PEA RIDGE — Invaded. Twice.

“Don’t you feel violated?” asked a neighbor.

Dawnita Henson said she’s too mad to feel violated after being called home from a camping trip to find her home invaded and many personal belongings stolen.

Darin and Dawnita Henson were shocked to find a man in their camper Wednesday evening while preparing for a camping trip. They were even more shocked to have their camping trip cut short Saturday by a call from Dawnita’s mother that their house had been burglarized by that same man.

The Hensons returned home to find someone had taken a shower in their bathroom, shaved, eaten and stolen clothes, jewelry, a camera, guns, bows and bow cases. After making the report to Benton County Sheriff’s deputies, the Hensons began their own investigation searching the property behind their house because footprints led them to believe the person had walked away to the west. In the woods behind thehouse, the Hensons first found a lone gun, then a bow case loaded with guns and bows, their cordless house phone and later another bow case with another bow and guns in it.

“I’m a hunter, I know how to track something,” Darin said, as he trekked through the woods, over the hills and down the creek bed. Carrying a handgun, Henson did not cross into Missouri when the trail led to Stateline Road.

Still missing is a child’s bow and a Browning .243 rifle.

Dawnita said her phone records reveal 20 long-distance phone calls to the same number - a cell phone from Pryor, Okla., but the name was blocked.

The saga for the Hensons began Wednesday when Darin and daughter Ashley, 8, found a man, who matched the description of Cory Wolf, in their camper.

Sheriff’s deputies say Wolf drove a white Pontiac that ledpolice and deputies from several law enforcement agencies on Tuesday afternoon’s two-state pursuit that ended with a crash on Arkansas Highway 265 north of Pea Ridge, about a mile over hills, fields and a creek from the Henson’s home.

Upon seeing Wolf, Ashley ran screaming into the house: “Man in the trailer. Man in the trailer.”

Dawnita locked the house doors and dialed 911.

“Man, I didn’t mean to invade your space,” the man said as he jumped out of the camper trailer, startling Darin and Ashley, and telling them he was cold and hungry.

Darin, who stood there with ahammer, recalled seeing news of the manhunt and the man, knew the person standing before him was Cory Wolf.

“I knew it was him, but acted like I didn’t because I’d heard he was dangerous,” Darin said.

After being confronted by Darin, the man walked away from the Henson’s home, while Dawnita was on the phone with a Central Communications dispatcher.

“I asked them (CENCOM dispatcher) if I should follow him, but they said not to,” she said. Approximately 30 minutes later, a deputy sheriff arrived at their house.

The Hensons said the deputies looked around, left to search the area and didn’t return. They said they weren’t asked to give a statement until Thursday morning.

The Hensons said they didn’t hear back from the deputies, so they called about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday and were told the deputies didn’t believe it was Wolf.

“There was somebody in my trailer,” Darin said Thursday, “who wasn’t supposed to be there. This morning I called (Pea Ridge Police) Chief Ledbetter and he came out.”

Thursday, Benton County Sheriff’s deputies, Pea Ridge police and McDonald County, Mo., sheriff’s deputies scoured the woods around the area for miles.

On Saturday, Henson’s mother, Connie Thompson went to the house to feed the dogs. When she went to the back of the house to look through the windowat furniture, she noticed a sliding door slightly ajar and the gun cabinet door open and empty cabinet.

She called 911 and Dawnita.

“We waited there for 20 minutes, two deputies came and asked us to go back down hill so we’d be out of way of danger,” Thompson said.

News, Pages 1 on 03/31/2010