February 13, 2026
The sixth-year statement
Investigative work, forensic review, and the planned FBI cell-tower referral. The two-page scan is also available in the document collection.
Review the published update ↗Case file 02 / Drew County, Arkansas
Marquis
“Mack” Martin.
More than six years later, his family is still waiting for answers.
A father, an educator, and a man the children in his community knew as Uncle Mack. His life matters, and his story deserves to remain in view.
Page reviewed October 23, 2026 / Latest official statement linked: February 13, 2026.
Age
26 years old
Last reported surveillance
February 9, 2020
Monticello, Arkansas
Body discovered
March 7, 2020
Near Wilmar, Arkansas
Public case status
Unsolved in the latest
official statement linked here
Remembering Mack
The life behind
the case.
Marquis worked as a paraprofessional in the Drew Central School District and part time at McDonald’s. His family remembers a young father who loved his son and looked out for the children around him.
His obituary describes him making sure neighborhood children were safe while waiting for the school bus. He loved dogs, especially his dog Red-Man, and enjoyed being a father to his little boy. Those details belong in this story alongside the questions about his death.
On January 10, 2020, Drew Central Elementary recognized him as Educator of the Week. In the post, he described wanting to give students a positive role model and help them make good choices. A screenshot of that tribute is included below.
Read his family’s obituaryThe case over time
A family’s search
for answers.
February 9, 2020
The last reported surveillance sighting.
Marquis was recorded at Murphy USA in Monticello at approximately 9:21 p.m. Contemporary reporting described a ride home afterward; the store video is the last confirmed surveillance sighting identified in the materials linked here.
While he was missing
A ransom demand and a social media post.
His family reported receiving a $7,000 demand for his safe return. A social media post acknowledged by the then-sheriff as his son’s also became a focus of their concerns. The identity of the ransom sender, and the family’s interpretation of the image, have not been publicly established.
March 7, 2020
Marquis was found near Wilmar.
His body was discovered in a creek. Reporting on the autopsy described a close-range gunshot wound to the head and a homicide investigation.
2021–2022
His family kept asking for answers.
Relatives and supporters protested and sought outside scrutiny. Former Sheriff Mark Gober denied allegations involving him or his family and said rumors were hurting the investigation.
2023
A request for a different lead agency.
After Tim Nichols became sheriff, he and the prosecutor requested that Arkansas State Police take primary responsibility. Nichols’s later statement says that request was declined; assistance from another agency is different from a transfer of primary responsibility.
February 13, 2026
The latest official statement linked here.
Nichols said the investigation had not developed evidence sufficient for an arrest or prosecution. He said investigators planned to send cell-phone tower information to the FBI in Quantico. That statement does not confirm that the referral or analysis was completed.
The questions that remain
What the records
do and don’t establish.
The ransom message and the disputed photograph are central to the family’s concerns. They do not, by themselves, identify who killed Marquis.
The original social media post and a later enhanced version should not be treated as interchangeable. His family said they believed the image showed Marquis beneath a blanket. That interpretation has not been publicly established. Gober denied accusations involving his family.
Likewise, a message demanding money establishes that the family received a demand; it does not establish who sent it or whether the sender actually held Marquis. The archived brief describes these concerns and separates them from confirmed timeline anchors.
The 2026 statement says more analysis was planned. This page does not present a planned referral as a completed investigation or claim an outcome that has not been announced in the sources linked here.
Sheriff Tim Nichols / 2023–2026
The statements.
In one place.
Review the available statements and investigation updates in date order. Each link goes to the original publication. The 2023 request and the later statements should be read together when following which agency held primary responsibility.
February 10, 2025
The fifth-year statement
Nichols discusses searches, interviews, outside assistance, and the effort to obtain further forensic testing.
Review the published update ↗April 25, 2024
The spring investigation update
An additional update published by Monticello Live. Open the original page to review its embedded material.
Review the published update ↗February 9, 2024
The fourth-year investigation update
The anniversary update published by Monticello Live. Open the original page to review the statement in its published format.
Review the published update ↗February 2023 / published February 13
The request for ASP to take the lead
Nichols and Prosecutor Frank Spain request that state police take primary responsibility, with potential FBI assistance. Later statements explain that the primary transfer was declined.
Review the published update ↗The calls for outside scrutiny
The recusal
petitions.
These campaigns document the public calls for Mark Gober to step aside and for an outside investigation. They are historical advocacy documents. Gober is no longer sheriff. The accusations in the petition text remain the petitioners’ allegations; Gober denied involvement by himself or his family.
