A mother and father have been killed in front of their children while on a family hike, police said.

Clinton and Cristen Brink, 43, and 41, were attacked by a knifeman in Washington county, Arkansas, on Saturday.

Officers are still searching for the attacker, who is understood to have fled following the incident in Devil’s Den State Park.

The couple, who had only just moved to the area, are thought to have died protecting their two daughters aged seven and nine.

In a statement, the couple’s family said that the parents “died heroes protecting their little girls”.

In the wake of the attack, the girls managed to find a local visitor centre and report that their parents had been stabbed.