Odd Text Real Estate Agent Is Found Dead

Real estate agent Beverly Carter, who had been missing since last week, has been found dead in Arkansas, police have said.

The 49-year-old's body was found in a shallow grave, the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Authorities had been searching for Mrs Carter since last Thursday, when she failed to return from an appointment to show a home to a potential buyer.

On Monday, police arrested Arron Lewis, 33, on suspicion of kidnapping Mrs Carter.

Now authorities are planning to charge him with capital murder, the statement said.

According to the sheriff's office, Lewis was questioned for more than 12 hours on Monday.

He eventually admitted that he had abducted Mrs Carter, but did not divulge her whereabouts.

Police said they then received information leading them to the address where she was found.

Lewis told reporters as he was being taken from the jail to the sheriff's office that he did not kill Mrs Carter.

He described her as "a woman that worked alone - a rich broker".

Last Thursday, Mrs Carter told her husband she was going to meet the potential buyer at a repossessed property in the town of Scott, east of Little Rock.

Mr Carter said he later found his wife's car abandoned with her purse and wallet still inside.

He said he received three out-of-character text messages in a row from his wife's phone at about 1am on Friday.

The first read simply: "Yes."

The next said: "My phone's low. The battery's down, and I'll call you whenever I get signal."

The final message read: "Oh, I'm out drinking with some friends" - though Mr Carter said his wife was not a drinker.