WARWICK, R.I. (WLNE) — An arrest more than two years after Charlotte Lester disappeared had some asking why it took so long, especially after the suspect had been the focus of police since the beginning. Lester’s body was discovered in a wooded area in Exeter on Wednesday, and Mark Perkins was subsequently arrested in Warwick. “It was a roller coaster of emotions all the way around; it’s relief, it’s anger, but I think knowing what we knew early on,” Stan Vogt of Four Seasons Investigations said. “Now they’ve got him, and I think this will move forward.” Vogt, who is the president of the private investigation firm, said he went to high school with Lester and her brother. He added that her brother called him when she was reported missing, and that he went with the family to look for her in the first few days of the investigation. Perkins was an early suspect as he and Lester were said to have a relationship. “There were a handful of things that kind of pointed to [Perkins] right away,” Vogt said. “Witness interviews, phone records, I think those two things right out of the gates were steering us in that direction.” Court documents detailed a witness statement from an employee at a Cumberland Farms in Warwick who said that Perkins told her his house was “a blood bath” after an altercation with Charlotte. A later search of his home found blood splattered around the bedroom. “Based on how long [Perkins’s] home was taped off and was a crime scene, I think that was very indicative of them going through it with a fine-toothed comb; there was clearly a lot there,” Vogt said. However, he added that key evidence was missing that prevented police from arresting Perkins early on. “Without the body what you run into, and any district attorney will tell you this, is you’re going to run into a situation where you’re in a difficult situation,” Vogt said. “Because without the body you have a hard time proving that there’s been a murder or something else nefarious.” He added that he believes the court process will still be slow despite the discovery of Lester’s remains. “It seems to me there’s probably a pretty big mountain of evidence against him, we’ll see what happens with the grand jury,” Vogt said. “But the hope is obviously that he’ll plea and not put the family through further heartache through a trial, but I think those things are inevitable.” Vogt added that he he ultimately had to step away from the case for personal reasons. ABC 6 reached out to the case’s current lead private investigator, who declined to comment. Categories: News, Rhode Island, Warwick