The discovery of a man's body has brought grief and closure to his family.
Trena Chackel, formerly of Pea Ridge, said the past four months "has been a nightmare."
"Not knowing was the hardest part," Chackel said Tuesday. "Now we know daddy's not going to come home.
"Finding out the news gives the children a little closure. In 13 years, he never missed a single day calling us if he couldn't get home. When he didn't call, I knew something was wrong."
Chackel, the fiance of Ronnie Kultgen, reported him missing April 13 to Benton County Sheriff's deputies. Kultgen's body was found in Madison County Saturday, Aug. 29. A homicide investigation has been opened into the death of Kultgen, 53, of Garfield, according to the Benton County Sheriff's Office.
Searchers found Kultgen's body in Madison County on Saturday, Aug. 29, after weeks of searching, according to the Benton County Sheriff's Office.
Chackel, who said she and Kultgen had lived together for 13 years, said the couple planned to get married. She said they have 11-year-old twins and an 8-year-old daughter together.
"Lacy, being a daddy's girl, she took it pretty hard," Chackel said, adding that the twins have lots of questions.
On Facebook, Kultgen used the name Ronnie Adams. Chackel explained that is the last name of his stepfather whose last name was Adams.
The couple lived in Pea Ridge from 2009 until late 2014 when they moved to Garfield to be closer to Kultgen's mother and Chackel's ex-stepfather, she said. She said they moved to Pea Ridge originally for the school system and the children attended the schools there from Head Start until May 2015.
"Don't give up hope," she said. "Stay strong; stay together as a family. You never know when they're not going to come home."
In mid-August, Chackel started a "GoFundMe" page asking for donations since she and their three children were homeless as a result of his disappearance.
On April 17, Chackel wrote: "... If anyone has seen or heard from Ronnie in the last 2-3 days please contact me. He has not been seen or heard from by his family. I am really starting to get worried... its like he has just... vanished.."
On May 6, Chackel wrote: "23 days ... just yesterday they filed a report that they are concerned but htye don't think he left under pressure... "
By May 8, Chackel wrote: "25 days... they started an investigation today..."
A suspect has been identified and information from the investigation will be forwarded to the prosecutor's office. No further information is being released.
Benton County and Madison County sheriff's offices and Arkansas State Police worked the investigation.
Madison County Sheriff Phillip Morgan said he had no details about the investigation. He said deputies accompanied Benton County on a search when Kultgen's body was found Saturday.
General News on 09/09/2015