By Sara Hall | NB Indy
Photos by Carol Tomlinson
Police arrested a Missouri murder suspect after a tracking him through the Bluffs neighborhood in Newport Beach on Monday afternoon.
Mark Edward Rhodes, 43, of Missouri, was arrested just 4 p.m. Monday by Newport Beach Police officers, after he was spotted driving through Newport Beach in a black 1997 Ford Thunderbird with Utah plates.
Rhodes is suspected of kidnapping and killing his ex-wife, Tina Rhodes. Carroll County Sheriff’s Department received information that Tina Rhodes was missing on Sept. 8. Her body was subsequently found in a rural area just outside Carroll County.
The CCSD received information that the suspect, Mark Rhodes, may have been en route to his grandmother’s house in Newport Beach, and they alerted the NBPD. Newport Beach police officers spotted and stopped the suspect before he even made it to his grandmother’s house.
Newport Beach Sgt. Steve Burdette said the department received information about the suspect and his grandmother on Sept. 10. The NB police began surveillance immediately. Burdette added that he assumed the suspect stopped in Utah to change license plates.
The suspect and his vehicle were spotted in the area by a detective, Burdette said, who then called in a marked police vehicle to make the stop along with other marked vehicles as back up.
Rhodes was arrested without incidemt, Burdette said, and is being held pending extradition.
Area resident Dr. Carol Tomlinson said she saw at least seven police vehicles and a helicopter being used to track the suspect. Burdette could not confirm the number of units that were on scene or the use of the helicopter, but added that it is likely there were at least three or four marked police units plus the detectives.
Police are asking that anyone with information regarding the suspect contact the NBPD. Messages can be left anonymously at 800-550-NBPD.
