Missing ballots are found

CARUTHERSVILLE - It wasn't voter fraud, just a mix up.

Pemiscot County Sheriff Tommy Greenwell reported today his investigation into missing ballots from Hayti Heights is closed. His conclusion: "There was no intentional wrongdoing or criminal activity by anyone involved."

Greenwell was contacted Tuesday evening by Pemiscot County Clerk Larry Ray about ballots missing from a Hayti Heights precinct. During an investigation by the sheriff's department and the county clerk's office it was determined the ballots may have been mixed in with ballots from another precinct.

Ray petitioned Circuit Judge Fred W. Copeland for an order to unseal the ballots and check for the missing one. The order was granted.

On Thursday with election officials from Pemiscot County and Hayti Heights along with other observers, the ballots were unsealed and the missing ballots discovered. The 102 regular ballots and one absentee ballot were counted, which accounted for all the missing Hayti Heights ballots.