Missing Child, Court Order, and a Father Arrested While Seeking Police Help: What Happened in Mena, Arkansas?

A missing-child case in Mena, Arkansas, sits at the intersection of family court, law-enforcement discretion, use of force, and public-record accountability.

Craig Bailey “Kiki” Corristan was reported missing from Mena in November 2025. His father, Edward Ross Corristan, later obtained a March 2026 custody order in Polk County Circuit Court that reportedly awarded him primary custody and directed law enforcement to assist if necessary. Publicly available information also indicates that Corristan appears to have proceeded without counsel in the domestic-relations matter.

The March 15 encounter

Video recorded by family members shows an officer advancing toward Corristan while Corristan’s hands are raised and papers are visible in his hand. The officer makes high contact near the upper chest or neck area and then forcefully drives and throws him backward to the ground. After the impact, Corristan appears limp and nonresponsive for a period while officers restrain him.

Corristan was later arrested. Public arrest information has identified charges including interference with a law-enforcement officer and disorderly conduct. The precise factual basis for those charges should be compared with the charging instrument, police report, probable-cause affidavit, and the video itself.

The body-camera question

Public reporting about the case has stated that the officer’s body-worn camera did not capture the encounter and had not recorded footage for the preceding two days. That makes the family-recorded video especially important because it preserves the event independently of the police department’s own recording system.

Why the case matters

The core questions are straightforward: what did the custody order require, what assistance did law enforcement provide or refuse to provide, what conduct formed the basis for the arrest, what force was used, and why was there no body-camera recording of the encounter?

Records still needed before publication

Before publication, the reporting file should include the complete March 11, 2026 custody order, the body attachment and domestic-relations docket, the arrest report and probable-cause affidavit, the charging instrument and final disposition, body-camera logs and policy, and the full family-recorded video.