Authorities reported this week that the car of a woman who disappeared with her daughter 23 years ago was discovered with human remains in Arkansas. Samantha Jane Hopper’s car was discovered Tuesday in eight feet of water by Adventures With Purpose, a nonprofit organization dedicated to solving cold-weather issues across the country, according to a statement from the Pope County Police Department. On September 11, 1998, Hopper was reported missing.
“Samantha was reported to be heading to Little Rock to drop off her daughter, Courtney Holt, before continuing on to a performance,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “However, Samantha, her daughter, and her blue Ford Tempo were never located.” When the charity group spotted the car, it was submerged in eight feet of water. According to police, the human remains in the car will be submitted to the Arkansas State Crime Lab in Little Rock for DNA testing. “The Pope County Sheriff’s Office wishes to express its heartfelt sympathies to Samantha Hopper and Courtney Holt’s families, and we are grateful to have played a tiny role in bringing this 23-year-old case to a conclusion,” the department said. Dezarea Hopper, Hopper’s daughter, stated on a memorial website that her mother was nine months pregnant at the time she vanished. Dezarea’s sibling was about 2 years old at the time. The discovery of their corpses was a “relief,” according to Dezarea.
