LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — This week, 10 years ago, hundreds in central Arkansas came together to search for a missing woman who was a well-known real estate agent.
Beverly Carter disappeared on September 25th, 2014. She was last seen on her way to show a house to a pair of new clients.
Things quickly took a turn on that showing, and Carter was never seen alive again.
Five days later, investigators found her body.
"She was a powerhouse, and she gave and gave, and even though she's gone, she's still giving," Realtor and Broker Regi Ott said. "I think that is beautiful."
Those who knew Carter, like Ott, said she would do it all with a smile that would light up the room.
"She cared deeply, and it didn't matter if it was her child, a neighbor, someone she worked with, or a client," Ott said. "She just cared hard and wanted people to be happy and satisfied with whatever they were doing in life."
Many of Carter's former coworkers honored her this week with a balloon release on the anniversary of her disappearance.
Ten years ago, on Wednesday, the community came together to search for her, and they learned a lot from the situation.
"It's always going to make an impact on somebody," Ott said. "We may not know how or when. I will tell you that I don't look at duct tape like I used to."
Now, a decade later, Ott said Beverly's death changed how realtors think about safety.
"It's now a part of our real estate contract and our listing agreement," Ott said. "We do have a safety paragraph that talks about that, and we always, in our continuing education, have, I think it's an hour that's dedicated to safety."
That's also the mission of the Beverly Carter Foundation, a nonprofit Ott is involved with.
She suggests meeting with clients in a public place first and keeping up good communication with loved ones about where you're at. Ott even recommends tracking apps just for an added layer of security.
The reality is, a lot of risk comes with the job, but she said she never wants Beverly or her story to be forgotten.
"We don't know what realtor may have gone to do something instinctively and gone, wait a minute and remember Beverly's story, and went a different route and ended up saving their life or saving another person's life," Ott said.
Arron Lewis and his wife Crystal Lowery were both charged in Beverly's death.
Lowery made a plea deal and is serving 30 years after testifying against Lewis.
A jury convicted him of capital murder and kidnapping with a life sentence, with no chance at parole.