FESTUS, Mo. (AP) - The St. Louis Major Case Squad is investigating the double homicide of an Arkansas couple. Sherwood, Arkansas, police say Tom and Jill Estes of Sherwood had gone to Missouri for a family function. Sherwood Lieutenant Cheryl Williams said Missouri police called yesterday after finding the couples' bodies behind a gas station.

Festus police said the bodies were found about 11:00 a.m. Chief Timothy Lewis said the middle-aged couple each had obvious injuries. Police said the couple had checked in to the Comfort Inn in Festus on Friday and were last seen late Sunday.

Around midnight, a hotel guest found the couple's dogs covered in blood in the parking lot. Police arrived and found more blood behind the hotel. The dogs' owners were nowhere to be found.

Police are checking surveillance videos from nearby businesses and believe they may be looking for a pickup truck.

Officials say they're investigating whether the couple's deaths may be linked to a string of killings in Illinois. Illinois State Police say they're looking for a man in connection with the killings of four people in Rock Falls, the beating death of a 93 year-old Sterling, Illinois, man, and the death of a man found behind a Galesburg, Illinois, grocery store.

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