zirovsky

Courtney Esther Danielle Holt was born in Russellville, Pope County, Arkansas, United States on January 15, 1997 to Lester Holt Jr., then 16, and Samantha Jean Mahan Hopper, then 18.

Hopper is the sister of Daniel M. Mahan and James Roy Mahan, 41. They are the children of  Ricky Velmar Mahan, 64, and Deborah “Debbie” Kay Mahan, 65.

On August 31, 1976, Debbie gave birth to Daniel in Danville, Yell County, Arkansas. Born with muscular dystrophy, he underwent several operations. On August 21, 1988, he died in Mill Creek, Pope County.

In August 1994, Hopper gave birth to Dezarae Michelle Hopper. Dezarae is now married to Richard Oakley Carpenter Jr., 34, of Panama City, Florida, USA.

On September 11, 1998, Samantha was at their family home in Russellville. That was the last time she was seen alive.

That day, Samantha came home from work at Waffle House and told her mother that she and a friend were going to a concert in Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas on September 12, 1998. Samantha said she would be back home right after the concert.

Samantha drove a blue 1989 Ford Temp and was supposed to drop Holt before going to the concert. Family and friends never heard from the two since then.

When Samantha disappeared, she was 8 months pregnant. She was 5’2″ tall and she weighed around 125 lbs. Her ears were pierced and she had a scar on her neck.

In 2013, Pope County Sheriff’s Office criminal investigation division detective Erick Riggs was assigned to the case about Samantha’s disappearance. He asked Dezarae to complete a deoxyribonucleic acid swab to submit to a national database of unidentified bodies.

On October 26, 2021, the Pope County Sheriff’s Office received a call from members of the nonprofit group Adventures With Purpose. The group reported that a vehicle matching Samantha’s blue Ford Tempo was found in the water near Pleasant View Road in Russellville.

Human remains were found inside vehicle once it was removed from the water. The remains were sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab in Little Rock for DNA testing.