In 1995 Melissa Witt's Naked Body Was Found in the Ozark National Forest — What Happened?

Retired Fort Smith Police Department detective JC Rider is not giving up on finding Melissa Witt's killer. He thinks about her case almost every day. "I either have a thought about it, wonder about it, or try to do something about it," he told KTHV in 2021. Her story has haunted the small town of Fort Smith, Ark., since the 19-year-old college student disappeared in December 1994.

He's not the only one mildly obsessed with finding out what happened to the young girl. Once upon a time, a Facebook group was devoted to any and all information about the case. There are documentaries about Witt, as well as two books written by Arkansas native LaDonna Humphrey. In August 2024, Hulu is releasing a docuseries titled At Witt's End, which theorizes a serial killer might have been involved. So, what happened to Melissa Witt? Here's what we know.

On Dec. 1,1994, Witt was on her way to Bowling World to surprise her mother, who bowled on a league there. The broke college student was hoping to get a free meal and wanted to apologize after arguing with her mom earlier that day, per The U.S. Sun. Sadly, she never made it into the bowling alley. Witt's mother reported her missing, and because she had no idea Witt was on her way to see her, she didn't realize her daughter's car had been parked in the parking lot for a few days.

Police found a trail of blood leading up to Witt's car and spoke with two people who witnessed her abduction. Unfortunately they didn't get a good look at Witt's kidnappers. In fact, no one has ever come forward with any descriptions of the assailants. The whole town began searching for the missing girl. People handed out fliers and knocked on doors. The city even put up billboards with Witt's face on them. Less than two months later, Witt's nude body was found in the Ozark National Forest.

Someone from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office contacted Detective Rider on Jan. 13, 1995. "They called and said they thought a couple of trappers may have found our girl," he said. Witt's body was roughly 50 miles from where she disappeared. It was so deep in the forest that Detective Rider said, "She could have screamed as loud as she could and no one would have heard her."

While speaking with The U.S. Sun in April 2024, Humphrey said outright, "We are very confident that we know who killed Melissa, which is a huge place to be." Humphrey has been researching this case for eight years and has spoken to numerous individuals involved. It wasn't until she got ahold of Witt's diary that a solid suspect emerged.

This person was mentioned repeatedly in the pages of Witt's long-forgotten journal. Unable to reveal his identity at the time, Humphrey could only say that after speaking with almost two dozen people who knew this man, she was even more confident. According to her, he has a "very violent history." What pushed her even further was the fact that an old roommate of the mystery man told Humphrey that the suspect was supposed to meet Witt the night she went missing.

The suspect also had a Mickey Mouse watch prominently displayed in his room. The night Witt vanished, she was wearing a Mickey Mouse watch that police did not find on her body. "He fits the profile given by the FBI of Melissa's killer," said Humphrey. "He's been in prison." Although this all seems like circumstantial evidence, at some point circumstantial evidence does add up.