Arkansas police find body of missing boy Reilly Scarbrough

Both Reilly Scarbrough (left) and sister Acelynn Wester (right) were found dead. Photo / Facebook

Arkansas police found the body of a missing nine-year-old boy in the woods after his mother, little sister and great-uncle were found dead.

The body nine-year-old Reilly Scarbrough was discovered in a heavily wooded area west of Hatfield, Arkansas at 11.55am Saturday.

His mother Bethany Jo Wester's live-in boyfriend Brian Bliss Travis, 37, helped find the body and is expected to face capital murder charges in the boy's death.

Brian Bliss Travis, 37, led police to Reilly's body and will face capital murder charges.

Travis was arrested Wednesday for unrelated drug charges according to the Arkansas Times and remains in Polk County Jail.

Reilly's two-year-old sister Acelynn Wester was found in a wooded area near the town of Cove in far western Arkansas on Friday.

She was discovered near where her mother, Bethany Jo Wester, was found dead Tuesday in a creek, according to Polk County Sheriff Scott Sawyer.

Police were called to the area after receiving reports of a 'suspicious' object.

Both Reilly Scarbrough (left) and sister Acelynn Wester (right) were found dead. Photo / Facebook

The children's great-uncle was discovered deceased Thursday at his home in a nearby town.

It is not clear if Travis will also be charged for the other three murders.

The deaths are being investigated as homicides, said Sawyer, who choked back tears at a news conference late Friday as he promised to 'seek justice for the families' of the victims.

The sheriff declined to say how the three were killed or name any possible suspects or motives in the deaths. The sheriff also didn't provide information on where the children's other relatives, including a father, might be.

Authorities first discovered the body of the children's mother. Her uncle, 66-year-old Steven Payne, was found dead Thursday in Hatfield.

Earlier Friday, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children described the children as being 'in immediate danger' because they hadn't been seen in at least six days.

- AP