Rodney Letterman’s Strange disappearance and death in Devil’s Den

Devils Den ArkansasWilderness DisappearancesRodney Letterman
Written By StrangeOutdoors
Rodney Letterman disappearance Devil's Den

Rodney “Rod” Letterman, disappeared August 28, 2017. Remains found February 25, 2019, Devil's Den State Park, West Fork, Arkansas.

Revised July 2024

Rod Letterman, 33, of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, was last seen hiking on the Butterfield Trail in Devil's Den State Park in Arkansas with a friend on Sunday, August 28th, 2017, when they were separated.

Rodney's friend returned to the car around noon to get him high blood pressure medication. His partner was gone when he returned to the point on the trail where he had left him. Fortunately, The weather was mild in August, but plenty of drinking water is advisable in the park at that time of the year. Rod was carrying water (only 1.5 liters) but no backpack.

Eighteen months later, remains were found, which were confirmed to be Rodney’s. The devils’ work in Devil’s Den State Park in Arkansas?

Butterfield hiking trail Devils den sign

What is and where is the Devil’s Den State Park?

Devil's Den State Park is a 2,500-acre (1,000 ha) Arkansas state park in Washington County, near West Fork, Arkansas in the United States and it was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, beginning in 1933.

It is in the Lee Creek Valley in the Boston Mountains, which are the southwestern part of The Ozarks.

What is the Butterfield Hiking Trail

The Butterfield Hiking Trail is a 14.6-mile (24km) moderately trafficked loop trail located near West Fork, Arkansas. It features a lake and is rated as difficult. The terrain is pretty rough, with lots of uphills and loose rocks, downed trees covering the trail, and overgrown vegetation.

It begins and ends in Devil's Den State Park and passes through Ozark National Forest in Washington and Crawford County before returning to the park. Butterfield Hiking Trail is named for the Butterfield Stage Line that passed through Arkansas, a stagecoach route in the United States that operated from 1857 to 1861. It was a route for the United States mail from two eastern termini, Memphis, Tennessee, and St. Louis, Missouri, meeting at Fort Smith, Arkansas, and continuing through Indian Territory, New Mexico, and Arizona, ending in San Francisco, California.

The search for Rodney Letterman

When Rodney was declared missing, search and rescue teams from several counties and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism scoured the area of Devil’s Den State Park on foot, using ATVs and horses.

Searchers located Rod's cellphone, but other clues were not disclosed. His wife, Stacia, said, “He wasn’t feeling good before he went and was exhausted and didn’t have his medicine, and we know he doesn’t have his phone; it was found at the campsite.”

The discovery of some remains

Butterfield hiking trail Devils Den

On February 25th, 2019, a hiker came across a human skull and remains at Devil's Den State Park, Arkansas, near a hiking trail, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office. The remains were sent to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory for a DNA profile.

Park officials said the area where the remains were found was three miles away from the visitors center and was actually on private land surrounded by U.S. Forest Service property.

That area is generally inaccessible, and Tim Scott, Devil's Den Park Assistant Superintendent, said he was surprised the hiker found the remains because the terrain is very rugged. "As remote as that area is...there might be some hunters going there and a few hikers, but the location doesn't get much foot traffic or even wheeler traffic.”

Park officials re-evaluated search records and found that the area where these remains were found was searched back in 2017. So, Rodney managed to get to the spot after the searchers departed.

At the end of March 2019, the Washington County sheriff’s office said that a DNA test matched the skull and other skeletal remains to Rodney Letterman. The cause and manner of death could not be determined.

StrangeOutdoors Exclusive Members Only Area
$15.99
One time

Exclusive articles for members of StrangeOutdoors that are not available elsewhere on the site.

✓ 62 articles as of June 2024
StrangeOutdoors
Previous

The strange and unexplained death of Nicholas Randall in the Scottish Highlands
Next

The disappearance and search for Bruce Fairfax in the Australian bush