Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Arkadelphia Toddler Killed By Hit And Run Driver In Pine Plaza

The public has been asked for its help in solving the death of a two-year-old child.

The child, Meghan McJunkins, was killed around 3:20 p.m. Wednesday, July 16, in the parking lot of the Pine Plaza shopping center in north Arkadelphia, according to Arkadelphia Police Chief Bob Johnston.

He said the child's mother, Michelle McJunkins, of Bismarck, had gotten out of her car with Meghan and her two other children, ages four and five, to return a videocassette recorder when she found the youngest child missing. She then noticed the child lying in the parking lot, bleeding profusely from her head.

Johnston said the strange thing about this is nothing was seen or heard. The child was killed just steps from where the mother was parked.

According to Johnston, the family consented to an autopsy of the child as it appears she was the victim of a hit-and-run driver.

He said with the configuration of the parking lot, the driver would have had to make a 90 degree turn to leave.

Officers are trying to find a Mississippi man who may have seen the incident, he said. The man went into a nearby restaurant, reporting to have seen a hit-and-run accident. Johnston said he left his name, address and phone number in a suggestion box, but then disappeared.

Officials have called the number day and night, Johnston said, but have not been able to reach the man.

According to reports, the man, who left the name of Nathan Paquette, told the manager of the restaurant he saw the accident, describing the vehicle as being green with a dent in the side.

Apparently, the number Paquette left is that of his mother, who said he is getting a divorce and she doesn't know how to reach him.

An employee at a nearby branch bank also reported seeing a vehicle leave the area around the time of the hit-and-run. They also said the car was green, possibly an older Ford, with a damaged right door.