http://www.ktbs.com/news/local/3212266.html
Sheriff's deputies in Bienville Parish spent much of today investigating a long-haul truck driver who said he found his elderly mother dead in the cab of his rig but drove more than 50 miles before calling authorities.
They released the man this afternoon after concluding his mother died in Columbia County, Arkansas, where authorities declined to investigate further, believing the death is due to natural causes.
Deputies found the 82-year-old woman's nude body in the sleeper of the rig at an Interstate 20 rest area near Arcadia. Her son told deputies he found her dead in Springhill this morning but drove to Bienville Parish before calling 911.
"If I knew my mother had died, I would be on the side of the road jumping up and down," Bienville Sheriff John Ballance said of the trucker's bizarre behavior.
Ballance said discrepancies in what trucker Robert Adams told 911 operators and what he said to deputies at the rest area made them skeptical initially. After investigating further, they determined the woman died somewhere between Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and Columbia County, Arkansas, probably on Wednesday. Arkansas authorities felt the death was due to natural causes and Adams was released this afternoon, Ballance said.
The coroner's office will decide whether an autopsy should be conducted.
The dead woman, Viola Adams, had minor scratches on her legs and buttocks, investigators said. Her son said she fell trying to get into the truck and there was blood on the steps of the truck.
Ballance said Adams told deputies he last talked to his mother at 2 a.m. He said he took a nap in South Arkansas at 4 a.m. and then drove to Springhill to drop off a load.
The man told investigators he found his mother dead in Springhill about 6:30 a.m. and alerted his bosses in Mississippi. They told him to cancel his next run and call authorities, but he didn't do so immediately, Ballance said.
The mother had ridden with her son for about seven years, authorities said. The man's girlfriend, who also rode with him, was in the truck when the mother died.
Sheriff's deputies in Bienville Parish spent much of today investigating a long-haul truck driver who said he found his elderly mother dead in the cab of his rig but drove more than 50 miles before calling authorities.
They released the man this afternoon after concluding his mother died in Columbia County, Arkansas, where authorities declined to investigate further, believing the death is due to natural causes.
Deputies found the 82-year-old woman's nude body in the sleeper of the rig at an Interstate 20 rest area near Arcadia. Her son told deputies he found her dead in Springhill this morning but drove to Bienville Parish before calling 911.
"If I knew my mother had died, I would be on the side of the road jumping up and down," Bienville Sheriff John Ballance said of the trucker's bizarre behavior.
Ballance said discrepancies in what trucker Robert Adams told 911 operators and what he said to deputies at the rest area made them skeptical initially. After investigating further, they determined the woman died somewhere between Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and Columbia County, Arkansas, probably on Wednesday. Arkansas authorities felt the death was due to natural causes and Adams was released this afternoon, Ballance said.
The coroner's office will decide whether an autopsy should be conducted.
The dead woman, Viola Adams, had minor scratches on her legs and buttocks, investigators said. Her son said she fell trying to get into the truck and there was blood on the steps of the truck.
Ballance said Adams told deputies he last talked to his mother at 2 a.m. He said he took a nap in South Arkansas at 4 a.m. and then drove to Springhill to drop off a load.
The man told investigators he found his mother dead in Springhill about 6:30 a.m. and alerted his bosses in Mississippi. They told him to cancel his next run and call authorities, but he didn't do so immediately, Ballance said.
The mother had ridden with her son for about seven years, authorities said. The man's girlfriend, who also rode with him, was in the truck when the mother died.