Read the sources
Documents &
background.
Official statement / 2 pages
The sheriff’s 2026 statement.
Sheriff Tim Nichols’s account of the investigation, outside-agency involvement, forensic reviews, and planned cell-tower analysis. The two published statement pages are combined here without changing their text.
Archived advocacy brief / 5 pages
Marquis Martin case brief.
A background briefing shared as part of this coverage, with timeline anchors, reported concerns, open questions, and a source list. This is an advocacy summary, rather than a court filing or an official investigative report.
Read Drew Central’s Educator of the Week tribute
Screenshot of Drew Central Elementary’s January 10, 2020 post recognizing Marquis Martin.
Keep his story in view
Follow the
coverage.
I’ve been covering Marquis’s case since 2023. My coverage follows the timeline, the family’s fight for answers, and what officials have said publicly.
Find my Marquis Martin coverageInformation about the case
Someone may know
something that matters.
Information about Marquis Martin’s disappearance or death should be directed to the Drew County Sheriff’s Office.
(870) 367-6211 Official county contact pageArticles, interviews & the local archive
Keep reading.
Keep asking.
A broader reading collection covering the original search, the discovery, family interviews, protests, agency responses, and later reporting. Review a source’s date and attribution when comparing accounts.
Reporting & interviews
The family asks for help finding MarquisThe discovery near WilmarHis mother and Gober speak one year laterThe family’s concerns about the photographThe family responds to a proposed protest ordinanceMartin and Brittain families rally; Gober responds to the petitionA second anniversary interview and Gober’s responseHis mother’s response to Nichols’s takeover requestThe unsolved case and the family’s continuing searchReporting on the request for state police involvementThe family’s demand for answers, two years laterCold Case Spotlight: Marquis MartinReporting on Nichols’s request and the family’s responseReporting on the discovery of Marquis’s bodyThe disputed photograph and responses to the family’s allegationsRemembering Marquis and the family’s fight for answersThe continuing search for answers
Some publishers restrict automated access, so these links are included for readers to review directly. Older headlines describing a takeover should be read alongside Nichols’s later explanation that the request was declined.
The Monticello Live archive
Contemporaneous articles, interviews, meeting coverage, public statements, and protest videos, grouped by publication year. The five Nichols updates have their own section above.
2023 / 1 local archive entries
2022 / 1 local archive entries
2021 / 17 local archive entries
Heated Exchange over Friday’s Marquis Martin Protest, Gober, Gibson, Perry & Akin / VideoCounty Attorney’s Letter to Judge & JPs Over Possible Criminal Violations in Friday’s Marquis Martin ProtestMarquis Martin Protest at State Capital- VideosMarquis Martin Family to Meet With Gov. In August, from Inside Gov’s Office / Videos3,500 Marquis Martin Peaceful Protest Video Plays Show Concern for SituationMarquis Martin Protest Balloon Release, Saturday at Courthouse / VideoMarquis Martin Protest, 11 AM / VideoMarquis Martin Protest, 10am / VideoMarquis Martin Protest, Friday, at Courthouse / 9:30 am / VideoKATV / Marquis Martin Protest, Friday, at Courthouse / VideoKLRT- Interview with Marquis Martin‘s Mom about “The Picture” / VideoMarquis Martin Murder Case Going to US Prosecuting Attorney / VideoAlleged Threat Closes Courthouse, Friday.Marquis Martin’s Mom Remembers Him, a Year after His Disappearance / VideoSheriff Gober on 1 Year Anniversary of Marquis Martin Murder / VideoRemembering Marquis Martin (Click to Enlarge)Marquis Martin Reported Missing, 1 Year Ago, Today: Case Remains Unsolved
2020 / 8 local archive entries
Monticello’s Monday Protest for George Floyd & Marquis Martin -VideoUpdate on Marquis Martin InvestigationBody of Marquis Martin Found, near Wilmar.Marquis Martin Found / DCSO StatementSearch Continues for Marquis Martin / VideoMarquis Dareun MartinSearch Party Information for Wilmar Man, Drew Central Staff, Has Been Missing Since SundayMarquis Martin Case Update
Community & longer listening
A longer discussion of Marquis’s life and the investigationCommunity-chain announcement for October 24
Photo: family obituary via Stephenson-Dearman. School tribute: supplied screenshot. Official statement scans: Sheriff Tim Nichols via Monticello Live. The archived brief preserves the wording of its source, including an earlier spelling of Mack’s nickname.
All case files ↗