Van Buren man receives serious head injuries in Poplar Bluff assault

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Van Buren man was flown to a Cape Girardeau hospital early this morning for treatment of what authorities describe as severe head trauma after he was allegedly assaulted at a local residence.

Details surrounding how Dusty Lee Tucker was injured are still sketchy since he could not recall what happened to him, explained Poplar Bluff police Cpl. Aaron Decker.

Authorities learned of Tucker's assault at about 3:15 a.m. when a call came into the Poplar Bluff Police Department and officers were sent to a residence in the 300 block of Homer Street.

There they found Tucker, who was conscious, but suffering from serious head injuries, said Decker, who doesn't know what Tucker had been struck with.

The alleged attack is believed to have occurred "just a couple of blocks" away at a residence in the 900 block of North Second Street, Decker said.

Patrolmen Daniel Mustain and Jamie Sample went to that location because a witness, probably the one who drove Tucker to the Homer Street address, "said 'Hey, this is where it happened' and directed us up there," Decker said.

The officers, Decker said, found blood everywhere and were able to confirm the residence was the location of the alleged assault.

"We have a possible suspect, but he has not been located at this time," Decker said.

As Tucker lied in a bed in the intensive care unit at Southeast Missouri Hospital this morning, Det. Greg Brainard, Mustain and other officers reportedly were executing a search warrant on the Second Street residence.

Decker said the officers were searching the scene for "answers as to what may have happened" there earlier this morning.