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Texas Rangers Arrest Suspect Shawn Adkins For Murder Of Teenager Hailey Dunn In 2013

BIG SPRING, Texas (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — New developments in the case of a Texas teenager reported missing more than a decade ago. Authorities have arrested a man for the death of 13-year-old Hailey Dunn.

Texas Rangers arrested Shawn Casey Adkins on a murder charge, said Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Sgt. Fred Biddle. He said Adkins was arrested near Big Spring, a city about 300 miles west of Dallas. Biddle said he could not immediately provide more details on the case.

Adkins was booked into the Howard County Jail. From there he was transferred to the Mitchell County Jail where he was being held Wednesday on $2 million bond.

Jail records do not list an attorney for Adkins.

Hailey Dunn was reported missing in December 2010. She and her mother, Billie Dunn, lived in the small West Texas town of Colorado City at the time and Adkins, who was dating Hailey's mother, was named as a person of interest.

Hailey's body was discovered in April 2013 in a remote area near a lake about 30 miles northwest of Colorado City. Authorities have not released a cause of death.

Adkins told The Associated Press shortly after Hailey's disappearance that he was not involved and that he was praying for her safe return.

Authorities have not said what led police to arrest Adkins, and Biddle referred questions to prosecutors in the 32nd Judicial District Attorneys Office.

District Attorney Richard Thompson said in a statement that Adkins' arrest was the result of a "multi-county and multi-agency effort." He declined to provide further information, saying the case is still under investigation.

(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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