SOLVED: Missing 23-years Underwater (Samantha Hopper, 22-month-old Daughter Courtney, Unborn Baby)
Solved After 23 Years: Missing Mother, Toddler, and Unborn Child Found in Submerged Car in Arkansas
Russellville, Arkansas — For more than two decades, the disappearance of Samantha Jean Hopper haunted her family and baffled investigators. In September 1998, Hopper—eight months pregnant—vanished along with her 22-month-old daughter, Courtney. This week, after 23 years of uncertainty, their fate was finally confirmed when an underwater search team located Hopper’s vehicle submerged beneath a bridge on Pleasant View Road.
The discovery brought long-awaited answers—and profound grief—to a family that had lived for years with only questions.
A Night That Never Ended
Samantha Hopper was reported missing in September 1998. According to her family, she returned home from work at a Waffle House in Russellville and told her mother she was going to a concert in Little Rock with a friend. She said she would be back the following morning.
Before leaving, Hopper planned to drop off her daughter Courtney with Courtney’s father, Les, in West Memphis. She was also expecting another child, just weeks away from giving birth.
“She said, ‘Mom, I promise I’ll be back in the morning,’” her mother, Debbie, recalled through tears. “And that was the last time I saw her.”
Hopper never returned. Her blue 1989 Ford Tempo vanished without a trace, and despite early searches, no confirmed sightings or physical evidence emerged.
A Case That Never Went Cold for the Family
Hopper’s eldest daughter, Dezarae, was only three years old when her mother disappeared. Today, she remembers Samantha only through photographs.
“When you’re that young, the memories fade,” Dezarae said. “Now everything I know about my mom comes from pictures and stories.”
For Debbie, the years were marked by relentless uncertainty. “I never stopped wondering,” she said. “I just wanted to know where she was. I wanted my daughter home.”
Re-examining the Past With New Technology
In 2021, civilian search-and-recovery diver Jared Leisek and his team, including Doug Bishop and Jacob Grubbs of Chaos Divers, reopened the case using modern sonar and underwater search methods that were unavailable in the late 1990s.
Their approach focused on reconstructing Hopper’s likely driving route on the night she disappeared. Family members consistently said she almost always took Pleasant View Road because it was faster and had fewer curves.
“She always said Pleasant View was quicker,” Debbie explained. “That’s the road she took.”
The team identified multiple bodies of water along the route—areas that appeared shallow but were actually deep enough to conceal a vehicle for decades.
“These are the kinds of waters that hide cars,” Leisek said. “Even if the water level drops, a vehicle can still be completely invisible from the surface.”
A Critical Sonar Hit
As one team searched Mill Creek, Jacob Grubbs scanned Pleasant View Road with sonar. What he saw immediately raised alarms.
“I see a small car,” Grubbs reported over the radio. “It’s upside down, and I’ve gone over it six times—it’s the same reading every time.”
The location matched exactly where family members believed Hopper would have driven.
Within minutes, the team deployed a diver to visually confirm the object.
Underwater Confirmation
Visibility underwater was poor—less than two feet. But as Doug Bishop reached the vehicle, the evidence became unmistakable.
“I have located a Ford emblem,” Bishop reported. “The vehicle is blue in color.”
The car was upside down. All four wheels were intact. The windows—remarkably—were mostly still sealed. There were no license plates, consistent with records showing Hopper had recently purchased the vehicle.
“I think we just found Samantha Hopper and her babies,” Bishop said.
Above water, the family broke down in tears.
“Oh my God,” Debbie cried. “I knew it. I knew it.”
Law Enforcement Takes Over
Authorities were immediately notified, and the bridge was closed to prepare for recovery. A crane and specialized towing equipment were brought in to ensure the vehicle could be removed intact, preserving evidence and human remains.
Because the front windshield and driver’s side window were buried in sediment, officials presumed they may have been open at the time of the crash—a detail investigators will analyze further.
During the careful extraction, personal items were recovered, including shoes and a purse. Inside one sock, responders found human remains, providing final confirmation.
A Family Finally Gets Answers
For Debbie, the recovery marked the end of 23 years of anguish.
“I don’t have to worry anymore,” she said quietly. “My daughter and my grandbabies are coming home.”
Family members expressed gratitude to the search teams who volunteered their time and expertise.
“It doesn’t matter how it happened anymore,” said Selena, a relative. “What matters is that Debbie has her answers, and Samantha is no longer missing.”
A Tragic Accident, Long Hidden
Investigators believe Hopper accidentally drove off the road and into the water, likely at night, where the vehicle sank quickly and remained hidden for more than two decades. The guardrail near the bridge was installed years later, meaning there was little to prevent a car from entering the water at the time.
Experts say the case highlights how easily vehicles can disappear in rivers and creeks—and why modern sonar has become a powerful tool in solving long-unsolved disappearances.
“People think a car would be buried after 20 years,” Leisek said. “But in water like this, it can look almost untouched.”
Bittersweet Closure
The resolution of the Hopper case brings sorrow, but also peace.
“It’s bittersweet,” Leisek said. “But knowing allows healing to begin.”
For Debbie, the answers—however painful—were necessary.
“When they pulled that car up,” she said, “I knew instantly it was her. Now I can finally let her rest.”
After 23 years underwater, Samantha Hopper, her daughter Courtney, and her unborn child have finally been found—ending a mystery that time could not erase.
