man who has been missing since May.
The Garland County Sheriff's Office said the Arkansas State Crime Lab confirmed the remains to be those of Amir Isaiah Ellis, 19. The sheriff's office was dispatched to a wooded area near the highway around 1 p.m. on Dec. 16, a news release said Thursday.
"The Coroner's Office sent the remains to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for positive identification as human remains and for DNA testing to see if the remains could be identified. On Thursday ... the Arkansas State Crime Lab confirmed to the Sheriff's Office that the remains are those of a reported missing person out of the City of Hot Springs, 19-year-old Amir Ellis," the release said.
Amir Ellis was first reported missing on May 17, and Jessica Ellis, Amir Ellis' mother, said she had received tips that her son's body might be found in the Jessieville area.
His mother first confirmed the information on social media.
"God Answered," a post on her Facebook page said. "Amir is HOME! It was Amir's remains. Prayers please!"
Jessica Ellis posted earlier in the day that she had called the Arkansas State Crime Lab.
"Just called the State Crime Lab AGAIN, and still NO ANSWERS! ... I'm just so tired of crying, I'm just so tired of my heart hurting, I just want it to stop. I miss my son so bad," the post said in part.
Three teen suspects were arrested on May 27 in Fort Smith in connection with the kidnapping of Amir Ellis.
Nathaniel Allen Speed, 18, who lists a Centerview Street address, Alexia Tamaara Chambers, 18, who is reportedly homeless, and a juvenile, under the age of 18, whose name is not being released, were each charged with a felony count of kidnapping, punishable by up to life in prison. Speed and Chambers are each being held in the Garland County Detention Center on $1 million bonds.
Volunteers pray before splitting into search parties in the Jessieville area in the search for Amir Ellis this summer. (The Sentinel-Record/Lance Brownfield/File)